Sydney Football Stadium

"Allianz Stadium" redirects here. For the stadium in Munich, Germany, see Allianz Arena. For the stadium in São Paulo, see Allianz Parque. For the stadium in London known as Allianz Park, see Barnet Copthall.
Sydney Football Stadium
Allianz Stadium
Former names Aussie Stadium (2002-2009)
Address Driver Avenue
Location Moore Park, Sydney
Coordinates 33°53′21″S 151°13′31″E / 33.88917°S 151.22528°E / -33.88917; 151.22528Coordinates: 33°53′21″S 151°13′31″E / 33.88917°S 151.22528°E / -33.88917; 151.22528
Owner Sydney Cricket Ground Trust
Operator Sydney Cricket Ground Trust
Executive suites 65
Capacity 45,500 (venue capacity)
44,000 (seated capacity)
Field size 140 x 79 metres
Surface Grass
Construction
Broke ground 1986
Opened 1988
Construction cost $68 million
Architect Philip Cox, Richardson & Taylor
Tenants
Sydney Roosters (NRL) (1988–present)
New South Wales Waratahs (Super Rugby) (1996–present)
Sydney FC (A-League) (2005–present)
Wests Tigers (NRL) (2009–2013)
South Sydney Rabbitohs (some matches) (NRL) (1988–99, 2002–05, 2015-present)
New South Wales rugby league team (1988–1998)
Australian Sevens (2016–present)

The Sydney Football Stadium (SFS), commercially known as the Allianz Stadium since February 2012, is a football stadium located in Moore Park, Sydney, Australia. Built in 1988, the stadium is Sydney's premier rectangular field venue for rugby league, rugby union and soccer. The Kangaroos, the Wallabies and the Socceroos occasionally play at the stadium, while the Sydney Roosters, NSW Waratahs and Sydney FC are the ground's major tenants.

Sydney Football Stadium usually hosts both National Rugby League 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. It hosted all New South Wales Rugby League/Australian Rugby League rugby league grand finals, as well as the first grand final under the NRL banner, between 1988 and 1998.

The stadium is located next to the Sydney Cricket Ground.

History

Background

Sydney Sports Ground in 1937

Prior to its construction, major events were usually held at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), 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 such as soccer, 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 Sydney Cricket Ground 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, set on 31 October 1993 for the 1994 FIFA World Cup Qualifier when the Socceroos 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 1999 and from 2002 to 2005, it served as the home ground for the South Sydney Rabbitohs.[1] The Rabbitohs returned to the ground with a one off game against the Broncos in Round 25 of the 2015 NRL season.[2]

The SFS has hosted rugby league football test matches since its opening in 1988 starting with two matches in Australia's 1988 Ashes series win against Great Britain. The first game of the series saw the Wally Lewis captained, Don Furner coached Australians christen their new Sydney home with a 17-6 win in front of 24,480 fans. That game was also the 100th test match between Australia and either Great Britain or England. The record international Rugby League crowd at the stadium was set for the first Ashes against Great Britain on their 1992 Australasian Tour when Australia won 22-6 in front of 40,141 in what was the first time a test in Sydney had attracted over 40,000 fans since 1974. 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 first grand final in 1988 saw Canterbury-Bankstown defeat Balmain 24-12 in front of 40,000 fans to send club captain Steve Mortimer into retirement with a premiership. The match had its controversial moment when Bulldogs Five-eighth Terry Lamb hit Tigers English import Centre Ellery Hanley with a high tackle out of the game before the 30th minute: The 1989 NSWRL grand final which was won by the Canberra Raiders over the Balmain Tigers 19-14 thanks to a try by replacement forward Steve Jackson 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, highlighted by a 95-metre try to Broncos Centre Steve Renouf: 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. Manly had won their previous 11 games against the Knights prior to that Grand Final.

The last grand final played at the SFS was the 1998 NRL Grand Final between Canterbury and Brisbane. In front of 40,857 fans, the Broncos ran out easy 38-12 winners to win their 4th premiership from four grand final appearances.

