AFL appoints John Holland to undertake venue and precinct upgrade at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium

The AFL has named building and infrastructure company John Holland as its official building partner for the Marvel Stadium and stadium precinct upgrade.

The builder, which is currently working on the new Sydney Football Stadium, will commence works on the Melbourne Docklands venue at the conclusion of the 2021 AFL Premiership Season, with the project expected to be finished during the 2023 season.

Once completed, the upgraded venue and surrounding and stadium precinct is planned to be a 365-day a year hub for sport and entertainment.

The Marvel Stadium and surrounding precinct works will include revitalised eastern and southern entry points, including a new 'Town Square' transforming the space into a seven-day per week open and accessible area to gather Monday to Sunday, or when attending a sporting event or concert.

A new city-side extension will include function rooms with views of both the arena and CBD as its backdrop.

The signature new Town Square plaza will welcome pedestrians arriving on the Bourke Street footbridge from Southern Cross Station - a combination of indoor and outdoor spaces with some stadium walls removed to provide a visual connection to the field of play.

Markets and community gatherings will fit naturally in the space, while hospitality businesses on two levels will be open to the public and able to be converted to ticketed areas for sporting events and concerts.

The fan experience will be enhanced with major renovations to public food and beverage areas connecting into the arena and overlooking the field of play and more spaces to catch up with friends, pre, during and post the match. Two new and bigger scoreboards will hang from the roof at either end of venue, a new sensory room and changing place facility will ensure Marvel Stadium is a place that welcomes people of all abilities, and additional bicycle parking facilities to promote sustainable transport.

There will also be a boost to the event-day experience through improved lighting and technology upgrades throughout the stadium. Home clubs on a match day will be able to fully integrate their brand and club colours into the exterior and interior of the new development – from the concourse, new entrances and through to function rooms.

Athletes will also be supported with upgrades to the team facilities to provide state of the art male and female change rooms.

Advising that the upgraded design will deliver the best experience for fans in-stadium and for visitors to the precinct, AFL Chief Executive Gillon McLachlan stated “the John Holland team will help bring our vision to life - which is to make the Marvel Stadium precinct one of the best and technologically advanced sports and entertainment destinations in the world.

"John Holland has a proven track record in delivering major projects in Australia and we are excited to partner with them and get the build started later this year.

"We have great, innovative designs that have captured our desire to amplify the stadium's ability to host multiple events across a calendar year and ensure fan experience has been front of mind when designing the upgrade.

"By renovating the existing structure of the stadium, it will provide a more environmentally sustainable way of building, as well as ensuring minimal disruption to fans during the construction period.”

Pre pandemic, Marvel Stadium hosted more than 75 sporting and entertainment events annually, from the AFL Premiership season, Big Bash cricket to concerts of major acts like Taylor Swift, U2 and Ed Sheeran. This revitalisation will ensure Marvel Stadium continues to attract the biggest major events.

The project is part of the Victorian Government's $225 million partnership with the AFL which, in addition to the transformation of Marvel Stadium, secured the AFL Grand Final at the MCG until at least 2058, delivers a better deal for fans and clubs across Victoria and includes a continued partnership across a range of sport development programs to support multicultural, indigenous and women's football.

For more information on the project go to marvelstadium.com.au/stadium-upgrade

Images: Artist's impression of the Marvel Stadium planned upgrade. Credit: AFL Media.