Sydney Football Stadium

Infobox_Stadium
stadium_name = Sydney Football Stadium
nickname = SFS


location = Moore Park, Sydney
broke_ground = 1986
opened = 1988
owner = Sydney Cricket Ground Trust
operator = Sydney Cricket Ground Trust
surface = Grass
construction_cost = $AU68 million
architect = Philip Cox, Richardson and Taylor
former_names = Aussie Stadium
tenants = Sydney Roosters (NRL) (1988 - )
South Sydney Rabbitohs (NRL) (1988 - 1999, 2002 - 2005)
New South Wales Waratahs (Super 14) (1996 - )
Sydney FC (A-League) (2005 - )
seating_capacity = 45,500
The Sydney Football Stadium (colloquially known as SFS, and formerly known as Aussie Stadium [cite web|url=http://www.leagueunlimited.com/article.php?newsid=14290|title=Sydney Football Stadium returns as Aussie deal expires|date=2007-07-09|accessdate=2007-11-28] 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 football (soccer) and rugby union for major matches and domestic competition.

The Sydney Football Stadium is home to several professional teams:
*Sydney Roosters NRL rugby league
*New South Wales Waratahs Super 14 rugby union
*Sydney FC A-League football (soccer)

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. Rugby League Grand Finals have been played there in the past.

Most major representative rugby football matches in Sydney that were once played at the SFS, such as State of Origin rugby league and rugby union Internationals, have been played at ANZ Stadium (Stadium Australia) since it was completed in 1999 for the 2000 Summer Olympic Games. This much larger stadium took a lot of the major events away, leaving the SFS as a second-tier venue, although it is far from a white elephant.

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 the sports. 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 1993 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 July 7 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 and Georgia v Uruguay. The final 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 in 1996.

Notable Events

*Irish band U2 held their Zoo TV concert at the Sydney Football Stadium in 1993.
*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.

*Argentinian superstar football (soccer) player Diego Maradona played here for the 1993 World Cup qualifier against Australia in which the match was drawn 1-1.
*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 March 5 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.

References

External links

* [http://www.sydneyfootballstadium.com.au/ Sydney Cricket Ground Trust] - Official site.
*Austadiums|9