Telstra Stadium
Encyclopedia
Stadium Australia, currently also known as ANZ Stadium due to naming rights
, formerly known as Telstra Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium
located in the Sydney Olympic Park
precinct of Homebush Bay
. The stadium, which in Australia is sometimes referred to simply as the "Olympic Stadium", was completed in March 1999 at a cost of A$
690 million to host the 2000 Summer Olympics
. The stadium has since hosted the 2003 Rugby World Cup finals, as well as annual centrepiece matches of the National Rugby League
competition (e.g. NSW vs. QLD
and finals) and Australian rugby (e.g. Bledisloe Cup
and NSW
vs. QLD
).
The stadium was originally built to temporarily hold 110,000 spectators, making it the largest Olympic Stadium
ever built as well as the largest stadium in Australia. In 2003 reconfiguration work was completed to shorten the north and south wings, and install movable seating
. These changes reduced the capacity to 83,500 for a rectangular field and 82,500 for an oval field (making it the second largest stadium in Australia after the Melbourne Cricket Ground
). Awnings were also added over the North and South stands, which means that now most of the seating is under cover. The stadium was also engineered along sustainable lines for example with the low use of steel in the roof structure in comparison to the Olympic stadiums of Athens and Beijing.
International Cricket will make its debut at the venue on February 1 with a International twenty20 cricket match between Australia and India.
acquired the naming rights
, resulting in the stadium being known as Telstra Stadium. On 12 December 2007 it was announced by the Stadium Australia Group (SAG) that the stadium's name was to be changed to ANZ Stadium after concluding a deal with ANZ Bank
worth around A$31.5 million over 7 years. This change took effect on 1 January 2008.
Confusion with the Stadium's current naming rights relates to the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre
in Brisbane, which was also formerly known as ANZ Stadium.
first round double-header, featuring Newcastle
v Manly
and Parramatta
v St George Illawarra Dragons
. The first musical act held at the newly built stadium was the Bee Gees
consisting of Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb in March 1999. The band had embarked on what would be their final world tour as a group before the death of Maurice, the culmination of the tour ending in the newly built Olympic Stadium. The turnout crowd was 105,000+.
The stadium was not officially opened until June 1999 when the Australian National Soccer team played the FIFA All Stars. Australia won the match 3–2 in front of a crowd of 88,101. Stadium Australia also played host to the national side's historic playoff win over Uruguay
in November 2005, a victory which granted Australia FIFA World Cup
qualification for only the second time in the country's history. The event attracted a virtual capacity crowd of 82,698.
The 1999 Bledisloe Cup
rugby union match between the Australian Wallabies
and the New Zealand All Blacks
attracted a then-world record rugby union crowd of 107,042. In 2000 this was bettered when a crowd of 109,874 witnessed the "Greatest ever Rugby Match" when a Jonah Lomu
try sealed an All Blacks win over the Wallabies 39–35. The All Blacks had led 24-nil after 11 minutes only to see Australia draw level at 24-all by halftime.
On 7 August 1999, a National Football League
(American Football
) exhibition game was played between the Denver Broncos
and the San Diego Chargers, bringing home former Australian Football League player Darren Bennett
, the Chargers
' punter
. The Broncos won the game 20–17. This was Australia's first, and currently only, American Bowl
game.
The 1999 National Rugby League
Grand Final
, played on 26 September between the Melbourne Storm
and the St George Illawarra Dragons
, broke the rugby league world-record crowd previously set earlier in the season when 107,999 came to watch the Storm defeat the Dragons 20–18.
During the 2000 Olympics
, the evening track and field
sessions on day 11 attracted 112,524 spectators. Also during the Olympics, the Soccer final attracted 104,098 to witness Cameroon
defeat Spain
for its first-ever Olympic gold medal.
The opening ceremony for the 2000 Olympics at the stadium completely sold out all 110,000 seats, while the highest attendance ever recorded was 114,714 during the closing ceremony of the same Games.
Australian rock band AC/DC
played 3 shows in February 2010 (18th, 20th & 22nd) as part of their Black Ice World Tour, supported by Wolfmother
. Respectively the shows had an attendance of 70,282, 75,867 and 66,896.