Two standout State Of Origin matches in which Queensland triumphed over New South Wales with last-minute victories in 1994 and 1998, as well as Michael O'Connor's sideline conversion in driving rain for a NSW win in Game 2 of the 1991 series. Also of note was Queensland's backs to the wall win in Game 2 of the 1989. Despite losing Allan Langer to a broken leg, Mal Meninga with a fractured eye socket and Paul Vautin with an elbow injury in the first half, plus losing winger Michael Hancock to a shoulder injury in the second half, the Maroons triumphed 16-12 to wrap up the series. It was also found out after the game that Queensland's lock forward Bob Lindner had played most of the second half with a fractured ankle.[3]

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 winning 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. Despite the grounds increase in capacity since 1993, this match retains the record sporting 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. Norway defeated the USA 3-2 in front of 22,848 fans.[4]

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 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.[5]

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

In 2012, Allianz Insurance secured the rights to the naming of the Sydney Football Stadium; the venue is now known as Allianz Stadium.[6]

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 would have included 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 have included a new public plaza between the Sydney Cricket Ground and Sydney Football Stadium, new transport infrastructure, new underground car parks (4,100 cars) and development of the surrounding parkland. The scheduled start date for the project would have commenced after the completion of the Sydney Cricket Ground redevelopment, in January 2014. In early 2015, the video screens were replaced with large High Definition screens similar to the one at the Dally Messenger Stand at the SCG.

In September 2015, the New South Wales Government announced a proposal to replace the SFS with a new 50,000 to 55,000 seat venue.[7][8] The proposed new stadium was cancelled in April 2016, with the SFS to be refurbished instead.

Sporting events

Panorama of Sydney Football Stadium from the north-west corner before an A-League game between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory

Concerts

Other events

Attendance records

Record Attendance Date Event
Soccer 43,967 31 October 1993 World Cup qualifier (Australia drew with Argentina 1-1)
Rugby union 44,063 25 June 2016 2016 England tour of Australia ( Australia loss  England, 40-44)
Rugby league 42,482 28 September 1997 ARL grand final (Newcastle def. Manly-Warringah 22-16)
As of 26 November 2015[11]

Grand finals

Since its opening in 1988, the Sydney Football Stadium hosted eleven NSWRL / ARL / NRL grand finals between 1988 and 1998, and has also hosted three A-League grand finals.

Rugby league

Year Date Result Attendance
1988 11 September Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs def. Balmain Tigers 24-12 40,000
1989 24 September Canberra Raiders def. Balmain Tigers 19-14 (ET) 40,500
1990 23 September Canberra Raiders def. Penrith Panthers 18-14 41,535
1991 21 September Penrith Panthers def. Canberra Raiders 18-12 41,815
1992 27 September Brisbane Broncos def. St George Dragons 28-8 41,560
1993 26 September Brisbane Broncos def. St George Dragons 14-6 42,329
1994 25 September Canberra Raiders def. Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 36-12 42,234
1995 24 September Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs def. Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 17-4 41,127
1996 29 September Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles def. St George Dragons 20-8 40,985
1997 28 September Newcastle Knights def. Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 22-16 42,482
1998 27 September Brisbane Broncos def. Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 38-12 40,857

* Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Canberra Raiders hold the record for the most grand final appearances at the stadium with four each. The Bulldogs appeared as Canterbury-Bankstown in 1988 and 1994, as the Sydney Bulldogs in 1995 and as the Canterbury Bulldogs in 1998
* Canberra and the Brisbane Broncos hold the record for most grand final wins at the stadium with three each.
* Brisbane and the Newcastle Knights are the only teams to win each of their grand finals played at the stadium.
* St George and Balmain are the only clubs who failed to win in any of their grand final appearances at the stadium.
* The 1997 grand final attendance of 42,482 remains the record rugby league crowd at the stadium and the third largest sporting attendance in the stadiums 26-year history.
* Canterbury-Bankstown appeared in the first and last grand finals at the SFS.
* Brisbane's 26 point win over Canterbury-Bankstown in 1998 is the biggest grand final winning margin at the SFS. Canberra's 4 point win over Penrith in 1990 is the smallest winning margin. It also hosted the 2016 NRL preliminary final Between Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and the North Queensland Cowboys.

A-League

Since the A-League's first season in 2006, the Sydney Football Stadium has hosted the A-League grand final on three occasions, including the inaugural grand final between Sydney FC and the Central Coast Mariners.

