AAMI Stadium
Encyclopedia
Football Park is an Australian rules football
stadium
located in West Lakes
, a western suburb of Adelaide
, South Australia
. It was built in 1973 by the South Australian National Football League
and opened in 1974 and is now the home ground of both the Adelaide Crows
and Port Adelaide Power who play in the Australian Football League
(AFL). With a seated capacity of 51,515 Football Park is the fourth largest Australian Rules Football stadium in Australia in terms of crowd capacity, behind Docklands Stadium in Melbourne
(56,347), Stadium Australia in Sydney
(81,500) and the Melbourne Cricket Ground
(100,018).
and North Adelaide
, on 4 May 1974. The first goal was kicked by North's Barry Hearl but The Bulldogs won the game defeating The Roosters 21.13 (139) to 16.13 (109).
In addition to football, Football Park has also hosted cricket
matches, including the Kerry Packer
-run World Series Cricket
competition of the late 1970s, International rules football
and rock concert
s. At present the only sport played at the ground is Australian rules football
.
matches, when both of Adelaide's sides play against each other, the number of buses is doubled.
There is no railway line directly serving the site, but there have been plans to build a spur from the Grange line. The nearest station is Albert Park
, but Seaton Park, East Grange and Grange are a similar distance from the stadium.
, Dire Straits
, U2
, The Rolling Stones
and Robbie Williams
.
The stadium has an absolute seated maximum capacity of 51,515 which equates to about 5% of the population of the Adelaide
metropolitan area. Under the stadium's current configuration the record football attendance is 51,140 set on 26 April 2003 for Showdown XIII
between the Crows and Power in Round 5 of the 2003 AFL season
(Crows home game).
Local legend says the hump is actually from a grader
that was left in the middle of the ground overnight during Football Park's construction. Legend has it that with the area still a swamp (the stadium was built on unused swamplands) the grader sunk into the ground and couldn't be removed.
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
located in West Lakes
West Lakes, South Australia
West Lakes is a suburb of Adelaide in the City of Charles Sturt. It contains the Westfield West Lakes Shopping Centre, AAMI Stadium and the Riverside Golf Course...
, a western suburb of Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
. It was built in 1973 by the South Australian National Football League
South Australian National Football League
The South Australian National Football League is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the governing body for the sport of Australian rules football in South Australia....
and opened in 1974 and is now the home ground of both the Adelaide Crows
Adelaide Crows
The Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed The Crows, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Adelaide, South Australia, playing in the Australian Football League ....
and Port Adelaide Power who play in the Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
(AFL). With a seated capacity of 51,515 Football Park is the fourth largest Australian Rules Football stadium in Australia in terms of crowd capacity, behind Docklands Stadium in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
(56,347), Stadium Australia in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
(81,500) and the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
(100,018).
History
Football Park hosted its first football game, an SANFL match between Central DistrictCentral District Bulldogs
Central District Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in the city of Elizabeth about 25 km to the north of Adelaide, South Australia.-Origins and Background:...
and North Adelaide
North Adelaide Roosters
North Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club, who play in the South Australian National Football League.- History :Formed in 1888 as Medindie, in 1893 the club renamed itself to North Adelaide. It is the fourth oldest club still in operation in the SANFL...
, on 4 May 1974. The first goal was kicked by North's Barry Hearl but The Bulldogs won the game defeating The Roosters 21.13 (139) to 16.13 (109).
In addition to football, Football Park has also hosted cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
matches, including the Kerry Packer
Kerry Packer
Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer, AC was an Australian media tycoon. The son of Sir Frank Packer and Gretel Bullmore, the Packer family company owned controlling interest in both the Nine television network and leading Australian publishing company Australian Consolidated Press, which were later...
-run World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by Kerry Packer for his Australian television network, Nine Network. The matches ran in opposition to established international cricket...
competition of the late 1970s, International rules football
International rules football
International rules football is a team sport consisting of a hybrid of football codes, which was developed to facilitate international representative matches between Australian rules football players and Gaelic football players....
and rock concert
Rock concert
The term rock concert refers to a musical performance in the style of any one of many genres inspired by "rock and roll" music. While a variety of vocal and instrumental styles can constitute a rock concert, this phenomenon is typically characterized by bands playing at least one electric guitar,...
s. At present the only sport played at the ground is Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
.
Transport
Football Park has a bus terminal for public buses from Adelaide and surrounding suburbs; approximately 1000 buses are in service to transport spectators to and from the stadium for football games. This service is known as the 'Footy Express'. For "Showdown"Showdown (AFL)
The Showdown is a term used to refer to the derby match between local rivals the Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide in the sport of Australian rules football in the Australian Football League .-Background:...
matches, when both of Adelaide's sides play against each other, the number of buses is doubled.
There is no railway line directly serving the site, but there have been plans to build a spur from the Grange line. The nearest station is Albert Park
Albert Park railway station, Adelaide
Albert Park railway station is located in Adelaide’s north-western suburbs on the single-track branch line between Woodville and Grange. The station is 9.1 km from Adelaide and serves the adjacent suburbs of Albert Park and Woodville West....
, but Seaton Park, East Grange and Grange are a similar distance from the stadium.
Concerts
Major artists have held concerts at Football Park, including ABBAABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
, Dire Straits
Dire Straits
Dire Straits were a British rock band active from 1977 to 1995, composed of Mark Knopfler , his younger brother David Knopfler , John Illsley , and Pick Withers .Dire Straits' sound drew from a variety of musical influences, including jazz, folk, blues, and came closest...
