Chirnside Park (also known as Avalon Airport Oval due to

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...

) is an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

ground in

Werribee, Victoria Werribee is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the local government area of the City of Wyndham. Werribee recorded a population of 50,027 at the 2021 census. Werribe ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, located between Watton Street and the

Werribee River The Werribee River is a perennial river of the Port Phillip catchment that is located on the expansive lowland plain southwest of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The headwaters of a tributary, the Lerderderg River, are north of Ballan near ...

. Chirnside Park is the home ground of

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

team

Werribee Tigers The Werribee Football Club, nicknamed the Tigers, is an Australian rules football club based in the suburb of Werribee. The club was formed in 1964 and currently plays in the Victorian Football League (VFL). It is the western-most Melbourne-base ...

who have played at the ground since their inception in 1965. For the 2011 VFL season,

Williamstown Football Club The Williamstown Football Club, nicknamed the Seagulls, is an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Williamstown, Victoria, Williamstown. The club currently competes in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and VFL Wome ...

played the majority of its home games at Chirnside Park while the

Williamstown Cricket Ground The Williamstown Cricket Ground (WCG), currently known by its sponsored name DSV Stadium, and also informally as Point Gellibrand Oval, is a football and cricket stadium located in Williamstown, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne. The ground is loc ...

was being redeveloped.

Western Region Football League The Western Football Netball League (WFNL) is a semi-professional Australian rules football and netball league, based in the western suburbs of Melbourne. History The league was formed in 1931 as the Footscray District Football League (FDFL). ...

first division finals have been played at the venue since 2011. Chirnside Park has a main social club building on the wing with terracing for spectators. A small wooden grandstand, believed to date to the 1910s or 1920s, is situated in the forward pocket next to it. Floodlights were recently installed at the ground, and night matches have been played there since 2011. In February 1967 the Polish Sports Festival held its first event at the venue, with spectator numbers reaching 3,000. It was such a success that it caused the Polish community to call Chirnside Park home for its sports festivals for the next nine years, until 1976. The total capacity is around the 10,000-mark. In 1982, an estimated 10,000 spectators saw Werribee's first ever match against VFA powerhouse

Port Melbourne Port Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of the Melbourne central business district, located within the Cities of City of Melbourne, Melbourne and City of Port Phillip, Port Phillip Local government ...

, which Werribee won by one point. The wider Chirnside Park area, outside the fenced football ground, also contains tennis courts, a public swimming pool, and the Werribee Bowling Club.

References

External links

* {{AFL Women's Victorian Football League grounds Sports venues in Melbourne Sport in the City of Wyndham Werribee, Victoria AFL Women's grounds Buildings and structures in the City of Wyndham