Docklands Stadium
Docklands Stadium (also known by its former sponsored names of Colonial Stadium and Telstra Dome and its current sponsorship name of Etihad Stadium) is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the Docklands precinct of Melbourne. Construction started in October 1997 under the working name, "Victoria Stadium" and was completed in 2000 at a cost of A$460 million.
Originally built as a headquarters for the Australian Football League and as a replacement for Waverley Park, the stadium is primarily used for Australian rules football. As part of the construction deal, the Australian Football League assume ownership of the ground in 2025. Also headquartered at the stadium is Seven Network's digital broadcast centre.
The Docklands Stadium is officially home ground to five AFL teams. The Western Bulldogs, Carlton, Essendon, St Kilda and North Melbourne use the stadium as their primary home ground, although all the Victorian-based teams have played home games at the ground. The AFL highest home and away attendance recorded at the Docklands Stadium was set on 5 July 2009 when 54,444 people watched St Kilda play Geelong in Round 14.
The stadium has been host to other sporting events, including Melbourne Victory soccer matches, one-off matches for sports including cricket, rugby league and rugby union, and several specialised events and concerts.
In 2000, the first indoor One Day International was held when the Australian cricket team played South Africa in the "Super Challenge". It has been a venue for usually off-season one day matches but it held VB Series matches in 2006 due to the Melbourne Cricket Ground being unavailable due to preparations for it being the main stadium for the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
The stadium is the first stadium to have movable seating in Australia. All four level-one tiers of the stadium can be moved up to 18 metres forward into a rectangular configuration. The retractable roof 38 metres above the playing surface, opens east-west, and takes eight minutes to fully open or close.
Location: Harbour Esplanade, Melbourne Docklands.
