Sydney Football Stadium

Sydney Football Stadium

SFS
Former names	Aussie Stadium
Location	Moore Park, New South Wales 2021
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
Broke ground	1986
Opened	1988
Owner	Sydney Cricket Ground Trust
Operator	Sydney Cricket Ground Trust
Surface	Grass
Construction cost	AU$68m
Architect	Philip Cox, Richardson and Taylor
Capacity	45,500
Tenants
Sydney Roosters (NSWRL/ARL/NRL) (1988-present) South Sydney Rabbitohs (NSWRL / ARL / NRL) (1988-1999, 2002-2005) New South Wales Waratahs (Super 14) (1996-present) Sydney FC (A-League) (2005-present) Wests Tigers (NRL) (2009-present)

The Sydney Football Stadium (abbreviated to SFS, and formerly known as Aussie Stadium due to naming rights^[1] between 2002 and mid-2007) is located in Moore Park, in Sydney, New South Wales. It was built in 1988 to be the city's premier "rectangular field" for rugby league. It is also now used for soccer and rugby union for major matches and domestic competition.

The Sydney Football Stadium is home to several professional teams:

• Sydney FC A-League association football
• Sydney Roosters NRL rugby league
• New South Wales Waratahs Super 14 rugby union
• Wests Tigers NRL rugby league play half their games here

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

History

Prior to its construction, major events were usually held at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), which being an Oval field was not ideal for football codes requiring a rectangular field. The Sydney Football Stadium was built upon the former Sydney Sports Ground in Moore Park, adjacent to the SCG, and is owned by the SCG Trust. Its seating capacity was 41,159, but 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.

In 2002 the Sydney Football Stadium was renamed Aussie Stadium - in a 5 Year + 5 Year naming rights deal with the business Aussie Home Loans. 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

The Sydney Football Stadium has been the venue of some of Australian sport's greatest matches and moments such as the 1989 Rugby League Grand Final which was won by the Canberra Raiders over the Balmain Tigers 19-14, the 1991 Rugby League Grand Final won by Penrith over Canberra 19-12 in which Royce Simmons scored 2 tries in his final match, the 1997 ARL Grand Final between Newcastle and Manly which the Knights won 22-16 and 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 ground also hosted many memorable semi-finals and Monday Night Football games in 1996.

In 2007 the Sydney Roosters High Performance Centre and Administrative departments set up their headquarters at the Sydney Football Stadium.^[2]

Notable events

• Irish band U2 held their Zoo TV concert at the Sydney Football Stadium in 1993, as recorded on the concert film Zoo TV: Live from Sydney
• Argentinian superstar Diego Maradona played here for the 1993 World Cup qualifier against Australia in which the match was drawn 1-1
• 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 in 1994
• On 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
• The Edinburgh Military Tattoo - A Salute to Australia - was held at the Sydney Football Stadium in 2005
• The Sydney Football Stadium hosted the boxing fight between Danny Green and Anthony Mundine on 17 May 2006
• The inaugural A-League Grand Final was held here on 5 March 2006
• The stadium hosted the 2006 Rugby League Tri-Nations Grand Final on 25 November
• The Sydney Football 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 early 2007
• On 7 July 2007 the stadium hosted the Australian concert of Live Earth
• On 22 November 2009 the stadium hosted the only concert by Pearl Jam as listed on their page for the Backspacer Tour

Waratahs v Brumbies, 16 April 2006	Australia v Kuwait playing at Sydney Football Stadium	Sydney FC v Shanghai Shenhua, 9 May 2007	NRL Finals match in 2006
Sydney FC v North Queensland Fury, Round 7, 2009-10 season

See also

• 2000 Summer Olympics venues

References

External links

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