Irish rock band U2
performed at ANZ stadium on 13 and 14 December 2010 as part of their U2 360 tour. They may have set a new attendance record for the reconfigured stadium with over 90,000 people expected at each show. ANZ stadium claimed that it would be the biggest event since the 2000 Olympic Games.
and Australian rules football
, to be played at the ground. The two wing stands were removed as well as the athletics track and a movable seating
section was introduced in its place. New roofs were built over the two ends and seats that had a poor view of the field were removed. The reconfiguration reduced the capacity to 83,500 for the rectangular field and 82,500 for the oval field at a total cost of $80 million. The construction work was carried out by Multiplex
.
The reconfiguration work was completed in October 2003 in time for the 2003 Rugby World Cup where the then Telstra Stadium hosted the opening game, two other groups games, both Semi-Finals, the third-place play-off and final matches of the competition. In the first semi-final on 15 November 2003, Australia beat New Zealand 22–10 and then in the second semi-final the following day England beat France 24–7. In the final, on 22 November, England beat Australia 20–17 in extra time.
The Sydney Swans
v Collingwood AFL
match at the Stadium on Saturday 23 August 2003 set an attendance record for the largest crowd to watch an AFL game outside of Victoria
with 72,393 spectators (near capacity) attending and was the largest home-and-away AFL crowd at any Australian stadium for 2003.
2 October 2005 saw 82,453 attend the NRL
grand final in which the Wests Tigers
defeated the North Queensland Cowboys 30–16.
16 November 2005 saw 82,698 attend the second leg of the Oceania-South America Qualification Playoff game for qualification to the 2006 FIFA World Cup
. Australia defeated Uruguay
1–0, which led to a penalty shootout
as Uruguay had won the first leg of the playoff 1–0. Australia won this shootout 4–2, and the penalty spot where John Aloisi
's spot kick secured victory has been permanently preserved and is on public display at the stadium.
In February 2009, the stadium replaced its existing two television screens with new Panasonic HD LED video screens that measure 23x10m – 70% larger than the original screens, and 50% larger than the screens in the Beijing National Stadium
, whilst consuming less power than the old screens, additionally, an led perimeter screen showcasing anz advertising has been installed on the second level from the 30m line to the 30m line.
4 October 2009 saw the largest ever rugby league crowd since reconfiguration when 82,538 attend the NRL
grand final to see the Melbourne Storm
defeat the Parramatta Eels
23–16. This number was nearly reached in the 2010 NRL Grand Final between the St. George Illawarra Dragons and the Sydney Roosters
, with 82,334 in attendance. On 13 and 14 December 2010, a U2 concert, one of the biggest in history, was held at the ANZ stadium.
.jpg)
on one occasion in 2002.
Naming rights
In the private sector, naming rights are a financial transaction whereby a corporation or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, typically for a defined period of time. For properties like a multi-purpose arena, performing arts venue or an athletic field, the term ranges from three...
, formerly known as Telstra Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium
Multi-purpose stadium
Multi-purpose stadiums are a type of stadium designed in such a way as to be easily used by multiple sports. While any stadium could potentially host more than one sport, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy that stresses multi-functionality over specificity...
located in the Sydney Olympic Park
Sydney Olympic Park
Sydney Olympic Park is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sydney Olympic Park is located 16 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Auburn Council....
precinct of Homebush Bay
Homebush Bay, New South Wales
Homebush Bay was the former name of a suburb of western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia that took in the suburbs of Sydney Olympic Park, Wentworth Point and part of the neighbouring suburb of Lidcombe. Homebush Bay is located 16 kilometres west of the Sydney central business...
. The stadium, which in Australia is sometimes referred to simply as the "Olympic Stadium", was completed in March 1999 at a cost of A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
690 million to host the 2000 Summer Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
. The stadium has since hosted the 2003 Rugby World Cup finals, as well as annual centrepiece matches of the National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
competition (e.g. NSW vs. QLD
Rugby League State of Origin
State of Origin is an annual best of three series of rugby league football matches contested by the Maroons and the Blues, who represent the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales respectively...
and finals) and Australian rugby (e.g. Bledisloe Cup
Bledisloe Cup
Rugby Union's Bledisloe Cup is contested by the Australia national rugby union team and New Zealand national rugby union team. It is named after Lord Bledisloe, the former Governor-General of New Zealand who donated the trophy in 1931. The trophy was designed in New Zealand by Nelson Isaac, and...
and NSW
New South Wales Waratahs
The New South Wales Waratahs are an Australian rugby union football team, representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super 15 Super Rugby competition...
vs. QLD
Queensland Reds
The Queensland Reds represent Queensland in the sport of rugby union in the Southern Hemisphere Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996 they were a representative team selected on merit from the rugby union club competitions in Queensland...
