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| Football Park | |
|---|---|
| Name | Football Park |
| Nickname | AAMI Stadium |
| Location | West Lakes, Adelaide, South Australia |
| Coordinates | 34°51′S 138°29′E |
| Opened | 1974 |
| Closed | 2013 |
| Demolished | 2019 |
| Owner | South Australian Government |
| Capacity | 51,240 (peak) |
| Surface | Grass |
| Tenants | Port Adelaide Football Club (SANFL, AFL), Adelaide Football Club (AFL), SANFL matches |
Football Park was a major Australian rules football stadium located in the suburb of West Lakes in Adelaide, South Australia. Opened in 1974, it served as the primary venue for South Australian National Football League matches and later hosted Australian Football League home games for the Adelaide Football Club and Port Adelaide Football Club until its closure in 2013. The ground became synonymous with South Australian football culture, hosting grand finals, interstate clashes, and concerts before being superseded by the Adelaide Oval redevelopment.
The stadium was commissioned amid planning discussions involving the South Australian National Football League, the State Government of South Australia, and municipal bodies in the early 1970s, with construction completed for the 1974 season. Key administrative figures from the SANFL and board members from clubs including Port Adelaide Football Club, Norwood Football Club, Glenelg Football Club, and West Torrens Football Club influenced its design and governance. During the 1980s and 1990s, the venue hosted interstate carnivals featuring teams from Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania, and New South Wales, and was central to negotiations when the Australian Football League expanded nationally, with the birth of the Adelaide Football Club in 1990 and the entry of Port Adelaide Football Club into the AFL in 1997. Debates involving the South Australian Government and sporting administrators over capacity upgrades and commercial naming rights culminated in multiple sponsorship deals, reflecting trends seen at venues such as Melbourne Cricket Ground and The Gabba.
The complex featured a bowl-shaped main grandstand, corporate suites, members' areas, and broadcasting facilities used by networks like Seven Network, Network Ten, and ABC Sport. Lighting towers enabled night fixtures comparable to those at Waverley Park and Subiaco Oval. Player amenities were utilized by high-profile clubs including Port Adelaide Football Club, Adelaide Football Club, Norwood Football Club, Glenelg Football Club, and visiting interstate sides such as Collingwood Football Club and West Coast Eagles. The venue housed clubrooms, sports medicine facilities staffed by practitioners associated with institutions like the Australian Institute of Sport and broadcast commentary positions for journalists from outlets such as The Advertiser and ABC Radio.
Primary tenants comprised SANFL clubs and AFL clubs including Adelaide Football Club and Port Adelaide Football Club; SANFL Grand Finals shifted from suburban grounds to the venue for several decades. The stadium also hosted national events such as State of Origin (Australian rules football) fixtures and attracted touring exhibitions and concerts featuring international acts managed by promoters linked to companies like Live Nation and TEG Live. Major AFL finals, Anzac Day-themed matches, and pre-season competitions saw interstate clubs such as Essendon Football Club, Hawthorn Football Club, and Sydney Swans compete at the ground. Community events involved local councils, youth clinics run in partnership with SANFL clubs, and charity matches supported by organisations including the Heart Foundation.
Located adjacent to the West Lakes development, the site was accessible via arterial roads connecting to the City of Charles Sturt and central Adelaide. Public transport links included special-event bus services coordinated with the State Government of South Australia and Adelaide Metro, mirroring patron movement strategies used for events at Adelaide Oval and Coopers Stadium. Parking precincts were managed by local councils and event operators, and pedestrian access was planned to integrate with nearby commercial centres and the West Lakes Shopping Centre. Event-day crowd management involved coordination with the South Australia Police and emergency services including SA Ambulance Service.
The ground witnessed landmark matches such as SANFL Grand Finals, AFL milestone games for players representing clubs like Adelaide Football Club and Port Adelaide Football Club, and significant interstate victories against Victoria and Western Australia. Memorable individual performances included leading goal-kickers from teams like Port Adelaide Football Club and record attendance fixtures that surpassed numbers at suburban venues like Football Park (Adelaide)'s contemporaries in the 1980s and 1990s. Historic broadcasts of rivalry matches featuring clubs such as Port Adelaide Football Club vs Adelaide Football Club drew nationwide television audiences via Seven Network and helped cement the stadium's reputation.
Following the transfer of major AFL fixtures to Adelaide Oval after its redevelopment, stakeholders including the Government of South Australia, SANFL executives, and local councils debated options for the site, ranging from commercial redevelopment to sporting precinct conversion. Plans proposed by developers and community groups invoked examples of adaptive reuse seen at international stadia and involved consultation with entities such as the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (South Australia), private investors, and SANFL clubs. Portions of the precinct were eventually repurposed for mixed-use projects involving residential developers, retail operators, and sporting organisations, reflecting a trend of urban renewal similar to transformations around Docklands (Melbourne) and Sydney's conversion projects.
Category:Sports venues in Adelaide Category:Australian rules football grounds