Lathlain Park (also known as Mineral Resources Park under ground sponsorship arrangements) 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 oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

ground, located in Lathlain, an inner-eastern suburb of

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. Since its opening in 1959, it has been the home ground for the

Perth Football Club The Perth Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is an Australian rules football club based in Lathlain, Western Australia, currently playing in the West Australian Football League (WAFL). Representing the south-east area of the Perth metropo ...

of the

West Australian Football League The West Australian Football League (WAFL) is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting from March to September, ...

(WAFL). Since 2019 it has been the administrative and training headquarters of professional

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

(AFL) club the

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Football ...

Naming rights

The venue was known as Lathlain Park until 2003 when the naming rights were sold to

Eftel Eftel Limited is an internet service provider and telecommunications provider in Australia, with approximately 120,000 active accounts. It was established in 1999. Eftel offers a range of services including: DSL and dial-up Internet access, web ...

, an internet company, for a period of five years or more. In 2011, Eftel decided not to renew their contract, which gave Western Australian dairy company Brownes the naming rights of Lathlain Park, and so for the next three years its sponsored name was Brownes Stadium. In 2019, the naming rights were sold

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

company

Mineral Resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. O ...

for an undisclosed amount, as AFL club the

moved to the ground permanently for training and administration.

History

The oval is primarily used for

and has been the home ground of in the

(WAFL) since 1959 (with the exception of 1987 and 1988 when they played home matches at the

WACA Ground The WACA (formally the WACA Ground) is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. The stadium's name derives from the initials of its owners and operators, the Western Australian Cricket Association. The WACA has been referred to as Wester ...

). The ground record attendance of 19,541 people was set in round 6 of the 1967 WANFL season for the rematch of the 1966 Grand Final between Perth and

East Perth East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sunrise, Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from ...

. The redevelopment of the ground to cater for the West Coast Eagles reduced the capacity from 15,000 to 6,500 patrons. Lathlain Park was also used by the Sunday Football League (SFL) for Australian football as the headquarters for their league and as a home ground for South Perth Raiders in the SFL. The ground has also occasionally been used for

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

matches. On 17 February

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

, the ground hosted an

Amco Cup The Amco Cup (subsequently known by various other sponsors' names including the Tooth Cup, KB Cup, National Panasonic Cup and Panasonic Cup) was a mid-week rugby league competition held in Australia between 1974 and 1989. The format was usual ...

game between

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

and the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

, the locals winning 23-18. The next time the ground was used for rugby league was 10 years later when two matches of the

1987 National Panasonic Cup The 1987 National Panasonic Cup was the 14th edition of the Amco Cup, NSWRL Midweek Cup, a New South Wales Rugby League, NSWRL-organised national club Rugby League tournament between the leading clubs from the New South Wales Rugby League, NSWRL ...

were held there. Western Australia defeated

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

18-16 on 5 April, before following that a week later with a 28-10 win against

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. In 1999, the ground hosted its only rugby league premiership match, with

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

defeating Wests 64-6. In September 2013

(AFL) team

entered into a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with the Town of

Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...

to develop a new home for the club at Lathlain Park with plans to build a $50 million state-of-the-art headquarters, one of the premier sporting club facilities in Australia. The eventual cost of the completed project ended up being $60 million. construction began on the main building in 2017. The Eagles began moving their training and administration base from the

Subiaco Oval Subiaco Oval (; nicknamed Subi) was a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia, located in the suburb of Subiaco. It was opened in 1908 and closed in 2017 after the completion of the new Perth Stadium in Burswood. Subiaco Oval was the high ...

, where it had been based since 1987, into the new upgraded facility at Lathlain Park in 2019. The upgraded facility features two ovals, one the size of the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...

and the other the size of

Perth Stadium Perth Stadium, currently known as Optus Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in A ...

(the home ground of the Eagles), a running track, indoor training field, a gymnasium, swimming and recovery pools, elite medical and function facilities, a West Coast Eagles Football Club museum, public cafe and administrative offices. The facility also houses the Waalitj Foundation. The Perth Football Club continue to play home matches at the venue.

References

External links

* {{NRL Grounds West Australian Football League grounds Sports venues in Perth, Western Australia Rugby league stadiums in Australia Perth Football Club

Naming rights

History

See also

References

External links