).
The stadium was originally built to temporarily hold 110,000 spectators, making it the largest Olympic Stadium
Olympic Stadium
The Olympic Stadium is the name usually given to the big centrepiece stadium of the Summer Olympic Games. Traditionally, the opening and closing ceremonies and the track and field competitions are held in the Olympic Stadium. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words Olympic...
ever built as well as the largest stadium in Australia. In 2003 reconfiguration work was completed to shorten the north and south wings, and install movable seating
Movable seating
Movable seating is a feature of some facilities like stadiums, often known as convertible stadiums, or moduable stadiums. It allows for the movement of parts of the grandstand to allow for a change of the playing surface shape...
. These changes reduced the capacity to 83,500 for a rectangular field and 82,500 for an oval field (making it the second largest stadium in Australia after 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...
). Awnings were also added over the North and South stands, which means that now most of the seating is under cover. The stadium was also engineered along sustainable lines for example with the low use of steel in the roof structure in comparison to the Olympic stadiums of Athens and Beijing.
International Cricket will make its debut at the venue on February 1 with a International twenty20 cricket match between Australia and India.
Naming rights history
The stadium lacked a naming rights sponsor in its formative years, bearing the name Stadium Australia between its opening in 1999 and 2002. In 2002, telecommunications company TelstraTelstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
acquired the naming rights
Naming rights
In the private sector, naming rights are a financial transaction whereby a corporation or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, typically for a defined period of time. For properties like a multi-purpose arena, performing arts venue or an athletic field, the term ranges from three...
, resulting in the stadium being known as Telstra Stadium. On 12 December 2007 it was announced by the Stadium Australia Group (SAG) that the stadium's name was to be changed to ANZ Stadium after concluding a deal with ANZ Bank
ANZ Bank
The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited , commonly called ANZ, is the fourth largest bank in Australia, after the Commonwealth Bank, Westpac Banking Corporation and the National Australia Bank. Australian operations make up the largest part of ANZ's business, with commercial and retail...
worth around A$31.5 million over 7 years. This change took effect on 1 January 2008.
Confusion with the Stadium's current naming rights relates to the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre
Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre
The Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre , more commonly known by its former names ANZ Stadium or QE II, is a major sporting facility on the south side of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia...
in Brisbane, which was also formerly known as ANZ Stadium.
Large crowds
The first sporting event held at the stadium was on 6 March 1999 when a then-record rugby league football crowd of 104,583 watched the NRLNational Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
first round double-header, featuring Newcastle
Newcastle Knights
The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership...
v Manly
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League's Telstra Premiership, the premier rugby league competition of Australasia...
and Parramatta
Parramatta Eels
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League...
v St George Illawarra Dragons
St George Illawarra Dragons
The St George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing the St. George and Illawarra regions. They have competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 as a joint venture between Sydney's historic St. George Dragons club and 1982 expansion club, the...
. The first musical act held at the newly built stadium was the Bee Gees
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
consisting of Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb in March 1999. The band had embarked on what would be their final world tour as a group before the death of Maurice, the culmination of the tour ending in the newly built Olympic Stadium. The turnout crowd was 105,000+.
The stadium was not officially opened until June 1999 when the Australian National Soccer team played the FIFA All Stars. Australia won the match 3–2 in front of a crowd of 88,101. Stadium Australia also played host to the national side's historic playoff win over Uruguay
Uruguay national football team
The Uruguayan national football team represents Uruguay in international association football and is controlled by the Uruguayan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uruguay. The current head coach is Óscar Tabárez...
in November 2005, a victory which granted Australia FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
qualification for only the second time in the country's history. The event attracted a virtual capacity crowd of 82,698.
The 1999 Bledisloe Cup
Bledisloe Cup
Rugby Union's Bledisloe Cup is contested by the Australia national rugby union team and New Zealand national rugby union team. It is named after Lord Bledisloe, the former Governor-General of New Zealand who donated the trophy in 1931. The trophy was designed in New Zealand by Nelson Isaac, and...
rugby union match between the Australian Wallabies
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
and the New Zealand All Blacks
All Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
attracted a then-world record rugby union crowd of 107,042. In 2000 this was bettered when a crowd of 109,874 witnessed the "Greatest ever Rugby Match" when a Jonah Lomu
Jonah Lomu
Jonah Tali Lomu, MNZM is a New Zealand rugby union player. He had sixty-three caps as an All Black after debuting in 1994. He is generally regarded as the first true global superstar of rugby union. He has had a huge impact on the game...
try sealed an All Blacks win over the Wallabies 39–35. The All Blacks had led 24-nil after 11 minutes only to see Australia draw level at 24-all by halftime.
