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Lets face it: all eyes are on the MCG right now, with Victoria’s biggest stadium playing host to Australia's first official regular season NFL game on this very day. But over in the east, another of Melbourne’s most historic games grounds is set for a major revamp, with plans to breathe new life into Glenferrie Oval and its heritage-listed Michael Tuck Stand.
The City of Boroondara’s vision for the Hawthorn precinct is to transform the ageing grandstand into a more welcoming community hub, combining sporting facilities with spaces for arts, culture, local history and community groups. The project forms part of a broader Glenferrie Oval precinct revitalisation, which also includes the demolition of the Ferguson Stand and the creation of new public open space on its former site.
For context, the Michael Tuck Stand has a serious sporting pedigree. Built in 1938 as the flagship facility for the Hawthorn Football Club, the club played at Glenferrie Oval from 1903 to 1973 and continued to use the site as its administrative and training base until 2006. The Moderne-style grandstand is now listed on the Victorian Heritage Register and is considered historically significant for its connection to the development of Australian Rules Football in Victoria. But these days, the building is largely sitting on the sidelines. It has deteriorated over time and currently has health, safety and building compliance issues that prevent community groups and sporting clubs from using the space. The proposed revitalisation would retain the grandstand and its seating while upgrading the building around its heritage constraints.
So what can we expect? According to the City of Boroondara, the renewed facility would include four player amenities and change rooms, a kitchen, social spaces, umpire and first-aid rooms, plus a public toilet. There would also be a 286sqm multipurpose community area, including space for band rehearsals, and 254sqm of shared community and partnership space (earmarked for exhibitions and other community events).
Based on the proposal, women and girls’ sport will play a central role to the new space. The project identifies Australian Rules Football, particularly women’s football, and junior cricket as the best fit for the oval, with research showing female participation in Australian Rules increased by 105 per cent between 2017 and 2022. The oval itself would also get some TLC – including improvements to drainage, irrigation, fencing, coaches’ boxes, lighting and turf, as well as a synthetic cricket wicket.
The project is proposed to happen in three stages, beginning with structural works and ground-level sporting facilities before moving on to the shared community and partnership spaces. Council has allocated $27.631 million towards the revitalisation, although the project is still at the pre-design phase and the final cost is yet to be determined.
You can learn more about what’s in the works for this historic sports precinct over here.
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