For years West Australian football fans yearned to see the back of Subiaco Oval. Yet nostalgia can never be underestimated.
In Fremantle's final game at the venue, just a week before the last AFL game to be played there, a fan wanting a souvenir removed a plank from one of the hundreds of wooden benches that occupy the member's wing.
Fans have complained about those uncomfortable wooden benches for years. Yet even when those same fans sit in the comparatively palatial, state-of-the-art surrounds of the brand new 60,000-seat Perth Stadium next year, they will still hold fond memories of Subiaco.
WA Football Commission CEO Gavin Taylor can empathise. Taylor was the general manager of Subiaco Oval from 2010 until 2016.
"What really became apparent was how important this stadium is to the development of football in WA, and to the people that have actually played here and the teams that have actually participated here," Taylor told ESPN.
"It holds deep memories and really fond memories. It's going to hold a special place for the heritage of football over a long period of time. Probably in this last year, particularly as we're closing down to the last couple of matches, there's a bit of a hollow feeling and a bit of sad feeling as we sort of get towards the end."
Even for a non-West Australian, Fremantle coach Ross Lyon admitted the tired old ground held a special place in his heart.
"It's clearly worn out," Lyon said.
"It's time for a new facility when you think how fanatical Perth people are about their football and how passionately they follow both teams. They deserve a world class facility.
"That's clearly what is going to be at the new precinct and that new stadium.
"But to farewell it. It's been steeped in memories obviously in my short time, and really six years is a short time."
Lyon admitted his association with the venue runs deeper than six years. He remembers being "smacked" by West Coast in 1988 when playing for Fitzroy. He said some of his fondest memories were as a visiting assistant coach for Sydney and senior coach for St Kilda.
"When the Swans knocked off the Eagles (in the 2006 qualifying final), when Micky O'Loughlin gave it to the crowd, that was a beauty," Lyon said.
"When the Saints came here in (2008), backs to the wall, and Nick Riewoldt led superbly.
"And the prelim (in 2013) as the Dockers coach. I'm really a Docker person. This club has looked after me, wrapped their arms around me, so the most special is the prelim."
John Worsfold spent 24 seasons as both a player and a coach at West Coast based at Subiaco Oval. He said the fondest memory was the first final the Eagles hosted at the venue against Hawthorn in 1991, despite the result. "That was sort of a big moment in the competition," Worsfold said.
"I don't think we won it but that sort of meant the competition was now a real national competition and there was some advantage for teams that weren't based in Victoria if they finished in good positions."
The Eagles lost by 23 point but the ground became a fortress for years to come. Like Lyon, though, Worsfold said the ground was "worn out" and he was excited to see what the new stadium delivers.
For Taylor, his challenge is overseeing how Subiaco's legacy is preserved.
"That's the important piece for us - how do we protect some of this culture and heritage and memorabilia to ensure the next generation of footy fans can actually still understand the place that Subiaco Oval played in the development of football in WA," Taylor said.
"That's still being finalised and we're working through the state government and the City of Subiaco. But we're all really clear and we're all on the same page about keeping the heritage gates and our Hall of Fame walk, and the Sandover Medal walk and key pieces of the infrastructure.
"Keeping some of the bench seats that we actually have here that some people most probably can't wait until they [upgrade to] a comfortable seat. It's showing young kids in 10 or 15 years' time that that was part of the stadium experience for people of the past."
The WAFC is intent on keeping its base at the ground. The state government has already released plans to build an inner-city high school on Kitchener Park, at the city end of the ground by 2020. The Eagles will move their training base, situated at the same end, from Subiaco Oval to a new facility at Lathlain Park in Perth's east in 2019.
Most of the ground's tired old grandstands will be torn down but the playing surface and parts of the ground look set to remain intact or be refurbished. The WAFC administration would be housed there and its facilities would be the base for the various elite playing, coaching and umpiring academies to use. A public art installation and museum featuring the history of WA football is also being discussed.
Beyond Sunday's final AFL game between West Coast and Adelaide, the ground will host the WAFL Grand Final, as it has done every year since 1936, and in 102 of the 117 contested since the ground was opened in 1908.
"At the WAFL Grand Final, we're celebrating the heritage of the WAFL and that will be showcasing past Sandover medallists, past Simpson medallists, and the 1977 State of Origin team will be part of that," Taylor said.
"We've also got our Hall of Fame event and we're hosting that out on the middle of the oval in November. There'll be a special piece in that Hall of Fame event showcasing the memory and history of Subiaco and we'll be releasing a video as part of that.
"We're also looking at how we're decommissioning the stadium. That includes the opportunity to be able to sell off bench seats and sell off individual seats and sell off pieces of memorabilia to football fans going forward. By the time we're out of this season we'll have a plan in place about how fans can have the opportunity to also purchase their piece of memorabilia of the stadium beyond what we're keeping for our museum or for the site."
One fan has already stolen a piece of Subiaco Oval as a keepsake, and others may purchase theirs.
But whether WA football fans get a souvenir or not, Subiaco Oval will live long in the memory.