Carlton is planning a $50 million redevelopment of Ikon Park to make it the home of AFLW

CARLTON’S grand vision for Ikon Park is an ambitious $50 million stadium revamp that makes it the home of women’s football and host JLT Series matches.

CARLTON’S grand vision for Ikon Park is a $50 million stadium revamp that makes it the home of women’s football.

The ambitious redevelopment would see the 22,000-seat stadium transformed with elite women’s facilities and retractable light towers.

The Blues are one of several Victorian clubs awaiting state government budget requests, with the AFL keen for $300 million to revamp Etihad Stadium.

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The Herald Sun can reveal under the Carlton development the Pratt Stand would be knocked down.

The 109-year-old Gardiner Stand would be preserved given its heritage listing and historical significance.

Ikon Park would house facilities for the AFLW and VFLW teams and allied health facilities.

Ikon Park’s lighting has been a bone of contention.

The 21-year-old Legends Stand would remain to ensure the ground was ideal for AFLW and JLT games.

Many Blues fans would love to play smaller-drawing AFL opponents at the venue but even Etihad clashes against Gold Coast and GWS exceeded the 22,000-seat capacity last year.

Carlton chief executive Cain Liddle told the Herald Sun ahead of Saturday’s AFLW Grand Final at the venue that the Blues had ambitious plans.

“We want to pitch this as the home of the AFLW, where the Grand Finals should be played and big games should be played,” he said.

“We are just on the fringes of the city, we are right on the gateway to the northern corridor which is a really strong female football corridor.

“We will need to invest in this but we want to try to address our facilities as well which nowadays can become outdated pretty quickly.

“We would hope we can get started on something like this 18 months or two years down the track. It’s not a 10-year pipe dream, it’s something we want to get cracking on.”

The AFL has a $300m plan for 54,000-seat Etihad Stadium that would open the stadium out onto Harbour Esplanade and include a sprawling waterfront entertainment zone.

Claudia Whitfort and Jess Hosking race for the ball at Ikon Park.

Turning Ikon into the home of AFLW grand finals in Melbourne would perfectly complement that redevelopment.

“The beauty of Ikon Park is we have the perfect model from an AFLW perspective,” Liddle said.

“You throw 22,000 fans into this stadium and you can really generate a great atmosphere.

“We are really respectful of the local residents so we are not advocating six big pillars are put up for light towers, we are working on retractable light tower solutions and modern technology allows for that.”

The Blues are one of several clubs set to ask for state government funds as they consider infrastructure projects.

But given the state government is determined to boost facilities for female footballers in Victoria the Blues will be in a strong position.

The AFL is also determined to provide worthy facilities for the women’s brand given the amazing explosion in interest since the competition was launched last year.

Originally published as Carlton is planning a $50 million redevelopment of Ikon Park to make it the home of AFLW