| Windy Hill | |
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| Former names | Essendon Cricket Ground |
| Location | Napier St, Essendon, Victoria |
| Coordinates | 37°45′7″S 144°55′11″E / 37.75194°S 144.91972°ECoordinates: 37°45′7″S 144°55′11″E / 37.75194°S 144.91972°E |
| Opened | 1881 |
| Closed | 1991 (for AFL matches) |
| Surface | Grass |
| Capacity | 15,000 |
| Tenants | |
| Essendon Football Club (admin + training) (VFL/AFL) Essendon Cricket Club Essendon District Football League Bendigo Bombers (VFL) |
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Windy Hill (officially known as Essendon Recreation Reserve) is an Australian rules football ground located in Essendon, a northwestern suburb of the Melbourne metropolitan area.
Windy Hill is the home base of the Essendon Football Club, one of the 16 teams that makes up the Australian Football League. The phrase 'Windy Hill' is therefore often used to refer to the club itself. The club first played its home games there in 1922, having previously used the East Melbourne Cricket Ground, and used it continuously until 1991, after which it moved to the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Their current home ground is Etihad Stadium, located at the Melbourne Docklands, which they moved to in 2000.
Windy Hill is located on Napier Street, and is now primarily the team's training facility and administrative headquarters as well as the home to the Essendon Cricket Club. The ground also hosts the Grand Finals of the Essendon District Football League senior divisions. Over time a few of the stands and the manual scoreboard were demolished. Facilities include a gymnasium, an indoor swimming pool and lawn bowls/croquet club which is open to the public, as well as a bistro and the now famous Bomber Shop where fans can purchase merchandise.
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Stands
Current
R.S. Reynolds Stand
Built when Essendon relocated from the old EMCG. Remained unnamed until 1950, when it was named in honour of Essendon's greatest player, "King" Dick Reynolds.
Alan T. Hird Stand
Opened in 1973, it houses the clubs Social Club. Named after former club president and player Alan Hird, who was also the grandfather of club legend James Hird
W.H. Cookson Stand
Originally named the Memorial Stand, it was built in 1963. Was designed by Essendon player Jack Clarke.
Former
W.R. Crichton Shelter
Located in the outer, it was mainly a standing room only stand, with limited seats at the front. It was removed to make way for the Essendon Bowls Club, who had lost their greens with the construction of the leisure centre. Removed approximately 1994.
A.F. Showers Pavilion
The ground included a significant heritage stand, the A.F Showers Stand. Built in 1939, it was the last major football stand to be built in Melbourne prior to World War II. After spending many years closed to the general public due to safety concerns, the Showers Stand has now been demolished, making way for more open space at the ground. Removal of the stand was conducted in late 2007.
W.G. Brew Scoreboard
Located in the school end pocket, behind the croquet club. Was removed in the late 90's/early 00's along with the reminder of the outer and hill, which were reduced to about fence level around the school end of the ground.
Other
There was also a small open concrete stand located next to the Cookson Stand. This was removed to make way for a car park. It housed the main camera position for television broadcast.
Playing Days
During the days as Essendon's home ground, Windy Hill had the reputation of being a violent place for players, and was the site of several ugly incidents. The most famous of these was The Battle Of Windy Hill, when a huge fight broke out between Essendon and Richmond players and officials at half time during a match in 1974. Another famous incident is when the Hawthorn player Leigh Matthews broke the behind post after running into it during play.
The record attendance for the venue was set in 1966, when Essendon played Collingwood in front of 43,487 spectators.
The playing field dimensions are 164.5 m long (180 yards) and 139.8 m across (153 yards).
See also
External links
- Windy Hill at Austadiums
- History of Windy Hill (Essendon Recreation Reserve)
- The 1974 Windy Hill Brawl
- "Around the Grounds" - Web Documentary - Windy Hill
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