Year Date Result Attendance
2006 5 March Sydney FC def. Central Coast Mariners 1-0 41,689
2008 24 February Newcastle Jets def. Central Coast Mariners 1-0 36,354
2013 21 April Central Coast Mariners def. Western Sydney Wanderers 2-0 42,102

Rugby league test matches

The Football Stadium has hosted twelve Australia internationals. The results were as follows;[12]

Date Opponents Result Attendance Part of
11 June 1988  Great Britain 17–6 24,480 100th test match between Australia and Great Britain/England
Played as part of the 1988 Ashes series
9 July 1988 12–26 15,944 1985-1988 World Cup and 1988 Ashes series
24 July 1991  New Zealand 44–0 34,911 1991 Trans-Tasman Test series
12 June 1992 United Kingdom Great Britain 22–6 40,141 1992 Ashes series
7 July 1995 New Zealand New Zealand 20–10 27,568 1995 Trans-Tasman Test series
12 July 2002 United Kingdom Great Britain 64–10 31,844
25 July 2003 New Zealand New Zealand 48–6 30,605
4 November 2006 United Kingdom Great Britain 12–23 24,953 2006 Tri-Nations
25 November 2006 New Zealand New Zealand 16–12 27,325 2006 Tri-Nations Final
26 October 2008 30–6 34,157 2008 World Cup
16 November 2008  Fiji 52–0 15,855 2008 World Cup
2 May 2014 New Zealand New Zealand 30–18 25,459 2014 Anzac Test

It also hosted an Australia Super League match against New Zealand in the first ever Anzac Test on 25 April 1997 with 23,829 in attendance. The Australia Super League won the game 34–22.

Rugby union test matches

Since its opening in 1988, the Football Stadium has hosted twenty five Australia rugby union internationals. The results were as follows;

Date Opponents Result Attendance
1 July 1989 British and Irish Lions 30-12 39,433
15 July 1989 18-19 39,401
9 June 1990  France 21-9 34,572
30 July 1990 19-28 34,776
27 July 1991  England 40-15 39,681
10 August 1991  New Zealand 21-12 41,565
13 June 1992  Scotland 27-12 35,535
4 July 1992 New Zealand New Zealand 16-15 39,870
25 July 1992 23-26 40,438
31 July 1993  South Africa 20-28 41,190
21 August 1993 19-12 41,877
11 June 1994  Ireland 32-18 37,239
6 August 1994  Samoa 73-3 30,167
17 August 1994 New Zealand New Zealand 20-16 41,917
6 May 1995  Argentina 30-13 27,829
29 July 1995 New Zealand New Zealand 23-34 39,327
22 June 1996  Wales 42-3 35,784
13 July 1996 South Africa South Africa 21-16 41,850
21 June 1997 France France 29-15 31,572
12 July 1997 England England 25-6 40,132
13 June 1998 Scotland Scotland 45-3 36,263
29 August 1998 New Zealand New Zealand 19-14 40,501
23 June 2012 Wales Wales 20-19 42,889
21 June 2014 France France 39-13 43,188
25 June 2016  England 40-44 44,063

It also hosted five 2003 Rugby World Cup matches but none of them involved Australia. The results were as follows;

19 October 2003
Ireland  64–7  Namibia
Tries: Quinlan (2), Dempsey, Hickie, Horan, Miller (2), G. Easterby, S. Horgan, Kelly
Con: O'Gara (7)		 Try: Powell
Con: Wessels

Attendance: 35,382
Referee: Andrew Cole (Australia)
22 October 2003
Argentina  50–3  Romania
Tries: Gaitán, Hernández (2), M. Contepomi, N. Fernández Miranda, Bouza (2)
Con: J. Fernández Miranda (4), Quesada (2)
Pen: J. Fernández Miranda		 Pen: Ionut Tofan

Attendance: 33,673
Referee: Chris White (England)
24 October 2003
South Africa  46–19  Georgia
Tries: Rossouw (2), Hougaard, van Niekerk, Fourie, Botha, Burger
Con: Hougaard (4)
Pen: Hougaard		 Try: Dadunashvili
Con: Jimsheladze
Pen: Jimsheladze (3), Kvirikashvili

Attendance: 34,308
Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
28 October 2003
Georgia  12–24  Uruguay
Pen: Urjukashvili, Kvirikashvili (3) Tries: Cardoso, Lamelas, Brignoni
Con: Aguirre (2), Menchaca
Pen: Juan Menchaca

Attendance: 28,576
Referee: Kelvin Deaker (New Zealand)
1 November 2003
Scotland  22–20  Fiji
Try: Smith
Con: Paterson
Pen: Paterson (5)		 Tries: Caucaunibuca (2)
Con: Little (2)
Pen: Little (2)

Attendance: 37,137
Referee: Tony Spreadbury (England)

Soccer internationals

List of international soccer matches played at the Football Stadium since 1988 (Senior men's games only).

