The old suburban VFL/AFL grounds

[Stewies Power]

I've always had a keen interest in the old suburban football grounds used in the VFL/AFL. Unfortunatley I never got to see any matches at them While looking up old grounds on the internet, I found this person on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/bellestorieaustralia/videos who travelled to each of the grounds and did a small documentary about them. Here's a couple of embedded videos:

Windy Hill



Victoria Park



The rest of his videos can be seen on his YouTube page (the first link)

 

[jethro11]

Great series that brings back a few memories.

 

[grizzlym]

I was telling my son about the old grounds just last weekend. I loved going to those grounds - each had their own character (and characters). I spose getting down to the VFL now, particularly somewhere like Port Melbourne, isn't a bad approximation of some of those grounds. Like the old South Melbourne home ground at Lakeside oval. Gee, the roof in that stadium leaked something chronic. Moorabin was always a experience. Loved the Western Oval. Victoria Park was like something from Escape from new York.

Good times.

 

[Luigi742]

This is one of things I love about NRL, they still have the suburban stadiums! I remember being in Sydney last year taking the bus to cronulla to watch souths take on the sharks. Such a great experience going to one of the suburban grounds and I'm sad that footy don't do it anymore.

 

[Lets Roar like '44]

Anyone else get the impression he's not huge on Collingwood? Looks like a good series to watch.

 

[bradrowe#32]

A very good book is "Football Grounds of Melbourne" by Santo Caruso with Mark Fiddian and Jim Main. As well as AFL/VFL grounds, it has VFA and some other famous local footy grounds. Lots of photos, development of the ground and club history.

 

[Silent Alarm]

I'm really disappointed I couldn't get to more of these grounds. Age and geography restricted any chance of that. I did go to Princes Park to see Freo play Carlton, it must of been in the late 90s. My only memory of that ground was my uncle's mate kicking a Sherrin into my face. I still remember that unmistakable pelting sound, a hundred kids kicking the ball to one another.

My dad and I went to Brunswick Street oval about 18 months ago. Such a lovely little grandstand perked in my favourite suburb.

What's it like going to those grounds now? I'd love to check them all out one day, especially Victoria Park and Western Oval.

 

[jethro11]

Vic Park looks great after the redevelopment. Its sad to see the old rush stand go but it looks so much cleaner.

 

[West_Coast_Eagles]

A few things i remember from the old grounds was,

The merchandise vendors
Selling there odd stuff. Always interesting to have a look at.
The ways to sneak into local grounds. Have heard many stories.
People selling car parks on there front lawn as parking was very bad.
The non expensive food prices. Those were the days

 

[West_Coast_Eagles]

I also fogert to add.

I have a book called sporting grounds of melbourne
Written by santo caruso
That has over 40 local grounds
Vfa vfl with a write up on each and images
A fantastic read. Its somwhere in the house. Will have to find it seems we have some intrest in here!

 

[Copernicus]

Sadly, I only ever went to Moorabbin (and obviously KP) as a kid growing up in the 80s. Stood on the terrace at Moorabbin and watched the Crows get absolutely flogged in their first year in the comp, I believe. Had some family friends from Adelaide visiting, in case you were wondering why the hell a Geelong family would be there.

I would have liked to have visited Vic Park - that would have probably broadened my sheltered perspective on life

 

[Silent Alarm]

What was Vic Park actually like? Were the facilities reasonably poor, or did the (hostile) atmosphere make up for it?

 

[Stewies Power]

I also fogert to add.

I have a book called sporting grounds of melbourne
Written by santo caruso
That has over 40 local grounds
Vfa vfl with a write up on each and images
A fantastic read. Its somwhere in the house. Will have to find it seems we have some intrest in here!

Yes, you should find it and share some of the stuff in it!

A few things i remember from the old grounds was,

The merchandise vendors
Selling there odd stuff. Always interesting to have a look at.

You mean like selling merchandise that was over 5-10 years old?

The ways to sneak into local grounds. Have heard many stories.

Please share some of those stories!

People selling car parks on there front lawn as parking was very bad.

Happens with matches at AAMI every weekend. Not frowned upon though.

 

[RogersResults]

In the 'Outer' 1955: What footy fans are missing today.

Carlton

Collingwood

Essendon

Fitzroy

Footscray

Hawthorn

Richmond

Nth Melbourne

St Kilda

Sth Melbourne

The tour doesn't seem to have included Geelong and the MCG didn't have anything quite like the other grounds' outers.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

Cant remember which ground, I just remeber being grossed out going into the toilets and seeing guys pissing into the hand basin.

 

[mianfei]

What was Vic Park actually like? Were the facilities reasonably poor, or did the (hostile) atmosphere make up for it?

I did go there once, but it was un-memorable to the extreme. The facilities were poor, but the playing surface was the best outside of the MCG and Waverley. Collingwood, with the government cutbacks of the time, had no hope of upgrading the ground with the AFL's rigid controls on ticket prices - without them, they could have charged much higher prices for popular opponents in the short term (and cheaper prices for interstate opponents) which would probably have meant cheaper AFL tickets for all in the long run, but most Melburnians with an interest in football show little concern for this.

