Docklands Stadium


Docklands Stadium, also known by naming rights sponsorship as Marvel Stadium, is a multi-purpose, grassed oval 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 which, since 7 October 2016, has had exclusive ownership of the venue. With a capacity for 56,000 spectators for sports, the stadium is the second-largest in Melbourne, and hosts 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. Seven Network's digital broadcast centre is also headquartered at the precinct.

History

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.
The stadium, like Waverley Park, was built primarily for Australian rules football, unlike most grounds of a similar size in Australia which were originally designed for cricket then later developed for football. It was the first Australian rules football stadium built with a retractable roof, which throughout its history has been closed for all night matches and for wet weather day matches, and sometimes also for dry weather day matches. It was also the first stadium in Australia to have movable seating, as all four level-one tiers of the stadium can be moved up to 18 metres forward into a rectangular configuration; despite this being a key feature of the stadium design, it has rarely been used, due to damage to turf, time to deploy the seats, and a reduced capacity since the corner bays of the stadium become unavailable in rectangular configuration.
Construction was finished only weeks before the first match, and some scheduled pre-season matches were relocated as a result. The first match to be played at the ground was between and, before a crowd of 43,012, on 9 March 2000. Essendon won the match by 94 points, and Michael Long kicked the first goal at the ground. The game was to have been played under the closed roof, but due to technical issues it remained open. Six days later, Barbra Streisand staged venue's first concert. The stadium's third football game, between Western Bulldogs and Brisbane Lions on 19 March, was the first to be played under the roof. On 16 August 2000, the world's first indoor One Day International was held at the venue between Australia and South Africa. The first game played in the rectangular configuration was a Melbourne Storm game in July 2001.
From the beginning, the stadium's playing surface was criticised for its slipperiness, hardness and lack of grass coverage, and the increased risk of injury that this causes to players. Maintaining surface quality remains one of the stadium's biggest challenges. The stadium's orientation and highly built up grandstands mean that the Northern end of the stadium in particular receives only receives 6 weeks of sunlight a year; concerts held at the stadium are also usually placed at the Southern end due to the ability for grass to recover more quickly. The entire surface undergoes regular, expensive replacement during the season with turf grown externally, under contract by HG Turf, whereas the responsibility of laying and managing the turf lies with Docklands Stadium management. Since 2007, elaborate heating and lighting to better allow grass to be grown and managed within the stadium have been in use.
The venue was damaged by a thunderstorm on the afternoon of 6 March 2010 during the 2010 Victorian storms. The external roof at Gate 2 caved in, causing damage and flooding inside the entertainment area. That evening's preseason match between and was delayed due to WorkSafe inspections, but still went ahead before a small crowd of 5000.
In 2015, LED electronic advertising was added around the perimeter of the ground on level 1 and 2, as well as a strip synthetic turf around the edge of the fence, outside the boundary line. The synthetic strip was narrowed after Brisbane Lions player Michael Close suffered a season ending ACL injury on the uneven surface during a game in 2015.
The stadium became unpopular with many of its tenant clubs, especially, and, as high operating costs and the high proportion of gate revenues which were paid back to the stadium meant that clubs earned much lower returns for a game at Docklands than they would have earned from the same attendance at the Melbourne Cricket Ground; and usually had to draw at least 20,000 spectators to break even on a game. Those three clubs all received compensation payments from the AFL to balance the weak deals, and sold occasional home matches to small interstate or international venues for greater financial returns than they could earn at Docklands.
Under the terms of the agreement governing construction and operation of the venue, in 2025 the AFL was to win ownership of the stadium for a nominal $30 fee; but the AFL Commission opted to purchase exclusive ownership of the stadium earlier than this, in October for approximately $200 million. This purchase left the stadium's tenant AFL clubs millions of dollars better off, as they and the AFL arranged more favourable tenancy agreements. The purchase also soon proved critically important to the AFL's finances during the COVID-19 pandemic, when it was able to leverage its ownership of the stadium in obtaining a $500–600 million line of credit to cover cash flow shortages when the 2020 AFL season was suspended.

Naming rights history

The stadium has never operated under the name 'Docklands Stadium', having been covered by naming rights deals throughout its entire operating history. When it opened, the Colonial State Bank paid $32.5 million for 10 years of naming rights, and the stadium opened as Colonial Stadium; the same year, Commonwealth Bank took over the Colonial State Bank and began to discontinue the brand; Commonwealth then sold the balance of the naming rights contract to Telstra for about $50 million, and the stadium's name was changed to Telstra Dome on 1 October 2002. During this time it was colloquially referred to as "The Dome" – a colloquialism used actively by clubs which were sponsored by rival telecommunications companies.
On 1 March 2009, the naming rights transferred to Etihad Airways, and the venue became known as Etihad Stadium under a five year deal, which was later extended to ten years, at a cost estimated at between $5–$8 million per year. This once again caused problems as the AFL would not initially recognise the new name due to its deal with rival airline Qantas; the league recognised the new name only after further negotiation between the two parties.
In September 2018, the stadium was renamed Marvel Stadium, after the stadium operators negotiated an eight-year deal with The Walt Disney Company to change the naming rights and install a Marvel retail store at the venue.

