Named in honour of club great Danny Frawley, the centre opened in 2022 to recognise the former captain’s work in promoting mental health and wellbeing in the sport and the community.
The final stage of the redevelopment delivered new mindfulness rooms, consulting suites and a community gym that will be used by the club and the local community and allow the centre to offer expanded services.
After more than a year of operation, the centre has already become an important institution in the south-eastern suburbs for mental health and wellbeing, including launching a research project on athlete mental fitness.
The creation of the Danny Frawley Centre was part of the second stage of the Moorabbin Reserve redevelopment, which provided the Saints men’s and women’s teams with elite training facilities.
St Kilda Football Club Chief Executive Officer Simon Lethlean said we are immensely proud to open Stage 2 of the Danny Frawley Centre.
'Over the past year, we’ve seen the centre find its place in our community and we can’t wait to watch that continue to grow through the use of the additional facilities,' he said.
The redevelopment also included the construction of AFLW changerooms and administration facilities which were opened in 2019, followed by the construction of an AFLW grandstand and pools – which received $13 million from the Victorian Government.
An icon of the St Kilda Football Club, Danny Frawley played 240 games for the Saints between 1987 and 1995. He was captain for 177 games and was selected as a member of St Kilda’s Hall of Fame.
Outside of football he became a passionate advocate for mental health and research, becoming one of the first players to disclose his mental health struggles which helped destigmatise the issue and helped support others to speak up about their own battles.
The centre was made possible thanks to $7.3 million in funding from the Victorian Government. Around $1 million of the Victorian Government’s investment went towards helping establish early intervention mental health programs at the centre. The project also received $8.5 million from the Federal Government.