An Australian rules football playing field is a venue where the sport of Australian rules football is played.
The playing field is typically a large oval-shaped grass surface (often modified cricket fields). These fields may vary especially for variations of the game. However for official Australian Football League matches, strict requirement specifications must be met for stadiums.
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The playing field may be approximately 150 metres (or more) long goal to goal and 135 metres (or more) wide boundary line to boundary line wing to wing. Approximately 3 to 5 metres of boundary line space from the boundary line to the fence is also required.
The centre square is 50 metres by 50 metres.[1] The curved fifty metre line is 50 metres away from the centre of the goal. For professional Australian football the 50-metre lines should not intersect the front or back edge of the centre square (which is why 150 metres from goal to goal is considered about regulation size; most grounds are longer). Adjacent goal and behind posts are 6.4 metres apart. The goal square is 9 metres long.
Interchange areas are typically marked on either wing, but may both be on the same wing.
Playing surface is a controversial issue in Australian rules football due to possible injuries caused to players moving at high speed including marking (jumping), turning and being tackled without protective padding.
For these reasons the playing field standards imply use of lawn as a surface and hard surfaces and artificial turf are avoided at all costs.
Goal posts should be taller than behind posts, although exact height and width may vary. Goal posts are typically padded with wall padding to minimise injury due to players colliding with them.
Very few purpose-built Australian rules football playing fields have been built and continue to be used. This is mainly due to most venues originating as multi-purpose venues or former cricket fields. Given the dimensions and location, however, it is possible that some have hosted cricket matches at some point in their history. Here is a brief list (with those still in use highlighted):
| Stadium | Location | Opened | Built for | Capacity at Construction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Docklands Stadium | Melbourne, Victoria | 2000 | Australian Football League | 53,000 |
| Football Park | Adelaide, South Australia | 1971 | South Australian National Football League | 52,000 |
| Carrara Stadium | Gold Coast, Queensland | 1986 | Brisbane Bears | 25,000 |
| Kardinia Park | Geelong, Victoria | 1941 | Geelong Football Club | 25,000 |
| Marrara Stadium | Darwin, Northern Territory | 1991 | Northern Territory Football League | 15,000 |
| Linkbelt Oval | Nauru | 1995 | Nauru Australian Football Association | 3,000 |
| Waverley Park | Mulgrave, Victoria | 1959 | Victorian Football League | 78,000 |
| Moorabbin Oval | Moorabbin, Victoria | 1952 | St Kilda Football Club | 25,000 |
| Whitten Oval | West Footscray, Victoria | 1883 | Footscray Football Club | 15,000 |
Variations of the standard field dimensions and layout exist. For junior levels, smaller fields are often used. Rectangular fields have also been used in the past in Australia and also overseas, as well as adapted fields from other sports such as Association Football and American Football.