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Melbourne set to formalise interim move to Waverley Park
Tom Morris • March 10th, 2026 7:07 pm
Melbourne Football Club is moving to Waverley Park.
The long-mooted shift, which has been in the works for several months, will be formalised as early as this week as the Demons bring all their staff under one roof again, albeit on an interim basis.
It’s understood Melbourne had initially earmarked the team’s trip to Perth to face Fremantle in Round 2 as the ideal time to pack up AAMI Park and head to Waverley, though the timeline has now been pushed to late March or early April.
The club currently trains at Gosch’s.
The move is considered a stopgap resolution ahead of a permanent shift to Caulfield Racecourse, which the club hopes is as little as three years away.
Melbourne is officially tight-lipped on the decision to transfer its football and administration departments to Hawthorn’s old home, but the decision has been made behind the scenes.
The club has repeatedly said its focus remains on reaching a resolution with a variety of stakeholders on Caulfield.
Players and staff have been expecting an announcement on Waverley since the early days of January, while the Oakleigh Chargers – who have been using the facility since the Hawks’ departure - are also expecting to be formally told in the near future.
The AFL bought Waverley last June as Hawthorn embarked on a move to Dingley.
“It’s one of the last challenges for the football club to call itself one of the premier football clubs in the competition,” Melbourne CEO Paul Guerra said on SEN’s Whateley on Tuesday.
“We are the only one who doesn’t have a home. Even Tasmania won’t start until they get their home.
“While we are really happy with what we’ve got at Casey – and it’s a great facility down there – it can’t house the whole club.
“Where we are at the MCG, we can’t house the whole club. Where we are at AAMI we can’t house the whole club.
“We don’t have our own gym at AAMI. We share with Melbourne Storm and Melbourne Victory. We don’t have our own space where the whole club can come together. Ultimately, we need an environment where football and the business side can come together.
“We are close to what we ever have been before (with Caulfield) but still not close enough to announce. But when we can, that will become the new home for Melbourne Football Club.
“We always look at alternates. Once we’ve announced Caulfield – the negotiations are at a delicate stage – we can then start to look at how long is it going to take us to move into Caulfield by the time we get approvals and then build. Then what might be available in the interim.”
