North Melbourne’s deal to play AFL home games in Western Australia confirmed

North Melbourne has confirmed its move to sell home games to Western Australia, but as it turns out, WA wasn’t the only option on their wish list.

North Melbourne spoke with regional Victoria, several states and even different countries before settling on Western Australia as its new interstate base for 2025 and beyond.

The Kangaroos will take on West Coast at Hands Oval in Bunbury in round 13 next season and Fremantle at Perth Stadium the following weekend as part of a new $2.5 million, three-year arrangement to play home games in Western Australia. It’ll be North Melbourne’s only trip to WA next year.

The club will play its two final AFL home matches in Tasmania in 2025 - down from four games this year - as well as two AFLW home games in the final year of the current deal.

While North Melbourne chief executive Jennifer Watt wouldn’t say what overseas countries the Kangaroos inquired with, she said that WA’s pitch was too good to resist.

“For us, Western Australia was a clear standout in terms of what it can deliver our club – reduced overall travel, a terrific financial model for us and two games eventually back to our Melbourne heartland,” Watt said.

North Melbourne will play at Bunbury's Hands Oval

“As soon as we found out about the 19th license, it was clear to us that we needed to plan for a post-Tasmania future. Playing interstate games has been part of our DNA for decades now.

“There’s a very smart young man at the AFL who manages the AFL fixture called Josh Bowler. He said that WA is a terrific option but I’d also look at the South West and that was the seed of the idea that got us really meaningfully exploring this dual option.

“We looked far and wide. We spoke to a number of governments, regional Victoria, other states, and even other countries about what that could look like for us. As soon as we started exploring WA and the terrific model that exists here, it became really clear that this was the answer for us.”

North Melbourne’s largest non-Victorian supporter base resides in Perth, with 10,000 Kangaroos fans expected to attend both games. The WA government also projects that at least 1000 interstate fans will make the trip west with direct flights now available between Melbourne and Busselton.

North Melbourne also says the new deal as part of its Tasmanian exit strategy will ensure its long-term future at Arden Street with fully funded football departments and talent identification programs.

North Melbourne’s AFL team will completely exit Tasmania at the end of 2025, which means Melbourne-based Kangaroos fans will have two extra home games at Marvel Stadium from 2026.

“We feel like partly our journey there has paved the way for that state to have its own team,” Watt said. “It’s a very grateful departure from Tasmania.”

The club has secured its post-Tasmania future, having finalised an agreement to play two home matches in Western Australia from 2025.#Kangas

— North Melbourne FC (@NMFCOfficial) November 12, 2024

North Melbourne insisted the new deal won’t impact on the club’s pursuit of future success, saying coach Alastair Clarkson had plenty of experience of playing in a secondary market.

“We want to contend for silverware,” Watt said. “If you want to be right up there, you need to be able to win anyway.

“We have no fears about travelling. We want to be a team known for winning anytime, anywhere.”

Both Fremantle and West Coast are fully supportive of the deal after both clubs advocated for more home games as part of the AFL’s competitive balance review.

“We’ve been open in our advocacy of that,” Dockers chief executive Simon Garlick said. “There is a significant disparity from a travel perspective. This assists that process.

“You combine this with the Indigenous All-Stars on February 15 and I think there’s a little nod of recognition from the AFL to a state that has as much footy history and heritage as any in the country.”

North Melbourne has sold two home games to Western Australia.

Added Eagles chief executive Don Pyke: “We’re really excited about the opportunity to go and play down at Hands Oval. The locals are pumped about the opportunity. We’ll need to see how many we can fit in there.”

It’s expected that the capacity for the Bunbury game will sit between 10,000-15,000.

The WA government has committed $20 million to upgrade Hands Oval and an additional $5.7 million to import additional infrastructure like seating, a second scoreboard, lighting and broadcast facilities for North’s clash with West Coast.

“Bunbury will be beamed across the nation,” Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti said. “We want to see as many (fans come across from Melbourne) as we can.

“Our return on investment is very strong because people won’t be staying the normal two or three days. They’ll be staying 10 days.”

Originally published as North Melbourne’s deal to play AFL home games in Western Australia confirmed