Princes Park

August 13th, 2004 | No Comments

Carlton plans to leave Princes Park and play all its home games at the MCG and Docklands. I can understand the commercial logic, but I think it’s sad for football.

Princes Park was my favorite ground, having a certain intimacy and great atmosphere. I saw most of Fitzroy’s home games there in 1991 when I lived in Melbourne.

My best memories of Princes Park are Fitzroy victories against Geelong and North Melbourne in 1991, beating Collingwood in 1992 and a surprise win against Essendon in 1994.

The other suburban grounds I saw games at were Windy Hill, Western Oval and Victoria Park. Carlton’s ground was by far the best.

Football today is a sanitised corporate sport. I never used to mind standing on the terraces. The soul of the game has been lost and it can never be recovered.

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