Thu 24th May 2007

Melbourne Victory today announced that it had signed on as a foundation tenant of Melbourne’s new rectangular pitch stadium at Olympic Park, ensuring that the venue would now be expanded to accommodate a minimum of 31,000 fans.

Chairman Geoff Lord, speaking at today’s stadium launch with Premier Steve Bracks and Minister for Sport and Recreation James Merlino, was pleased with the outcome of negotiations, which will see Melbourne split its home games between the new stadium and the 55,000-seat Telstra Dome from the Hyundai A-League 2009/10 season.

“We are delighted with the outcome of our discussions with the State Government and Melbourne & Olympic Parks Trust and welcome the announcement of the new stadium,” Lord said. “The increase in the size of the stadium to a minimum of 31,000 will ensure that Melbourne Victory fans have the best opportunity to support our club in two great stadiums here in Melbourne – Olympic Park and Telstra Dome.

“There is no doubt that the new stadium will provide a fantastic atmosphere due to the stadium configuration and a spectacular design. We are pleased that we will also have the opportunity to continue playing our blockbuster games at Telstra Dome, which has provided a terrific venue for us and played a significant role in the growth of support for our club and record attendances last season.

“We would like to acknowledge the support of the Premier Steve Bracks and his Government in committing to the new stadium and expanding the stadium size from the original capacity of 20,000,” Lord added. “We would also like to thank MOPT and Football Federation Australia for their assistance in the discussions which have delivered an excellent result for the sport, Melbourne Victory and Victoria.

“We look forward with anticipation to the opening of the new stadium in 2009 and to working hard to support the development of our game at the community level in Victoria and contributing to the rapid growth of the Hyundai A-League.”

Football Federation Australia CEO Ben Buckley expressed his organisation’s delight at the announcement of the new stadium’s increased capacity.

"The FFA is delighted by the Victorian Government decision on the final configuration of the new rectangular stadium,” Buckley said. “Melbourne will now have a first-class venue designed specifically for football fans.

"The increase in capacity from the original plans is testament to the growing popularity of football and FFA would like to acknowledge the Victorian Government for their forward thinking in developing a stadium that will be suitable for future football events.

"The new stadium will give fans a modern purpose-built football stadium and we look forward to staging matches there."