One wonders why the AFL never allowed lights to be installed at any of the suburban grounds?? It would have been very easy at Princes Park and not impossible at most of the other main suburban grounds (except perhaps the Western Oval which is very close to public streets) and whilst it would have diluted their flavour to say the very least, it would have allowed the AFL to make the game more accessible to TV than possible at Waverley and avoided the uneven competition produced by Docklands (smaller talent pool with closed roof stadium).

 

[HappyChappy35]

One wonders why the AFL never allowed lights to be installed at any of the suburban grounds?? It would have been very easy at Princes Park and not impossible at most of the other main suburban grounds (except perhaps the Western Oval which is very close to public streets) and whilst it would have diluted their flavour to say the very least, it would have allowed the AFL to make the game more accessible to TV than possible at Waverley and avoided the uneven competition produced by Docklands (smaller talent pool with closed roof stadium).

Don't think lights were ever installed at PP due to the costs involved in doing so, and the local council/residents objecting to them. I'd imagine this would have also been the case for the other suburban grounds.
I do know that about 11-12 years ago, Geelong considered purchasing the lights from Waverley for use at Kardinia Park, however this never eventuated for the same reasons as above. Until recently that is, as lights for twilight matches will be installed early next year to compliment the stage 3 redevelopment of KP.

 

[Maroon Goon]

In the 'Outer' 1955: What footy fans are missing today.

Carlton

Collingwood

Essendon

Fitzroy

Footscray

Hawthorn

Richmond

Nth Melbourne

St Kilda

Sth Melbourne

The tour doesn't seem to have included Geelong and the MCG didn't have anything quite like the other grounds' outers.

Have been to all of these grounds as a kid and late teens and adult. All except Brunswick Street Fitzroy as it was abandoned in 1966 and i was only 3 then anyway.
Funny thing is I've been travelling out there for Local Fitzroy games for about 9 -10 years now. Also lost count of How many times i went into the M C G as a kid with friends. When it had as pestos roofing and the most putrid Concrete Toilets with Terracotta Glazed urinals-WHOOO And of coarse many many games at V F L park Waverley.The outers as a kid were great as you had to step up on empty box's or old Tin cans the drunks threw on the ground. No seating in those days and Heaps of Bloody Punch ups from Very drunk supporters getting it on. You just wouldn't see it nowadays with seating everywhere and Mums and kids. To this day if i go to an A F L game i still stand all game at Etihad. Just cant break the habit.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

Punch up's were more fun in those days too, more often than not a couple of pushes and drunk swings, followed by their mates holding them back.
These day's there seems to be a "rule" that you have to give the other guy a permanant disability.

 

[mianfei]

Don't think lights were ever installed at PP due to the costs involved in doing so, and the local council/residents objecting to them. I'd imagine this would have also been the case for the other suburban grounds.

It's a pity in a sense, since Geelong undoubtedly have a quite unfair advantage from their own home ground (as do the other big clubs of Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon who have never played at Kardinia Park this century). In the early 2000s major upgrade to Princes Park were considered, but with the academic community nearby there would certainly have always been a lot of political hostility to installing lights since doing so is such a commercial venture for the sake of television rather than the general public. It was, one must be aware, politics that ensured Kardinia Park and not Princes Park was redeveloped. The fact that Kardinia Park is in a basically commercial rather than residential area is another lesson too.

I will state as a last word that if Carlton had been forward thinking enough they would have tried to have had lights installed at Princes Park in the late 1980s. However, at that time Sunday macthes, not night matches, were the craze and it was not until laws against late night trading were relaxed that the potential of night matches to attract greatly larger TV audiences than Sunday afternoon ones was realised.

 

[kennerado]

The only suburban ground I ever went to was Princess Park in 1995 for an Essendon/St Kilda match. It was the first game I went to and I remember the toilets were open air.

 

[mianfei]

The only suburban ground I ever went to was Princess Park in 1995 for an Essendon/St Kilda match. It was the first game I went to and I remember the toilets were open air.

I recall that when I went to Princes Park for the only time in 1988 for a Fitzroy versus Carlton game that was very boring - so boring I recall very little of it.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Cant remember which ground, I just remeber being grossed out going into the toilets and seeing guys pissing into the hand basin.

My old man has told me stories of lining up for ages for a piss at half time at some of the old grounds… and there’d be virtual rivers of it running past you as some of the “less fussy” blokes got halfway up the line, couldn’t / wouldn’t wait any longer and just pissed against the wall!

 

[SaintsSeptember]

My old man has told me stories of lining up for ages for a piss at half time at some of the old grounds… and there’d be virtual rivers of it running past you as some of the “less fussy” blokes got halfway up the line, couldn’t / wouldn’t wait any longer and just pissed against the wall!

The joys of BYO beer at the footy. ( the drunker you get the "less fussy" you get ...just ask Fev ).

 

[Stewies Power]

My old man has told me stories of lining up for ages for a piss at half time at some of the old grounds… and there’d be virtual rivers of it running past you as some of the “less fussy” blokes got halfway up the line, couldn’t / wouldn’t wait any longer and just pissed against the wall!

Went to a Norwood v Sturt Friday night match a few years ago, there were 9,000 odd there and at the back of the eastern wing (crammed as hell) they have the old school toilets like the suburban AFL/VFL grounds had. Wasn't pretty inside. Nothing as bad as what your old man experienced though lol.