Ikon Park News

Carlton’s Ikon Park will host top-flight football for the first time in almost 25 years, after Melbourne City was forced to shift their AFC Champions League fixture due to the unavailability of AAMI Park.

The Carlton Football Club has unveiled stage two of its Ikon Park redevelopment as the ground prepares to see the return of AFLW matches.

Construction work on the Ikon Park redevelopment, including new elite women’s facilities, has commenced ahead of the 2021 AFLW season-start on Thursday night at the venue.

Carlton Football Club has revealed redevelopment plans for its Ikon Park home base after confirmation it’ll receive $15 million in Federal Government funding.

The Victorian Labor Government has pledged $500 million to state-wide sports infrastructure including $225 million of the 2018/2019 Budget to help fund redevelopments to the MCG and Etihad Stadium Precinct.

The AFL is examining plans to upgrade either Princes Park or Punt Road Oval as a boutique 25,000-seat stadium to help ease the financial burden on Victorian clubs hobbled by onerous Etihad Stadium deals.

Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle is prepared to enter talks with the AFL over possible use of Princes Park for premiership season matches.

Victorian-based AFL clubs will soon boast modern and up-to-date facilities to match those of non-Victorian clubs, and they will be made available to community groups and the general public, as part of a $55 million funding project announced by the AFL and the Victorian government on Wednesday.

In the strongest indication yet of its desire to take over management of Princes Park, the AFL has engaged a consultant to study the feasibility of it buying the lease of Carlton's home ground.

After hosting champions and hard men, Carlton's much-loved, and feared, home ground is to be consigned to history. And with it, the old days of suburban football.

Optus Oval will remain an AFL venue until at least 2006 regardless of whether Carlton decides to shift from the last remaining suburban ground next year.

Carlton has taken the first public step towards a shift to Telstra Dome with the massive write-down of Optus Oval grandstands.