On 7 August 1999, a National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(American Football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
) exhibition game was played between the Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and the San Diego Chargers, bringing home former Australian Football League player Darren Bennett
Darren Bennett (footballer)
Darren Bennett is a former Australian rules football player and American football punter in the National Football League.As an Australian rules footballer, he played 12 seasons for two clubs...
, the Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
' punter
Punter (football position)
A punter in American or Canadian football is a special teams player who receives the snapped ball directly from the line of scrimmage and then punts the football to the opposing team so as to limit any field position advantage. This generally happens on a fourth down in American football and a...
. The Broncos won the game 20–17. This was Australia's first, and currently only, American Bowl
American Bowl
The American Bowl was a series of National Football League pre-season exhibition games that were held at sites outside the United States between 1986 and 2005.- Overview :...
game.
The 1999 National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
Grand Final
Grand Final
Grand Final is a predominantly Australian sport term used to describe a match that decides a league champion.It originated in Victoria and South Australia and has become specifically significant Australian culture...
, played on 26 September between the Melbourne Storm
Melbourne Storm
The Melbourne Storm are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the city of Melbourne. They are the first fully professional rugby league team based in the Australian rules football-dominated state of Victoria....
and the St George Illawarra Dragons
St George Illawarra Dragons
The St George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing the St. George and Illawarra regions. They have competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 as a joint venture between Sydney's historic St. George Dragons club and 1982 expansion club, the...
, broke the rugby league world-record crowd previously set earlier in the season when 107,999 came to watch the Storm defeat the Dragons 20–18.
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
, the evening track and field
Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics
At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, 46 events in athletics were contested, 24 for men and 22 for women. There were a total number of 2134 participating athletes from 193 countries.-Men's events:...
sessions on day 11 attracted 112,524 spectators. Also during the Olympics, the Soccer final attracted 104,098 to witness Cameroon
Cameroon national football team
The Cameroon national football team, nicknamed Les Lions Indomptables , is controlled by the Fédération Camerounaise de Football and is Africa's most successful side in FIFA world cup; having qualified for the FIFA World Cup six times – in 1982, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2010– more than any...
defeat Spain
Spain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...
for its first-ever Olympic gold medal.
The opening ceremony for the 2000 Olympics at the stadium completely sold out all 110,000 seats, while the highest attendance ever recorded was 114,714 during the closing ceremony of the same Games.
Australian rock band AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
played 3 shows in February 2010 (18th, 20th & 22nd) as part of their Black Ice World Tour, supported by Wolfmother
Wolfmother
Wolfmother is an Australian rock band from Erskineville, Sydney. Formed in 2000, the group was originally a trio composed of vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale, bassist and keyboardist Chris Ross and drummer Myles Heskett. Wolfmother released their self-titled debut album in October 2005,...
. Respectively the shows had an attendance of 70,282, 75,867 and 66,896.
Irish rock band 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...
performed at ANZ stadium on 13 and 14 December 2010 as part of their U2 360 tour. They may have set a new attendance record for the reconfigured stadium with over 90,000 people expected at each show. ANZ stadium claimed that it would be the biggest event since the 2000 Olympic Games.
Reconfiguration
In October 2001, major reconfiguration work on the stadium was commenced to allow for sports that require an oval field, such as cricketCricket
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...
and 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...
, to be played at the ground. The two wing stands were removed as well as the athletics track and a movable seating
Movable seating
Movable seating is a feature of some facilities like stadiums, often known as convertible stadiums, or moduable stadiums. It allows for the movement of parts of the grandstand to allow for a change of the playing surface shape...
section was introduced in its place. New roofs were built over the two ends and seats that had a poor view of the field were removed. The reconfiguration reduced the capacity to 83,500 for the rectangular field and 82,500 for the oval field at a total cost of $80 million. The construction work was carried out by Multiplex
Multiplex (company)
Brookfield Multiplex is a global contracting and development company that designs, builds and maintains property and infrastructure assets.- History :Brookfield Multiplex was founded as Multiplex in 1962 in Perth, Western Australia by John Roberts...
.
