New Stadium a Victory for Melbourne

Today’s announcement of a new $190 million rectangular stadium for Melbourne was warmly received by one of the proposed major tenants of the facility, Melbourne Victory.

Stadium plans announced by the Premier Steve Bracks today reveal a state-of-the-art design with the capacity to accommodate 20,000 spectators purpose-built for rectangular sports including football, rugby league and rugby union.

Having achieved sellout crowds in its opening season in the new Hyundai A-League, Melbourne Victory can look forward to greater capacity and better supporter facilities when the new stadium opens in 2008.

Club Chairman, Geoff Lord, described the stadium as world class and befitting a professional club such as Melbourne Victory.

“As a club we have embarked on a long term strategy for excellence,” Lord said.

“To have a stadium with such an iconic design mirrors what we are trying to achieve as a club. We want to build an iconic club for Melbourne, and to play in this magnificent stadium will be marvelous for us.”

Melbourne Victory Football Operations Manager, Gary Cole, was delighted with the plans for the new Olympic Park Stadium.

“I think this stadium is fantastic for Melbourne,” Cole said.

“We’ve never had a modern, purpose-built football stadium before. I played for Heidelberg, Victoria and the Socceroos at the old Olympic Park and with a full house it was fantastic; but 20,000 fans in a modern stadium built for football with the sound of the crowd reverberating will be exciting for players and fans alike. I couldn’t think of a more perfect place for Melbourne Victory to call home.”

Interim Melbourne Victory CEO, John Harris, saw the stadium as a symbol of how far the club and the Hyundai A-League have come in such a short time.

“This stadium, our new home, heralds the renaissance of football in Melbourne,” Harris said.

“The success of Melbourne Victory and the Hyundai A-League would have been a compelling aspect in the ultimate scope and design of Melbourne’s new stadium.”

Coach Ernie Merrick indicated that the stadium would play a major role in attracting quality overseas players to Melbourne, as well as providing inspiration to local players.

“Football really has come of age. Interest in the sport is enormous, which is reflected in the Australia versus Greece game being sold out in less than two hours,” Merrick said.

“With the State Government committed to building a world class stadium, the future for our game is very bright. We’ll certainly be using the stadium as a tool for attracting high quality international players, and I’m sure the stadium will also serve as a focal point for football for local youngsters in the same way as the MCG does for cricket.”