Moorabbin Oval

Moorabbin Oval
Linen House Oval
St Kilda Football Club take part in a training drill in front of the G. G. Huggins Stand and social club facilities at Moorabbin Oval prior to the 2009 AFL Grand Final
Former names	Moorabbin Oval
Location	32-60 Linton Street, Moorabbin, Victoria
Coordinates	37°56′15″S 145°02′38″E / 37.9375°S 145.0439°E / -37.9375; 145.0439Coordinates: 37°56′15″S 145°02′38″E / 37.9375°S 145.0439°E / -37.9375; 145.0439
Opened	1952
Operator	St Kilda Football Club Ltd
Surface	Grass
Tenants
St Kilda Football Club (1965-) VFL/AFL (1965-1992). Melbourne Reds, ABL (1994-1999).

Moorabbin Oval, also known by its sponsorship name of Linen House Oval, is an Australian Rules Football ground in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia at Linton Street in the suburb of Moorabbin.

The ground was most notable as the home of the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League, serving as its home ground for VFL/AFL matches from 1965 until 1992, and as its primary training and administrative base from 1965 until 2010.

History

In 1951, the growing City of Moorabbin committed to developing a fenced football venue which was up to Victorian Football Association standards to be used by the Moorabbin Football Club. The strong club had been admitted from the Federal District League to the VFA in 1951, and its continued admission was contingent on the council developing Moorabbin Oval for its use.^[2] The venue became one of the highest quality venues in the Association, and was noted for having the largest playing surface in the Association, similar in size to the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Starting from 1960, the Moorabbin Council worked actively to bring VFL football to the venue. After it was found that the VFL was unlikely to admit the Moorabbin Football Club as a new team,^[3] the council began negotiating for existing VFL clubs, many of which were dissatisfied with their home grounds at the time, to move to Moorabbin. In 1963, both Richmond and Fitzroy were approached,^[4] and then in early 1964, the council came to an agreement with the St Kilda Football Club. St Kilda relocated its training, playing and administrative base from the St Kilda Cricket Ground to Moorabbin Oval at the end of the 1964 season.^[5] The council invested a further £100,000 to bring the venue to VFL standards and expand its capacity to 50,000, and the St Kilda Football Club leased the venue for a 75-year deal for an initial rent of £5,000 per year, under which it served as ground manager, and committed to invest £120,000 in establishing a licensed social club and to invest £375,000 for ground improvements over the first 45 years of the lease.^[6] The Moorabbin Football Club, then the defending VFA premiers, supported the move and attempted an amalgamation with St Kilda, actions which resulted in its suspension from the VFA.^[7] A new grandstand was finished before the 1965 VFL season.

St Kilda Football Club

St Kilda Football Club's move to Moorabbin Oval was seen as highly successful. In its first season at the new ground the club played in front of capacity crowds. The Saints' first ever home game at Moorabbin attracted a record crowd of 51,370 against Collingwood in Round 1, 1965, a record that was never broken. When it was first used, Moorabbin Oval was the third largest ground by capacity in metropolitan Melbourne after the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Princes Park Football Ground; it was relegated to fourth place following the opening of VFL Park in 1970.

St Kilda ceased playing home games at Moorabbin Oval after 1992 and began playing home fixtures at Waverley Park. The final AFL match for premiership points was in Round 20, 1992 against Fitzroy.

The St Kilda Football Club played 254 matches for premiership points at Moorabbin Oval between 1965 and 1992, with an average attendance of 21,232.

After home games ceased being played at Moorabbin Oval, the club maintained its training and administrative base at the ground. The ground was extensively renovated to provide training, administration and entertainment facilities within the Huggins Stand and a heritage museum. Moorabbin Oval remains the club's training, administration and entertainment base. The G.G. Huggins Stand has three internal floors that contain player rooms, a fully equipped player gymnasium, football department meeting rooms, administration offices, a membership department, gaming room and bar, the Trevor Barker Room (a function room with a bar), club shop, trophy and memorabilia display areas and other facilities.

In 2007, the relationship between the club and the City of Kingston deteriorated, and St Kilda announced that it would move its primary administrative and training base away from Moorabbin, despite still having 33 years remaining on its lease. A new facility was built at Belvedere Park in Seaford, approximately 21 kilometers south of Moorabbin; the development was a St Kilda Football Club development in conjunction with the Frankston City Council, the State Government Of Victoria and the AFL. St Kilda moved to the Seaford base after the 2010 season;^[8] but, the club still rents Moorabbin Oval under its original lease, and uses it as a retail, museum and entertainment venue, and occasional training venue.^[9]

Melbourne Reds

Moorabbin Oval was the home of the Melbourne Reds in the former Australian Baseball League from 1994 to 1999.

VFL/AFL Records

An estimated crowd of 10,000^[1] packed into Moorabbin Oval to watch St Kilda Football Club train prior to the 2009 AFL Grand Final

• Highest attendance: 51,370 - St Kilda Football Club vs Collingwood - 1965
• Highest winning margin: 140 points - Carlton Blues vs St Kilda - 1985
• Most goals: 323 - Tony Lockett St Kilda Football Club - 1983 to 1992
• Most goals in a game: 15 - Tony Lockett St Kilda Football Club vs Sydney - 1992
• Most games at Moorabbin: 128 - Barry Breen - 1965 to 1982
• Highest Score: 26.20 (176) - Sydney Swans vs St Kilda - 1985
• Best Defensive Score: St Kilda Football Club kept Geelong Cats to 3.3 (21) - 1971

Grandstands

• G. G. Huggins Stand (1965 – present)

Naming rights

• Linen House Oval (2007–present)^[10]

In popular culture

An abandoned Moorabbin Oval was the site of a police targeting sniper in Season 1 Episode 3 of the Melbourne-based police drama Rush.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Moorabin Oval.

• Scoring records
• Attendance records
• Moorabbin Oval at Austadiums