The reconfiguration work was completed in October 2003 in time for the 2003 Rugby World Cup where the then Telstra Stadium hosted the opening game, two other groups games, both Semi-Finals, the third-place play-off and final matches of the competition. In the first semi-final on 15 November 2003, Australia beat New Zealand 22–10 and then in the second semi-final the following day England beat France 24–7. In the final, on 22 November, England beat Australia 20–17 in extra time.
The Sydney Swans
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
v Collingwood AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
match at the Stadium on Saturday 23 August 2003 set an attendance record for the largest crowd to watch an AFL game outside of Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
with 72,393 spectators (near capacity) attending and was the largest home-and-away AFL crowd at any Australian stadium for 2003.
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
grand final in which the Wests Tigers
Wests Tigers
The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's mid-western suburbs. They have competed in the National Rugby League since they were formed at the end of the 1999 season as a joint-venture club between the Balmain Tigers and the Western Suburbs...
defeated the North Queensland Cowboys 30–16.
16 November 2005 saw 82,698 attend the second leg of the Oceania-South America Qualification Playoff game for qualification to the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
. Australia defeated Uruguay
Uruguay national football team
The Uruguayan national football team represents Uruguay in international association football and is controlled by the Uruguayan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uruguay. The current head coach is Óscar Tabárez...
1–0, which led to a penalty shootout
Penalty shootout (football)
A penalty shoot-out, referred to as kicks from the penalty mark in the Laws of the Game, is the FIFA official term for a method used in association football to decide which team progresses to the next stage of a tournament following a tied game...
as Uruguay had won the first leg of the playoff 1–0. Australia won this shootout 4–2, and the penalty spot where John Aloisi
John Aloisi
John Aloisi is a retired Australian football player who played as a striker, and the current youth team manager at Melbourne Heart....
's spot kick secured victory has been permanently preserved and is on public display at the stadium.
In February 2009, the stadium replaced its existing two television screens with new Panasonic HD LED video screens that measure 23x10m – 70% larger than the original screens, and 50% larger than the screens in the Beijing National Stadium
Beijing National Stadium
Beijing National Stadium, also known officially as the National Stadium, or colloquially as the Bird's Nest , is a stadium in Beijing, China. The stadium was designed for use throughout the 2008 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.-History:...
, whilst consuming less power than the old screens, additionally, an led perimeter screen showcasing anz advertising has been installed on the second level from the 30m line to the 30m line.
4 October 2009 saw the largest ever rugby league crowd since reconfiguration when 82,538 attend the NRL
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
grand final to see the Melbourne Storm
Melbourne Storm
The Melbourne Storm are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the city of Melbourne. They are the first fully professional rugby league team based in the Australian rules football-dominated state of Victoria....
defeat the Parramatta Eels
Parramatta Eels
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League...
23–16. This number was nearly reached in the 2010 NRL Grand Final between the St. George Illawarra Dragons and the Sydney Roosters
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
, with 82,334 in attendance. On 13 and 14 December 2010, a U2 concert, one of the biggest in history, was held at the ANZ stadium.
Regular sporting events
The National Rugby League is the most regular tenant of the ground, while Rugby Union internationals, Association Football internationals and Australian Rules Football are all played at the ground. ANZ Stadium hosts the following:National Rugby League
- Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs home games (since 1999)
- South Sydney RabbitohsSouth Sydney RabbitohsThe South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...
home games (since 2006) - Two Parramatta EelsParramatta EelsThe Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League...
home games (since 2008). The Eels play their remaining ten home games at Parramatta StadiumParramatta StadiumParramatta Stadium is a sports stadium situated in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia.The stadium is used primarily as the home ground of Australian National Rugby League club the Parramatta Eels...
. - Wests TigersWests TigersThe Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's mid-western suburbs. They have competed in the National Rugby League since they were formed at the end of the 1999 season as a joint-venture club between the Balmain Tigers and the Western Suburbs...
home games (2005–2008). The Tigers used ANZ Stadium as one of their three home grounds during this time, alongside Leichhardt OvalLeichhardt OvalLeichhardt Oval is a football stadium in Leichhardt, New South Wales, Australia. It is a home ground for the Wests Tigers rugby league team. The stadium has a nominal capacity of 20,000, with recorded highest crowd figures of 23,000 in the 1981 KB Tooth final South Sydney Rabbitohs versus...
and Campbelltown StadiumCampbelltown StadiumCampbelltown Stadium, formerly Orana Park and Campbelltown Sports Ground, is a rugby league stadium in Campbelltown, New South Wales, Australia. It is the full time home ground for the Western Suburbs Magpies District Rugby League Football Club and is one of three home grounds for the Wests Tigers...
