Administration & Training (1883–present) VFA (1886–1924) VFL/AFL (1925–1997)[a] VFL (2014–present) VFLW (2016–present) AFLW (2017–present) Footscray Cricket Club (VPC) (1883–1996) Footscray JUST (National Soccer League) (1980) Yarraville Football Club (VFA) (1983) Brunswick United (National Soccer League) (1993-1994) Fitzroy Football Club (AFL) (1994–1996) Western United FC (A-League Men) (2020) Whitten Oval (also known as Mission Whitten Oval under a naming rights agreement[2]) is a stadium in the inner-western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in Barkly Street, West Footscray.

The club had to turn the gardens into a football field, building a railing system to surround the playing and dragging the pavilion from the Barkly Street end to the other.

[6] In 1955, the ground record attendance was set for the oval when 42,354 turned out on 9 July to see then-defending premiers Footscray defeat Collingwood by six points in Round 12, 1955.

After the appointment of Campbell Rose as Chief Executive of the football club in 2002, discussions commenced on a redevelopment of Whitten Oval.

[26] In 2014, the ground started hosting home matches for the Western Bulldogs men's reserves team, known as Footscray, which competes in the Victorian Football League.

In May 2019 the Western Bulldogs unveiled a $150 million redevelopment plan to upgrade spectator facilities at Whitten Oval.

The proposal would boost the capacity to 18,000 and result in the reconstruction of the EJ Whitten Stand, add seating around the ground, install permanent broadcast-quality lighting, and construct an indoor training field and convention centre.

[28] The following year the club confirmed that $58 million would be spent to proceed with the EJ Whitten Stand reconstruction and permanent lighting, as well as the re-size the oval, install terracing on the eastern and southern side of the ground and make other alterations.

[30][31] In mid-2022 the club confirmed that construction would soon proceed over an 18-month period and include the rebuilding of the Whitten Grandstand, construction of a high-performance centre and indoor sports field, realignment of the oval surface, improvement in spectator amenities, and facilities for the club's foundation and women's health programs.

The football department was relocated to the Barkly Street end of the ground, which incorporates a 1800 square-metre indoor training field, large gymnasium, a heat chamber, a 15-person sauna, and cold and hot pools.

[34][35] In February 2024, Mission Foods, a long-term partner of the Bulldogs, was announced as the new naming rights sponsor of Whitten Oval.

[2] During its VFL/AFL playing days, Whitten Oval was known for being particularly long and narrow with deep squarish pockets, and for the wild wind which often bellowed over the ground, particularly at the Geelong Road end.

It also headquarters the WMR (Western Metropolitan Region) division of DEECD, which oversees all government schools in Melbourne's West.

Other local groups have utilised the facility on numerous occasions, including the Rec Footy competition and the Bulldogs Family Day.