Falcons Park | |
 Interactive map of Gippsland Sports and Entertainment Park | |
| Former names | Falcons Park Mobil Park Latrobe City Stadium North Crinigan Reserve |
|---|---|
| Location | Crinigan Road,Morwell, Victoria |
| Coordinates | 38°12′58″S146°25′41″E / 38.21611°S 146.42806°E /-38.21611; 146.42806 |
| Owner | Latrobe City Council |
| Capacity | 12,000 (1,912 Seats)[1] |
| Record attendance | 8,400[1] |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1981 |
| Renovated | 1992-94, 2025-26 |
| Architect | Don Di Fabrizio Grandstand: Gerhard Giedrojc (architect), Bill Gamble (designer) |
| Tenants | |
| Morwell Falcons/Falcons 2000 (1978−2025, 2027-) Melbourne Rising (NRC) (2015–2018) Melbourne Storm (NRL) (2003) | |
Gippsland Sports and Entertainment Park is a multi purpose sport stadium located inMorwell, Victoria,Australia.
Opened in 1981 and originally known as North Crinigan Reserve, today it is the home ground of theFalcons 2000 in theLatrobe Valley Soccer League.
Whilst the facility is primarily used forsoccer, it has also hosted one-off matches ofrugby league,[2]rugby union[3][4] andAmerican football.[5]
Colloquially known asFalcons Park orMobil Park (thanks to a long-running sponsorship withMobil Australia), the broader precinct is officially known as Gippsland Sports and Entertainment Park.
The venue is the largest rectangular stadium inVictoria outsideMelbourne.
It was previously the home ground of the defunctGippsland Falcons during their tenure in theNational Soccer League, and briefly in theVictoria Premier League.[6] TheMelbourne Rising rugby union club previously hosted a number ofNational Rugby Championship matches at the stadium.
In 1982 - the Falcons' second year at the venue after moving from Keegan Street Reserve - the ground's first Club Rooms were opened, with a covered terrace that provided room for 1000 spectators, and a function hall with seating for 600 patrons.
On March 14, 1992, with the Falcons having invested several million dollars of their own money into the development of GSEP after arriving at the venue in 1978 - taking it from bare farmland into the one of the finest sporting facilities in regional Australia -Latrobe City Council approved the sale of the precinct to the Falcons for $30,200.[7]
In 1994, the Bill Gamble-designed Don Di Fabrizio Stand was opened, bringing the total seating capacity of the stadium to 1,912. The total cost of the grandstand came in at $1.6 million - but this figure was supplemented by approximately 42,000 hours of voluntary labour and donated or reduced-cost materials.[8]
After the Falcons departed theNational Soccer League in 2001 and returned to theLatrobe Valley Soccer League, the facility moved into private ownership[9] before being acquired byLatrobe City Council in 2017 for $4.2 million.[10][11]
The facility was originally slated to hostRugby 7's at the2026 Commonwealth Games and was due to receive a major overhaul as part of the proposal to host the event, before theVictorian State Government decided to pull out of the hosting the Gammes due to unforeseen hosting costs.[12]
Despite the Government retracting its hosting commitment, they decided to press ahead with the upgrades to the facility, which are due for completion in October 2026.[13]
During the 2025-26 redevelopment, Falcons 2000 were forced to move to Keegan Street Reserve on Morwell's southern fringe - the very same facility they played at between 1974 and 1977 before moving to North Crinigan Reserve in time for the 1978 season.[14]
The stadium held a Victorian Premier League match in 2008 between theAustralian Institute of Sport andOakleigh Cannons,[15] as well as severalVictorian Women's Premier League matches during the same year.[16]
On 8 July 2010, the venue held an A-League practice match betweenMelbourne Heart andNewcastle Jets. Newcastle won the match 2–1 in front of 3,000 spectators.[17] On 13 November 2010, Falcons Park was host to theMelbourne Victory Women when they playedSydney FC Women in Round 2 of theW-League. Sydney FC beat Melbourne Victory 4–1.[18]
The venue hosted anA-League "Regional Round" clash betweenMelbourne Heart andWellington Phoenix on 4 December 2011.[19] Melbourne Heart won the match 1–0 withMate Dugandzic scoring in the 41st minute. 2,951 people attended the game.
Playing forSenior NTC in theNational Premier Leagues Victoria Women in 2017,Matildas midfielderKyra Cooney-Cross - who was aged just 15 at the time - scored a hat-trick at the venue in a 6-3 win over Southern United on May 14, 2017.[20]
| No. | Date | Teams | Sport | Competition | Crowd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1995 | Morwell Falcons v.South Melbourne | Soccer | NSL | 8,400 |
| 2 | 21 January 2011 | Melbourne Rebels v.Tonga | Rugby union | Super Rugby (trial) | 3,853 |
| 3 | 1 March 2003 | Melbourne Storm v.Canberra Raiders | Rugby league | NRL (preseason) | 3,000 |
| 4 | 7 August 2010 | Melbourne Heart v.Newcastle Jets | Soccer | A-League (preseason) | 3,000 |
| 5 | 4 December 2011 | Melbourne Heart v.Wellington Phoenix | Soccer | A-League | 2,951 |