Knights Stadium (Australia)
Somers Street | |
| File:Mansion Stadium logo.jpg | |
 | |
| Former names | Melbourne Croatia Sports Centre |
|---|---|
| Location | North Sunshine, Victoria |
| Coordinates | 37°45′44″S 144°50′43″E / 37.762208°S 144.845397°E |
| Owner | City of Brimbank |
| Operator | Melbourne Croatia Social Club |
| Capacity | 15,000 |
| Surface | Grass |
| Opened | 1989 |
| Tenants | |
| Melbourne Knights | |
Knights Stadium is a Football (soccer) venue located at Somers Street in the Melbourne suburb of North Sunshine, Victoria, Australia.
Built in 1989, it is used by the Melbourne Knights as a home ground in the Victorian Premier League, and previously in the National Soccer League. The Knights were one of only a handful of clubs in the NSL to actually own their home ground.
The land at Somers St, which had been a Village drive through cinema, was bought and developed largely through donations and volunteer work from the local Croatian community.
The ground holds approximately 15,000 people, and consists of a seated main stand (the Mark Viduka Stand) with has a capacity of 4,000, with open standing-room terracing around the rest of the ground. The largest crowd at the stadium came in 2000 at an NSL match between the Melbourne Knights and South Melbourne FC, it drew a crowd of 11,500.
The Knights Stadium complex covers around 12 acres. It has 3 pitches, including the main pitch. The complex also contains the Melbourne Croatia club room and the 'Batcave' (a bar under the stadium). The facility has its own car park with 1200 spaces.
The venue is also home to the Melbourne Croatia Social Club, which currently owns the ground with the Melbourne Knights serving as tenants. This came about in 2006 when the Melbourne Knights and Melbourne Croatia Social Club separated and become two separate legal entities. As such the Melbourne Croatia Social Club are now the legal owners of the facilities, with the Melbourne Knights serving as tenants.
The beginning of 2008 saw Knights Stadium facilities receive its most significant face-lift since the grandstand was first built with the main pitch being re-layed, as well as renovations on both the granstand and terraces.
In 2009 the stadium name was changed from Knights Stadium to Mansion Stadium, after online betting giant Mansion88 became the clubs major sponsor and bought naming rights to the stadium. This only lasted for a season, and in 2010 the venue reverted back to the name Knights Stadium.
External links
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Template:Fb inner start |- style="text-align:center;" |Melbourne Knights FC | History | Players | Knights Stadium |- style="text-align:center;" | Croatian Australian Football Clubs | Croatian Australian |- style="text-align:center;" | Croats | Croatia Template:Fb inner end Template:Fb end