. - St George Illawarra DragonsSt George Illawarra DragonsThe St George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing the St. George and Illawarra regions. They have competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 as a joint venture between Sydney's historic St. George Dragons club and 1982 expansion club, the...
home games (2008). The Dragons called the stadium home for the 2008 season while their regular Sydney-based home ground at Kogarah, WIN Jubilee Oval, was reconfigured. - Rugby League State of OriginRugby League State of OriginState of Origin is an annual best of three series of rugby league football matches contested by the Maroons and the Blues, who represent the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales respectively...
matches are played at the stadium each year (either two or one annually since 1999), and every NRL Grand Final has been held there since 1999.
Association Football
- A large number of Australian national team games are staged at the ground.
- Sydney FC played a one-off match against the Los Angeles GalaxyLos Angeles GalaxyThe Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional soccer team, based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, and the league's second...
at this ground. Sydney FC won 5–3. They were also the only A-League team to ever be broadcast on free-to-air television (Network TenNetwork TenNetwork Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
broadcast this game with Melbourne Victory captain Kevin MuscatKevin MuscatKevin Muscat is an Australian football player who currently plays for Victorian State League Division 1 side Sunshine George Cross and is assistant coach of Melbourne Victory...
providing commentary). - Sydney FCSydney FCSydney FC is a professional football club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and competes in the country's premier football competition, the A-League...
played English Premier League side Everton FC at ANZ Stadium on 10 July 2010.
Australian Football League
- The Sydney SwansSydney SwansThe Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
play up to four "blockbuster" games at the venue each season, with their remaining home games played at the Sydney Cricket Ground. In 2010, only three games will be played at ANZ Stadium by the Swans. All finals (except for one in 2005 due to the stadium being unavailable) are also played at this stadium. - The Greater Western Sydney Football Club has ANZ Stadium as an option for home games when the Main Arena in Sydney ShowgroundSydney ShowgroundThe former Sydney Showground at Moore Park was the site of the Sydney Royal Easter Show in New South Wales, Australia from 1882 until 1997, when the Show was moved to the new Sydney Showground at Homebush Bay, which was built for the Sydney 2000 Olympics...
, their competition home ground, is otherwise unavailable after they enter the AFL in 2012.
International Rugby Union
- At least two Rugby Union tests a year are also played at the stadium – usually a Bledisloe CupBledisloe CupRugby Union's Bledisloe Cup is contested by the Australia national rugby union team and New Zealand national rugby union team. It is named after Lord Bledisloe, the former Governor-General of New Zealand who donated the trophy in 1931. The trophy was designed in New Zealand by Nelson Isaac, and...
match, and a tour match. - During the 2009 Super 14Super 14Super Rugby is the largest and pre-eminent professional Rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere...
season the New South Wales WaratahsNew South Wales WaratahsThe New South Wales Waratahs are an Australian rugby union football team, representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super 15 Super Rugby competition...
played its first game at the venue against the Canterbury Crusaders. This tradition was continued in 2010 where they faced the ACT Brumbies.
Cricket
- The NSW Blues play some limited overs Ford Ranger Cup matches at the stadium.
- The same side also uses the stadium to host their home games in the domestic Twenty20Twenty20Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board , in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket...
Big Bash competition each summer. - The Stadium has been approved as a ground for international cricket and could host a Twenty20 or One Day International, and has also been listed as a stadium in the 2015 Cricket World Cup2015 Cricket World CupThe 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup will be the 11th ICC Cricket World Cup, and will be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand. The location of the games will be evenly split, with the location of the final yet to be decided....
. - The Stadium will be home to the new Sydney Thunder franchise of the Big Bash LeagueBig Bash LeagueThe KFC t20 Big Bash League is the Australian domestic Twenty20 cricket tournament. The Big Bash League replaces the previous competition, the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash and will feature city-based franchises instead of the state teams which had participated previously. The inaugural season will begin...
. - It will host its first ever International CricketInternational CricketInternational Cricket is a cricket video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System that was only released in Australia in 1992. Developed by Melbourne-based Beam Software, it was the only cricket game released for the NES. There were no attempts to release a cricket video game to the North...
match when Australia take on India in a Twenty20Twenty20Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board , in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket...
night game on February 1, 2012.