Test# Date Result Attendance
1 14 July 1988 Australia def. Argentina 4-1 18,985
2 17 July 1988 Brazil def. Australia 2-0 28,161
3 12 March 1989 Australia def. New Zealand 4-1 13,621
4 16 April 1989 Australia drew with Israel 1-1 40,320
5 1 June 1991 England def. Australia 1-0 35,743
6 26 January 1992 Australia drew with Sweden 0-0 13,456
7 12 July 1992 Australia drew with Croatia 0-0 12,735
8 15 August 1993 Australia def. Canada 2-1 25,982
9 31 October 1993 Australia def Argentina 1-0 43,967
10 12 June 1994 Australia def. South Africa 1-0 17,769
11 11 February 1995 Colombia def. Australia 1-0 15,000
12 15 February 1995 Australia def. Japan 2-1 4,541
13 18 June 1995 Australia def. Ghana 1-0 18,446
14 28 February 1996 Australia drew with Sweden 0-0 13,905
15 25 January 1997 Australia def. Norway 1-0 17,429
16 11 February 1998 Australia def. South Korea 1-0 9,823
17 9 June 2000 Australia drew with Paraguay 0-0 10,000
18 21 May 2004 Turkey def. Australia 3-1 28,326
19 12 October 2004 Australia def. Solomon Islands 6-1 19,208
20 16 August 2006 Australia def. Kuwait 2-0 32,622
21 11 October 2006 Australia def. Bahrain 2-0 36,606
22 23 May 2008 Australia def. Ghana 1-0 29,914
23 10 October 2009 Australia drew with Netherlands 0-0 40,537
24 9 October 2010 Australia def. Paraguay 1-0 25,210
25 19 November 2013 Australia def. Costa Rica 1-0 20,165
26 29 March 2016 Australia def. Jordan 5-1 24,975

Statues

Transport

Sydney Football Stadium can be accessed by car, public transport and by walking. The nearest railway station is Central station, three kilometres away. On event days, express shuttle buses run every five minutes from Chalmers Street at Central station to Moore Park. The buses utilise a bus road off Anzac Parade to improve travel times. In 2015, the Albert (Tibby) Cotter Bridge opened across Anzac Parade opened to improve the pedestrian links between the stadium and Central station and Surry Hills.[13]

References

  1. ↑ Club Records at rabbitohs.com.au
  2. ↑ http://www.nrl.com/DrawResults/TelstraPremiership/Draw/tabid/11180/s/43/sc/cWMNdbaQGaA10800/Default.aspx
  3. ↑ Meares, Peter (2003). Legends of Australian sport: The Inside Story. Australia: University of Queensland Press. p. 140. ISBN 978-0-7022-3410-1.
  4. ↑ 2000 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. p. 385.
  5. ↑ "SCG Trust Timeline". sydneycricketground.com.au. Sydney Cricket & Sports Ground Trust. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
  6. ↑ "Sydney FC's Home Ground Has A New Name". FFA. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  7. ↑ "New 30,000-seat Parramatta stadium among premier's $1.6b promises". The Sydney Morning Herald. 4 September 2015.
  8. ↑ "$1 billion for Sydney stadiums". New South Wales Government. 4 September 2015.
  9. ↑ "SFS re-names Allianz Stadium". 29 February 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  10. ↑ "Taylor Swift Is First Female Artist In History to Sell Out Sydney's Allianz Stadium". 5 December 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  11. ↑ "Allianz Stadium Record Crowds". scgt.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  12. ↑ SFS results @ Rugby League Project
  13. ↑ Shared path bridge over Anzac Parade at Moore Park Road & Maritime Services
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