Behind in the last quarter, Carroll kicks in $55 million for AFL clubs

November 16, 2026 — 5:00am

Labor is splashing the cash on AFL clubs as election day approaches, promising $55 million to upgrade the facilities of three teams should it be returned to power.

This masthead can reveal Premier Ben Carroll is throwing his support behind redeveloping St Kilda’s RSEA Park headquarters in Moorabbin, North Melbourne’s Arden Street home and Essendon’s Windy Hill site.

North Melbourne – Carroll’s team – would receive the largest investment, with $25 million earmarked for upgrades to community infrastructure. Sources close to the negotiations, speaking on the condition of anonymity, have told this masthead this would include improvements to spectator amenities for AFLW games and additional car parking. Players and staff are currently required to move their cars throughout the day.

The footprint of the Kangaroos’ Arden Street home is among the smallest of all AFL club bases, so with a green space zone recently earmarked for an area at the back of the ground, expansion is probably also on the wish list.

The Saints would get $20 million to build an indoor training facility for their AFL and VFL men’s and women’s teams, as well as local blind and wheelchair football teams. There would also be a new four-court basketball centre, office space for the McKinnon Basketball Association and a potential cafe. A one or two-storey public car park, estimated to fit about 500 cars, is also part of the plan.

A St Kilda spokesperson said the club’s vision was for RSEA Park to become the primary community sport and recreation hub in Melbourne’s south.

The final $10 million would go to the first stage of a “precinct-wide redevelopment” of Essendon’s Windy Hill, which the club has been pushing to become one of four dedicated venues for women’s football, as the AFLW seeks to reduce the number of match venues from more than 20.

“Only Labor will make sure there are great venues for AFLW fans and great facilities for the local communities that surround them,” Carroll said.

The government expects the Windy Hill project would double the ground’s capacity to at least 10,000 by 2029. There would be new broadcast lighting, upgraded video boards and “enhanced match-day facilities”.

An AFL insider, not permitted to speak publicly, said the total cost of the project would probably be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. St Kilda’s development proposal has been costed at more than $60 million. This masthead has not been able to confirm an estimated price tag for North Melbourne’s plans. The clubs are expected to seek additional funding from other levels of government.

Two sources told this masthead that the projects also reflected the AFL’s top three funding priorities. The AFL has not confirmed this.

Other clubs not on the AFL’s rumoured wish list have struggled to gain traction with their pet projects. Geelong have been chasing money for an indoor football centre, while the Demons have sunk significant time and funding into getting plans for a base at Caulfield Racecourse over the line with the state government.

Both football and racing insiders have told this masthead that bid is dead in the water, and the club has confirmed it is looking at alternatives.

But the club most disappointed to be left off the AFL’s priority list, according to one insider close to Labor’s negotiations, is Hawthorn.

The Hawks have been seeking a funding commitment for a similar project in the same local government area as St Kilda – the City of Kingston – also featuring an indoor basketball centre with at least four courts.

Hawthorn’s plan includes an allied health centre – one of many avenues clubs have been looking at to diversify their revenue streams as they transition away from poker machines.

Several sources said the general understanding was that only one project could get up – Hawthorn’s or St Kilda’s – as both required funding and support from the same council.

One source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the Hawks had been pushing to secure a commitment from Kingston as a means of circumventing the AFL’s priority list and forcing the state government’s hand.

Two people present at the council’s October meeting said Hawthorn had sent more than 20 staff members to sit in the audience. A council insider and a member of the basketball community – both of whom wished to remain anonymous due to how divisive the issue had become – said the Hawks had also called around basketball clubs in the lead-up to the meeting to ask them to attend and advocate in their favour.

Several councillors have reported receiving numerous calls from the club to discuss the project. One described it to this masthead as “very forthright, almost to an inappropriate level”.

The motion to commit conditional funding for Hawthorn’s project has divided the council and been deferred twice. It is expected to return for consideration later this month.

Kingston’s new mayor, Tony Athanasopoulos, said the council would explore all options to deliver “much-needed” indoor sporting facilities for local communities, including opportunities at Hawthorn’s and St Kilda’s bases.

A Hawthorn spokesperson said the club had “advocated passionately and appropriately” for the indoor multisport project for years, and a request for planning approval and a business case were before the council.

St Kilda said its proposal had been developed in consultation with Kingston, though it had yet to submit a request for planning approval to the council. While this is something a few councillors have expressed concerns about, one told this masthead they felt St Kilda’s proposal was a safer bet because it was on council-owned land, had a stronger focus on community benefits and had appeared closest to securing a state-level funding commitment.

They also highlighted the risks associated with funding the construction of an asset on non-council-owned land at Dingley Village. Hawthorn is the only AFL club that owns its own facility and the land it sits on. The proposal would mean the council renting, managing and maintaining the facility on a 50-year lease.

From an election perspective, Dingley Village is in the safe Labor seat of Clarinda, while St Kilda operates out of the more competitive electorate of Bentleigh.

The local, state and federal governments recently gave a combined $35 million for Hawthorn’s new home. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, a lifelong Hawks fan, and then-premier Jacinta Allan attended the opening late last year.

The Liberals have not indicated whether they will make any election commitments to AFL clubs. A Kingston Council insider said they had looked at Hawthorn’s and St Kilda’s projects but were put off by how messy council negotiations had become.

Jake Keogh, Basketball Victoria’s general manager of facilities and government relations, said he was pleased to see a new basketball facility moving forward in Kingston, where he said demand for courts had exceeded supply for years. He said investment in community sporting infrastructure should be the priority for future governments.

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