Stadium features

The ends of the ground, where the AFL goal posts are located, are named after the two leading goalkickers in VFL/AFL history: the northern end is the Lockett End, after Tony Lockett; and the southern end is the Coventry End after Gordon Coventry. Some clubs informally use alternative names during their home games in place of those to honour their own histories.
Melbourne Derby in February 2015

Home teams

As of 2020, five AFL teams have deals in place to play home games at Docklands Stadium:
All Victorian-based AFL teams, including those not listed here, have played some home games at the ground during its history, owing to a contractual requirement between the AFL and the stadium's original owners to stage at least 46 AFL matches per year until 2013, and 40 matches per year thereafter. and both had deals to play around four home matches per year during the 2000s; and most other clubs still play one or two home matches there per year to make up the numbers.
The venue's major summer tenant is Big Bash League side Melbourne Renegades, which has played its home games at the Docklands Stadium since the league's inception in 2011/12. A drop-in pitch is used to facilitate cricket at the venue. At the end of the 2016/17 Big Bash, the stadium was rated the most entertaining venue for T20 cricket in Australia.
A-League team Melbourne Victory also plays home matches at Docklands. Originally, the plan was that the stadium would only be used for games against its biggest rivals, Sydney FC, in the 2006/07 A-League; but after the success of that game, the club shifted permanently from Olympic Park Stadium to Docklands from the 2006/07 season until the 2009/10 season. This gave the stadium its first major summer tenant. Since the opening of the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium in 2010, the club now plays only high-drawing games and finals at Docklands, with all other games being played at the new stadium.
In the 2001 National Rugby League season, the stadium was the permanent home ground for the Melbourne Storm, but this deal lasted only one year. The club occasionally hosted high-drawing home games and finals at Docklands after that. Docklands has also hosted interstate and international rugby league games, including State of Origin games in 2006, 2009 and 2012 State of Origin series. The 2012 match attracted 56,021, a new record for rugby league at the stadium.
The stadium has been converted to host several other sporting events. In its early years, the stadium was used for off-season one day matches, but has also held some summer matches, particularly in 2006 when the Melbourne Cricket Ground was unavailable due to the 2006 Commonwealth Games. The venue has also hosted international rugby union – including being Melbourne's venue during the 2003 Rugby World Cup – although the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium now hosts most such games. The venue has hosted international basketball, Rugby 7s at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, a 2002 non-televised WWE live event as part of the, the 2015 UFC 193 in front of a then-record UFC attendance of 56,214 fans, a motorcycle speedway event, and a controversial international darts event in 2015 in which spectators seated on the arena started throwing chairs and furniture.

Records

Attendance

SportDateCrowdEvent
Rugby Union29 June 201356,7712013 British and Irish Lions tour to Australia: Australia vs British and Irish Lions
One Day International38,364Commonwealth Bank Series
Big Bash League12 January 201844,3162017–18 Big Bash League Round 7: Melbourne Renegades vs Melbourne Stars
A-League18 February 200755,4362007 A-League Grand Final: Melbourne Victory vs Adelaide United
International soccer11 June 201343,7852014 World Cup Qualification Fourth Round: Australia vs Jordan
State of Origin23 May 201256,0212012 State of Origin Game I: Queensland vs New South Wales
NRL23 September 200733,4272007 NRL Preliminary Final: Melbourne Storm vs Parramatta Eels
AFL5 July 200954,4442009 AFL Round 14: St Kilda vs Geelong
International Rules28 October 200545,4282005 International Rules Series 2nd Test: Australia vs Ireland
Motorsport24 October 201526,609Speedway Grand Prix Round 12 2015: Speedway Grand Prix of Australia

AFL records

Players

Last updated 14 October 2019.

International cricket

The following table summarises the ODI centuries scored at Docklands.
No.ScorePlayerTeamBallsInns.Opposing teamDateResult
1 106Michael Bevan 125116 August 2000Won
2 114*Steve Waugh 103116 August 2000Won
3 103Adam Gilchrist 791ICC World XI7 October 2005Won

Concerts

Transport access

Docklands Stadium is serviced primarily by trains at Southern Cross Station, which is located on the City Loop and is serviced by all major metropolitan and country train and coach lines. The stadium is located on a public pedestrian concourse adjoining the northern end of the station.
The stadium is also serviced by several tram routes:
The venue appeared in the 2007 film Ghost Rider. Its name, wherever visible, was digitally changed to the SoBe Dome. It can also be seen in the video for Jessica Mauboy's single "Running Back", as well as some television shows, such as the Seven Network's City Homicide and Network Ten's Rush.