Docklands Stadium

Docklands Stadium, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as Marvel Stadium, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the Docklands area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Construction started in October 1997 and was completed in 2000 at a cost of A$460 million. The stadium features a retractable roof and the ground level seating can be converted from oval to rectangular configuration.

The stadium is primarily used for Australian rules football and was originally built as a replacement for Waverley Park. Offices at the precinct serve as the headquarters of the Australian Football League (AFL) which, since 7 October 2016, has had exclusive ownership of the venue. With a capacity for 53,000 spectators for sports, the stadium is the second-largest in Melbourne and has hosted a number of other sporting events including domestic Twenty20 cricket matches, Melbourne Victory soccer home matches, rugby league and rugby union matches as well as special events and concerts. The precinct is also headquarters for the Seven Network's digital broadcast centre and National Australia Bank.

History

Construction

The stadium was announced on 31 October 1996 as a more centrally located replacement for the much larger but ageing Waverley Park as a headquarters for the Australian Football League. It was built in the Melbourne Docklands to the immediate west of the CBD, a central but largely deserted industrial area which had just commenced its own urban renewal project. Construction of the stadium by Baulderstone Hornibrook commenced in October 1997 under the working name "Victoria Stadium", and was completed ahead of the 2000 AFL season. The stadium was originally developed by the Docklands Stadium Consortium and thereafter controlled by the Seven Network, the remaining leasehold interest in the stadium was sold to James Fielding Funds Management on 21 June 2006 for A$330 million.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Марвел Стадион (russian)