New $190m soccer, rugby stadium for Melbourne

A new $190 million soccer and rugby league stadium will be built in Melbourne's Olympic Park precinct by 2009.

The new home for soccer club Melbourne Victory and rugby league team Melbourne Storm will seat 20,000 spectators and have the ability to increase capacity to 25,000 seats.

Victorian Premier Steve Bracks unveiled the futuristic rectangular design for the stadium on Thursday, saying it would provide the missing link in Melbourne's sports venues.

Current crowd sizes for rugby league and soccer reach between 10,000-15,000, he said.

"Given the increasing popularity of these football codes, we expect crowd sizes for soccer and rugby (league) to increase," he said.

"With this in mind, the stadium has been designed with sufficient capacity to increase seating."

The Victorian government will contribute $149 million to the project, with the remainder supplied by the venue trust and its tenants and suppliers.

The development means Collingwood and Melbourne AFL clubs will be given new training facilities at nearby ovals in Gosch's Paddock.

But Mr Bracks said the public would still be able to access nearby ovals and no parkland would be lost.