Sydney Football Stadium

"Allianz Stadium" redirects here. For the stadium in Munich, Germany, see Allianz Arena. For the stadium in London known as Allianz Park, see Barnet Copthall.

Sydney Football Stadium
Allianz Stadium
Former names	Sydney Football Stadium Aussie Stadium
Location	Sydney, Australia
Coordinates	33°53′21″S 151°13′31″E
Broke ground	1986
Opened	1988
Owner	Sydney Cricket Ground Trust
Operator	Sydney Cricket Ground Trust
Surface	Grass Pitch
Construction cost	A$68m
Architect	Philip Cox, Richardson and Taylor
Capacity	45,500 (Venue Capacity) 44,000 (Seated Capacity)
Tenants
Sydney Roosters (NRL) (1988-present) New South Wales Waratahs (Super Rugby) (1996-present) Sydney FC (A-League) (2005-present) Wests Tigers (NRL) (2009-present) South Sydney Rabbitohs (NRL) (1988-99, 2002-05)

Sydney Football Stadium (SFS), currently known by its sponsorship name Allianz Stadium, is a football stadium located in Moore Park, Sydney, Australia. Built in 1988, the stadium is Sydney premier rectangular field venue for rugby league, rugby union and association football. The Wallabies and the Socceroos occasionally play at the stadium, while the Sydney Roosters, NSW Waratahs and Sydney FC are the grounds major tenants.

Sydney Football Stadium usually hosts both NRL semi finals and one preliminary final, and also held the annual pre-season Charity Shield football match between South Sydney and St George Illawarra for a number of years. All NSWRL / ARL Rugby League Grand Finals as well as the first Grand Final under the NRL banner were played there between 1988 and 1998.

History

Background

Sydney Sports Ground at Moore Park (1937)

Prior to its construction, major events were usually held at the Sydney Cricket Ground, as it was the largest stadium in Sydney. But the SCG, being an oval field, was not considered ideal for sports requiring a rectangular field like association football, rugby league and rugby union, although it had been used many times for such events.

Sydney Football Stadium was built upon the former Sydney Sports Ground in Moore Park, and the former SCG No 2 adjacent to the existing SCG. Both were owned by the SCG Trust. Its seating capacity was 41,159, but after numerous expansions, today stands at 45,500, although the venue's official record attendance for a sporting event stands at 43,967, for the 1994 FIFA World Cup Qualifier when Australia played Argentina.

Usage

The Sydney Football Stadium has been the Sydney Roosters' home ground since 1988. It is built on the site of the old Sydney Sports Ground which served as the Roosters home ground for decades, and the old SCG No 2 which served as a secondary ground for some state cricket matches, an additional training ground, and athletics. Both grounds were demolished in 1986 to make way for the SFS.

From 1988 to 2005 it served as the home ground for the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

The SFS has hosted Rugby League Test matches since its opening in 1988 starting with two matches in the Australia's 1988 Ashes series win against Great Britain. The record international Rugby League crowd at the stadium was set for the first Ashes Test against Great Britain on their 1992 Australasian Tour when Australia won 22-6 in front of 40,141. The stadium has also hosted the Rugby League Tri-Nations, including the Final of the 2006 tournament in which Australia triumphed 16-12 over New Zealand in Golden point extra-time thanks to a try by captain Darren Lockyer.

Rugby League also had some memorable moments including: The 1989 NSWRL Grand Final which was won by the Canberra Raiders over the Balmain Tigers 19-14 in extra-time for their first premiership: The 1991 NSWRL Grand Final won by the Penrith Panthers over Canberra 19-12 in which Penrith's Royce Simmons scored 2 tries in his final match giving the Panthers their first title: Brisbane's maiden premiership with a 28-8 win over St. George in 1992 NSWRL Grand Final, and the 1997 ARL Grand Final between the Newcastle Knights and the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, with the Knights winning their first title with a 22-16 win following a try to Darren Albert in the dying seconds of the game after the Knights had trailed Manly since early in the game. Two standout State Of Origin matches in which QLD triumphed over NSW with last-minute victories in 1994 and 1998 and Michael O'Connor's sideline conversion for a NSW win in Game 2, 1991.

The Sydney Football Stadium has been the venue of some of Australian sport's greatest matches and moments. The final of the 1993 World Youth Cup between Brazil and Ghana was also held at the SFS, Brazil won 2-1. The 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier between Australia and Argentina featuring Argentine association football legend Diego Maradona, finishing in a 1-1 draw with goals to Aurelio Vidmar for Australia and Abel Balbo for Argentina. This match retains the record attendance at the SFS and many more were actually in attendance as the gates were thrown open close to kick-off as a safety measure.

It was used as the venue for the 2000 Summer Olympics Women's association football gold medal match between Norway and the United States.

In 2002, the naming rights were purchased by Aussie Home Loans in a 5 year + 5 year deal. Due to this, the stadium was renamed Aussie Stadium. On 7 July 2007 the stadium reverted back to its original Sydney Football Stadium name after Aussie Home Loans and the SCG Trust mutually elected not to extend the naming rights deal.

