This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
AFL premiership fancy the Hawthorn Football Club has put its historic Waverley Park in Melbourne’s Mulgrave to the market, as it prepares to fly the coup for a new elite training facility in Dingley.
Created by the then-VFL, Waverley Park was once touted to accommodate as many as 150,000 spectators, but construction of the stands only got as far as around half of that. The record crowd was a 92,935 crush for a Collingwood versus Hawthorn match on Queen’s Birthday Monday in 1981, while the stadium hosted the 1991 AFL Grand Final between Hawthorn and the West Coast Eagles, which Hawthorn won.
Waverley dated quickly after being delivered for its first game in 1970, and the state government’s refusal to provide public transport to the stadium – built in the middle-ring of the south-east in anticipation of urban sprawl – made it a difficult prospect for many fans, as did its reputation as “Arctic Park” due to its particularly cold conditions.
The last AFL game was played in 1999, and developer Mirvac acquired the land three years later for $110 million. The stands and the expansive car park were turned into housing, with the field, the Victorian Heritage-listed Sir Kenneth Luke stand and Hawthorn’s training facilities remaining.
They include a high-performance gym, recovery pool, indoor training areas, medical facilities, player lounges, meeting rooms, and executive offices.
Colliers’ Rob Joyes, Ben Baines, Lucas Soccio, James Zhuang and Ian Sanders have the listing of Waverley Park, as well as the neighbouring Goodlife Health Club. The assets will be offered separately to the market, with a combined price point of circa $20 million, sources told Australian Property Journal.
Jacob Attwood, chief operating officer, Hawthorn Football Club, said, “Waverley Park has been a great home for our football club and has served the club very well.
“As the club prepares for our imminent relocation to our new facility at Dingley, it is the right time to explore what the future for the current training and administration facility looks like.”
Hawthorn had played their home games at Waverley and returned to the ground in 2006. It is building a new $100 million facility in Dingley, a few suburbs to the south, on a site it bought in 2016.
Officially, the Waverley listing is of a four-level, 3,412 sqm asset, offered with vacant possession, with an oval of 25,655 sqm and 48 car parks.
The 1,266 sqm Goodlife Health Club facility is leased until September 2026 with two further terms of five years. Goodlife Health Club resided within the asset for the last 19 years.
“This is a rare opportunity to acquire a professional sporting club’s iconic training hub and a premium investment in the health sector,” Joyes said.
“The separate assets have deep ties to the community and versatile spaces that cater to a broad spectrum of potential buyers and uses.”
Baines said potential buyers for the training facility are likely to be other elite sporting organisations, sporting groups, health and wellness operators as well as traditional office occupiers.
“Located in Mulgrave, within a 10-minute drive of a large catchment area, the site has potential to address significant undersupply in essential health services such as psychology, physiotherapy, radiology, and general practice,” the agents said.
“This prime position ensures accessibility for patients while creating a centralised hub for healthcare providers.
“The existing facilities can easily be adapted to include specialised rooms for consultations, diagnostic services, and multidisciplinary care (STPA). Opportunities exist to integrate mental health services, which are in high demand, alongside physical rehabilitation services to provide a holistic patient care approach.”
Expressions of interest close Thursday, 3rd April.
