A-League

Victory shows grounds for increase

Austadiums • Monday 4th September 2006

Melbourne Victory management will seek talks with the State Government over increasing the size of the new $190 million rectangular stadium due to open in the Olympic Park precinct in 2009.

The record crowd of almost 40,000 at Telstra Dome on Saturday night for Melbourne's gripping 3-2 win over A-League premier Sydney indicated that the 20,000 capacity of the new venue might not be big enough, Victory chief executive Geoff Miles said yesterday.

Miles also revealed that club officials would discuss with Football Federation Australia whether they should shift their next home match against Sydney -- scheduled for Friday, December 8 -- to Telstra Dome.

The new Government-backed stadium is to be the home ground for the Victory and NRL team Melbourne Storm, and will be used to host rugby union internationals.

Miles said if soccer's growth continued the new venue could be inadequate even before it was opened.

He is already resigned to Victory facing problems meeting demand at its present 18,000-capacity home ground at the old Olympic Park if the team keeps on winning and attracting new supporters.

"If the growth continues the way we hope, we will have huge challenges fitting them in at Olympic Park. The interest from a lot of people who are new to the game was clearly demonstrated last night," Miles said yesterday.

"And it does mean that the new stadium at Olympic Park is probably going to be a little small. That does pose some problems, but they are good problems to have, as it is such a positive sign for the future of the game and the club."

The new stadium will be built with a capacity of 20,000 which, Miles says, could be upgraded to 25,000 with the addition of an extra 2500 seats at either end.

Miles and Matt Carroll, the A-League's head of operations, believe the project should at least consider the largest capacity straight away.

"With the attendance last night, you would expect further growth over the next few years for Victory and the sport," Miles said.

"We want to explore, with the Government, the chances of an increase in capacity. They have already made a big commitment with a $190 million investment and it would cost more to make it bigger, and that is an issue for us, our fans and the Melbourne sporting public.

"We know that there are many other supporters from other codes joining Melbourne Victory and it shows that there is room for all codes in this city."

One issue that could hinder an expanded capacity is a protective agreement between Telstra Dome and the Government, which states that no ground with a capacity in excess of 20,000 can be built in Melbourne within 10 years of the opening of Telstra Dome (in 2000).

More News

Melbourne Victory management will seek talks with the State Government over increasing the size of the new $190 million rectangular stadium due to open in the Olympic Park precinct in 2009.
The Austadiums website is made possible by displaying some advertisements to our visitors.
Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker, whitelist us, or DONATE TO US