, U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
, The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
and Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...
.
Highest attendances
| Three highest attended events | ||||
| Number | Event | Type | Attendance | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robbie Williams Robbie Williams Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams... |
Concert | 80,000 | 5 December 2006 |
| 2 | Sturt Sturt Football Club Sturt Football Club is an Australian rules football club in the South Australian National Football League. The club is best known for its period of dominance from 1966–76 under legendary coach Jack Oatey, during which it revolutionised the style of play by emphasising teamwork and accurate ball... v Port Adelaide Port Adelaide Magpies The Port Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the South Australian National Football League... |
SANFL Grand Final | 66,897 | 28 September 1976 |
| 3 | U2 U2 U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music... |
Concert | 60,000 (approx) | 16 November 2006 |
The stadium has an absolute seated maximum capacity of 51,515 which equates to about 5% of the population of the Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
metropolitan area. Under the stadium's current configuration the record football attendance is 51,140 set on 26 April 2003 for Showdown XIII
Showdown (AFL)
The Showdown is a term used to refer to the derby match between local rivals the Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide in the sport of Australian rules football in the Australian Football League .-Background:...
between the Crows and Power in Round 5 of the 2003 AFL season
2003 AFL season
Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 2003.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-National Cup:...
(Crows home game).
Upgrades
Since it was built, Football Park has had many additions including:- In 1982 the outer concourse was completed during the SANFL season giving a limited number of permanent undercover seats. The stadium was also converted to an All-seater stadiumAll-seater stadiumAn all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most soccer and American football stadiums in the United States and Canada are all-seaters, as are most baseball...
with the installation of aluminium bench seating on the outer's lower deck.
- In 1984 the Light Towers were installed.
- In 1985 alcohol was banned from the seats. Alcohol could only be consumed in the bar areas. In 2009, this ban was removed.
- In 1997 the stadium opened new corporate facilities, with suites at the southern end of the ground.
- In 1998 the superscreenJumbotronA JumboTron is a large-screen television using technology developed by Sony, typically used in sports stadiums and concert venues to show close-up shots of the event. Although JumboTron is a registered trademark owned by the Sony Corporation, the word jumbotron is often used by the public as a...
was added to the NE side of the ground.
- In 2001 the balcony upper level of seats was extended towards the Northern End of the ground giving an extra 7,000 seats to the stadium.
- In 2004 the existing aluminium bench seating on the lower deck was replaced with plastic bucket seats leaving seating capacity at 51,515.
- In 2007,
- The Sound System was upgraded with new plastic PA speakers installed all around the stadium.
- A new and louder siren was added.
- Another superscreen was installed at the Southern End of the ground to aid viewers sitting under the existing superscreen on the North East side of the ground.
- The existing main scoreboard is still used, but also started its use for advertising.
- New scoreboards were built under both superscreens.
- On June 1, 2008, PremierPremiers of South AustraliaBefore the 1890s when there was no formal party system in South Australia, MPs tended to have historical liberal or conservative beliefs. The liberals dominated government from 1893 to 1905 with Labor support, with the conservatives mostly in opposition. Labor took government with the support of...
Mike RannMike RannMichael David Rann MHA, CNZM , Australian politician, served as the 44th Premier of South Australia. He led the South Australian branch of the Australian Labor Party to minority government at the 2002 election, before attaining a landslide win at the 2006 election...
announced that the Government will provide $100 million to upgrade AAMI Stadium. Among the several options considered were:- a Medallion Club on the eastern side roof,
- the members grandstand roof raised with 2,000 extra seats,
- better lighting and
- new umpires' change rooms.
- There was also a push to build a grandstand on the eastern side of the stadium (like the northern grandstand), bringing the capacity to around 60,000. From AdelaideNow polls, it appeared the majority of the general public preferred the construction of a new stadium, closer to the city, to host most sporting events.
- As of 8 January 2009, it had been decided that AAMI Stadium would undergo redevelopment. Upgrades were to include
- better traffic flow to and from the stadium
- better public transport access to and from the stadium
- undercover walkways and concourses
- new seating throughout the stadium, with spectators in the first level as close as 10 metres (32.8 ft) to the playing field and 16 metres (52.5 ft) on the upper level
- new entrances, combined with more flowing concourses and walkways, which will reduce the time it takes spectators to travel to and from the stadium gates.
Dimensions
The playing surface covers approximately 2 hectares, with the average distance between the boundary line and fence being 6 metres. The ground dimensions from fence to fence are 177 x 145 m (581 x 476 ft) and the playing area from the boundary lines is 165 x 133 m (541 x 436 ft) and the goals run north to south. There is also a drop of approximately 1.5m from the centre of the ground to the fence to help with drainage leaving the ground with a distinctive hump.Local legend says the hump is actually from a grader
Grader
A grader, also commonly referred to as a road grader, a blade, a maintainer, or a motor grader, is a construction machine with a long blade used to create a flat surface. Typical models have three axles, with the engine and cab situated above the rear axles at one end of the vehicle and a third...
that was left in the middle of the ground overnight during Football Park's construction. Legend has it that with the area still a swamp (the stadium was built on unused swamplands) the grader sunk into the ground and couldn't be removed.