North Melbourne is bedding down at Arden St with construction of stage one of its facility upgrade kicking off this week.

Work to provide the club with new AFLW and VFL facilities including change rooms, lockers, a sauna and a players lounge has begun thanks to the generosity of supporters who donated $1.3 million in just 24-hours.   

Additional construction works include oval lighting, a new scoreboard, interchange benches, coaches boxes and a media tower, which will allow the club to host AFLW and VFL games at Arden St. 

North managing director & CEO Carl Dilena said it’s exciting to see the redevelopment begin.

“It’s a very exciting time for the club as we transition from one to four teams,” Dilena said.

“The redevelopment will ensure we have first class facilities for all of our teams, while also entrenching ourselves in our inner-city location.  This stage of the project will involve an investment of $6 million in upgrading our facilities. ”

Internal building works are set for completion by Christmas, with external works to be completed by April 2019.

The club is also looking to pursue stage two of the project (approximately $4 to $5 million), comprising a two-storey extension at the end of the existing building, in due course.  This second stage will require government and third party support, with discussions continuing.