In 2003, the SFS hosted several matches in the Rugby World Cup: (Ireland v Namibia), (Argentina v Romania), (Scotland v Fiji), (South Africa v Georgia), (Georgia v Uruguay; this match was notable for attracting a crowd of 28,576, despite the low profiles of both teams).

In 2007 the Sydney Roosters High Performance Centre and Administrative departments set up their headquarters at the Sydney Football Stadium.

The 2008 Rugby League World Cup's opening ceremony and Group A match between Australia and New Zealand was played at the Sydney Football Stadium. The SFS also hosted one game from the knockout stage: the 2nd Semi-final between Australia and Fiji.

In 2012, German insurance company Allianz secured the rights to the naming of the Sydney Football Stadium; the venue is now known as Allianz Stadium.

Development

In 2012 Sydney Cricket Ground Trust announced a master plan to redevelopment Sydney Football Stadium, as well as Sydney Cricket Ground and the surrounding area, with a vision "for the SCG and Allianz Stadium is to create an exciting new concept for Sydney’s central sporting precinct - a revitalised, world-class, sports and recreation facility for NSW and Australia". The development of Sydney Football Stadium will include a new fully covered roof and a new LED façade mesh for the stadium which would allow the exterior to change colours to suit the home team, similar to Allianz Arena. As well, development to the surrounding area would include a new public plaza between the Sydney Cricket Ground and Sydney Football Stadium, new transport infrastructure, new underground car parks (4,100 cars) and develop the surrounding park-land. The scheduled start date for the project will commence after the completion of the Sydney Cricket Ground redevelopment, in January 2014.

Notable events

• 1993: Irish band U2 performed their Zoo TV concert, as recorded on the concert film, Zoo TV: Live from Sydney.
• 1993: Argentinian superstar Diego Maradona played here for the World Cup qualifier against Australia, in which the match was drawn 1-1.
• 1994: Rugby union provided a moment of magic thanks to George Gregan's last second match-winning tackle on NZ's Jeff Wilson in which Australia regained the Bledisloe Cup.
• 19 December 1997: representatives of clubs affiliated with the Australian Rugby League gathered at the SFS to decide whether to accept News Limited's offer of a settlement with the breakaway 'Super League' - eventually voting in favour by 36 votes to 4.
• 2005: the Edinburgh Military Tattoo - A Salute to Australia.
• 17 May 2006: the stadium hosted the boxing fight between Danny Green and Anthony Mundine.
• 5 March 2006: the inaugural A-League Grand Final was held here.
• February 2007: the stadium was recently under renovation, during which the capacity was expanded to 45,500, and a second video screen was added. Renovations were completed in.
• 25 November 2006: the stadium hosted the 2006 Rugby League Tri-Nations Grand Final.
• 7 July 2007: Australian concert of Live Earth.
• 22 November 2009: Pearl Jam concert, as listed on their page for the Backspacer Tour.
• 14 February 2010: Sydney FC take out the 2009/2010 Premiership.
• 26 February 2010: George Michael performed his first concert in Sydney since 1988.
• 17 18 & 19 December 2010: Bon Jovi played three nights as part of The Circle Tour.
• 2010: Qualifying Final between the Sydney Roosters and Wests Tigers, where Roosters player Braith Anasta kicked a miracle field goal off the scrum to send the game to golden point, then Roosters player Shaun Kenny-Dowall intercepted a ball and scored in extra time.
• 2 & 4 December 2011: American rapper/hip-hop artist Eminem performed as part of his brief Recovery Tour.
• 8 December 2011 : American rockers Foo Fighters performed as part of their Wasting Light World Tour.
• 17 & 18 November 2012: British rockers Coldplay performed as part of their Mylo Xyloto Tour.
• 21 April 2013: 2013 A-League Grand Final
• 4 December 2013: American Singer-Songwriter Taylor Swift is set to perform here as part of her Red Tour

Panorama of Sydney Football Stadium

Records

Record	Attendance	Event
Association football	43,967	31 October 1993 - 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier (Australia 1-1 Argentina)
Concert	52,838	9 December 2006 - Robbie Williams
Rugby League	42,482	28 September 1997 - ARL Grand Final (Newcastle Knights 22-16 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles)
Rugby Union	42,899	23 June 2012 - 2012 Castrol EDGE Wales Tour (Australia 20-19 Wales)
As of 15 April 2013

Transport

Sydney Football Stadium can be accessed by car, public transport and by walking. The nearest train station is Central Station, 3 kilometers away. On event days, express shuttle buses run every five minutes from Chalmers St at Central Station to Moore Park. The buses use special bus only lanes to ensure a speedy trip.

See also

• 2000 Summer Olympics venues

External links

• Sydney Cricket Ground Trust - Official site
• Sydney Football Stadium at Austadiums