Arden Street has been the home of North Melbourne for more than 130 years, well before the club entered the VFL/AFL competition.
It all started in 1882, when the Hotham Football Club – as North was known at the time – moved there.
The first game of football ever played at the ground was shortly after the club’s move. On April 29, 1882, Hotham defeated Royal Park.
In the early days of Arden St, both the football and cricket clubs were forced to share the ground.
It was hardly a peaceful partnership, with both clubs ending up in court during the late 1890’s after a dispute over the use of a cricket pavilion by a visiting football team.
Nevertheless, the football side of operations continued in the VFA, and soon after the ground’s first ever grandstand was built in 1906.
Early in the 1920’s, ownership of the ground was shifted to the football and cricket clubs.
Improvements started immediately, and North’s admittance into the VFL in 1925 came when support for the club was at its highest level.
Construction of the main grandstand happened in 1928 and it was at this time where the ground’s name changed from ‘North Melbourne Recreation Reserve’ to ‘Arden Street’.
In the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, the Melbourne Greyhound Racing Association used Arden Street as the venue for its Greyhound meetings. The Greyhound races led to the building of the betting ring, which was a concreted area behind the main grandstand.
The 1960’s saw an unexpected move by North, as it departed from Arden Street for Coburg City Oval.
It was intended to be a permanent move, and the initial negotiations were for a long-term lease of 40 years.
However, after running into complications after the move, it was cancelled after just eight months.
North immediately returned to Arden Street in 1966, and the club’s return was marked by construction of a new administration building and a Social Club.
The golden era of the 1970s was on the horizon.
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