From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium (commercially known as AAMI Park[2] due to naming rights) is an outdoor sports stadium nearing completion on the site of Edwin Flack Field on Olympic Boulevard in the Sports and Entertainment Precinct, in inner Melbourne, Australia. Conceived in the unsuccessful 2004 bid for a Super 12 rugby franchise [3], it will host the Melbourne Storm (NRL), Melbourne Rebels (Super 15), and A-League teams Melbourne Victory and Melbourne Heart FC[citation needed], with Victory sharing home games with Docklands Stadium.
When finished the stadium will complement Melbourne's existing sporting infrastructure, which has lacked a state of the art, purpose built rectangular stadium. Melbourne's largest stadiums- the MCG and the Docklands Stadium ( and to a lesser extent, Princes Park)- although oval shaped and best suited to Australian rules football and cricket, have been preferred to the aging Olympic Park for premier association football (soccer), rugby league and rugby union many times.
The stadium is scheduled to host its first match on 7th May 2010, the rugby league ANZAC Test between Australia and New Zealand.[4]
After being referred to as Melbourne Rectangular Stadium during its construction, the ground was officially named AAMI Park on March 16, 2010, in an eight year sponsorship deal with the insurance firm.[5]
Stadium
The new stadium will feature a distinctive "Bioframe" design, with a geodesic dome roof covering much of the seating area, whilst still allowing light through to the pitch.
The exterior of the stadium will also be covered in thousands of LED lights, which could be programmed to display a variety of patterns and images, setting it on par with the Beijing National Aquatics Center and Allianz Arena.[6]
The stadium will include training facilities and office accommodation for Melbourne Storm, Melbourne Victory, Melbourne Football Club, Melbourne Heart, the Victorian Rugby Union, the Victorian Olympic Council, Olympic Park Sport Medicine Centre, and Tennis Victoria. The stadium will be used by the Melbourne Demons as their administration headquarters. The team had wanted the stadium completed by 2008 to coincide with its 150th anniversary. It will also house public bars and cafes, 24 corporate boxes, a dining room with a capacity of 1000 people, a gym and lap pool.
Capacity
The stadium was initially proposed to have seating capacity of 20,000, upgradeable to 25,000. This was due to both expected demand, as well as a state government agreement with Docklands Stadium that no stadiums with a capacity greater than 30,000 would be constructed in Melbourne before 2010. These plans were revised after the Melbourne Victory refused to commit to playing at a stadium of such small capacity, having achieved an average attendance of over 27,000 since their move to the Docklands Stadium in the 2006–07 A-League Season. Under the new plans put forward by the Victorian Government, a capacity of 31,500 was proposed, on the condition that the Victory sign on as a tenant. An agreement has since been reached between the two parties for the stadium to have a capacity of 31,000.[7] To assist with the extended capacity, temporary stands will be erected behind the goals during soccer matches and removed during rugby league games so as to allow space for the in-goal area. Although the stadium will be built with foundations to allow for future expansion to 55,000,[8] the roof was not designed with this in mind and so the stadium cannot be expanded without major construction works.[9] There has also been much campaigning by Victory supporters and football (soccer) supporters in general, to have temporary terrace-style standing room installed in the design. The plan is based upon the common feature of German stadia in which the stand behind each/one goal is constructed with the option of having standing room during football (soccer) matches and normal seating for other events such as rugby league. The Storm, who previously played at Olympic Park Stadium will have the fourth largest stadium in the NRL, surpassed only by Sydney Football Stadium, Suncorp Stadium and ANZ Stadium.
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