Other sports
The stadium has also hosted Speedway Grand Prix of AustraliaSpeedway Grand Prix of Australia
The Speedway Grand Prix of Australia was a speedway event that was a part of the Speedway Grand Prix Series.-Winners:-See also:...
on one occasion in 2002.
Seating capacity and other records
| Before reconfiguration | After reconfiguration | ||
| Oval shape | Rectangular shape | ||
| Official capacity | 110,000 | 82,500 | 83,500 |
| Overall | 114,714 Closing ceremony (Sydney 2000 Olympics 2000 Summer Olympics The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia... ) 1 October 2000 |
72,393 Sydney Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney... v Collingwood Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League... 23 August 2003 |
83,418 Australia Australia national rugby union team The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the... v New Zealand All Blacks The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport.... (2004 Rugby Union Tri-Nations 2004 Tri Nations Series The 2004 Tri Nations Series, an annual rugby union competition between the national teams of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, was the ninth in the series. The competition is organised by SANZAR, a consortium of the three countries' rugby union federations... ) 7 August 2004 |
| Athletics | 112,524 Sydney 2000 Olympics 2000 Summer Olympics The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia... 23 September 2000 |
– | – |
| Rugby league (all matches) |
107,999 St. George Illawarra v Melbourne 26 September 1999 |
– | 82,538 Melbourne Storm Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the city of Melbourne. They are the first fully professional rugby league team based in the Australian rules football-dominated state of Victoria.... v Parramatta Eels Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League... 2009 NRL Grand Final 2009 NRL Grand Final The 2009 NRL Grand Final was a rugby league football game played on 4 October 2009 at the ANZ Stadium in Sydney. It was the 12th annual championship game of the National Rugby League staged to decide the premiers of the 2009 NRL season.... 4 October 2009 |
| Rugby league (finals) |
107,999 St George Illawarra St George Illawarra Dragons The St George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing the St. George and Illawarra regions. They have competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 as a joint venture between Sydney's historic St. George Dragons club and 1982 expansion club, the... v Melbourne Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the city of Melbourne. They are the first fully professional rugby league team based in the Australian rules football-dominated state of Victoria.... 26 September 1999 |
– | 82,538 Melbourne Storm v Parramatta Eels 4 October 2009 |
| International Association Football |
104,098 Spain Spain national football team The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque... vs Cameroon Cameroon national football team The Cameroon national football team, nicknamed Les Lions Indomptables , is controlled by the Fédération Camerounaise de Football and is Africa's most successful side in FIFA world cup; having qualified for the FIFA World Cup six times – in 1982, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2010– more than any... (Sydney 2000 Olympics 2000 Summer Olympics The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia... ) 30 September 2000 |
– | 82,698 Australia Australia national football (soccer) team The Australia national association football team represents Australia in international association football competitions. Its official nickname is the "Socceroos"... v Uruguay 16 November 2005 |
| Club Association Football |
– | 80,295 Sydney FC Sydney FC Sydney FC is a professional football club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and competes in the country's premier football competition, the A-League... v Los Angeles Galaxy Los Angeles Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional soccer team, based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, and the league's second... 27 November 2007 |
|
| International Cricket | – | - | – |
| Domestic Cricket | – | 29,750 NSW v QLD KFC Twenty20 Big Bash KFC Twenty20 Big Bash The KFC Twenty20 Big Bash was the domestic Twenty20 cricket competition in Australia. The competition was organised by Cricket Australia, and sponsored by fast food chicken outlet KFC. The competition was replaced by the Big Bash League as Australia's domestic Twenty20 competition after the 2010–11... 13 January 2010 |
– |
| Rugby union | 109,874 Australia v New Zealand All Blacks The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport.... 15 July 2000 |
– | 83,418 Australia Australia national rugby union team The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the... v New Zealand All Blacks The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport.... (2004 Rugby Union Tri-Nations 2004 Tri Nations Series The 2004 Tri Nations Series, an annual rugby union competition between the national teams of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, was the ninth in the series. The competition is organised by SANZAR, a consortium of the three countries' rugby union federations... ) 7 August 2004 |
| Aust. rules football (all matches) |
72,393 Sydney v Collingwood Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League... 23 August 2003 |
– | |
| Aust. rules football (finals) |
71,019 Sydney Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney... v Brisbane Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996... 20 September 2003 |
– | |