The ongoing development of the Windy Hill precinct has received a significant boost after it announced key upgrades to its spiritual home in Essendon.
The club confirmed it would be proceeding with the project to enhance its spiritual home in the immediate future, benefitting a variety of the club’s football programs and the local community generally.
The project will see the venue have its first major renovation in more than 20 years and will be completed in the next two years.
Improved home and opposition changerooms, umpire facilities, crowd amenities and spectator safety will be at the forefront for the project, continuing Essendon’s push to establish Windy Hill as a premium AFLW destination, an industry and community asset.
Essendon chief executive Craig Vozzo underlined the importance of the investment as an industry and community asset.
“Windy Hill is such a huge part of our club’s history, but it also holds a special place in the hearts, minds and memories of the local community and wider football industry,” he said.
“This is a commitment by the club and the AFL in developing these facilities to support the success of our AFLW team, as well as deliver a facility that actively promotes and provides an important opportunity for the fans and the broader community to engage with our game.
“Our ambition is for Windy Hill to become a premium venue for Australian rules football in Victoria and this investment will allow us to address urgent match-day needs but also start our vision towards a masterplan for the precinct.
“Windy Hill means a lot to people, and it’s got great scope to continue to grow as an AFLW venue and an industry venue. We are excited and committed to working with the other stakeholders to commence this process to achieve this vision.”
With the Bombers’ VFL, VFLW and AFLW sides all mainstays at Windy Hill in-season, the project offers the opportunity to bolster and facilitate the club’s programs at both the elite and state level.
Essendon District Football League headquarters are based at Windy Hill and the league play several finals at the ground each year, while it is also used for umpire training.
Windy Hill currently holds the highest average attendance of all AFLW grounds in Victoria this season and hosted nearly 10,000 people across three EDFL grand final days.
