Eureka Stadium

Eureka Stadium (known commercially as Mars Stadium) is an oval shaped sports stadium located in the Ballarat Showgrounds at Wendouree, an outer suburb of Ballarat in Australia.

The western side of Mars Stadium, Ballarat.

History

The first oval was established in 1990 on a site formerly occupied by the Ballarat Showgrounds Harness Racing track (1952–1966) when the North Ballarat Football Club and North Ballarat Cricket Club relocated from their original club facilities that were located on the eastern side of the former harness racing track. The 1990-built oval was over 170 metres long and 140 metres wide and rotated on an East to West axis, and included a new pavilion (The North Ballarat Sports Club) which was built on private land adjacent to the northern flank of the oval.

Since 1990, the main oval has been used for many events whilst primarily being used as an Australian rules football and cricket venue. It annually hosts the Ballarat Gift (Athletics Carnival) and is used by the Ballarat Agricultural and Pastoral Society during the annual Ballarat Agricultural Show. The facility today is the home of the North Ballarat Football Club of the Victorian Football League, the North Ballarat Rebels of the TAC Cup, and the North Ballarat City of the Ballarat Football and Netball League.

Until 2016 spectator conditions and capacity were limited by the lack of elevated vantage points bordering the main playing arena. The entire oval was re-constructed in 2015/16 in preparation for the first stage of major development as an AFL venue from 2017. In April 2017 the City of Ballarat acquired the North Ballarat Sports Club pavilion and freehold title in order to centralise ownership, management and control of the entire precinct under one management body. In June 2017, global chocolate bar company Mars was declared the official naming rights sponsor of the redeveloped stadium.^[2]

AFL venue

AFL pre-season match. Western Bulldogs vs Melbourne.

Australian Football League club North Melbourne established a partnership with the North Ballarat Football Club in 2006 and played AFL pre-season matches at the ground between 2010 and 2014 with strong and growing support. In June 2015 the North Melbourne Football Club withdrew from the Ballarat region having committed to play a percentage of their AFL 'home and away seasonal games' in Hobart (Tasmania) until 2021. Immediately the Western Bulldogs AFL club announced their support to playing at least two AFL 'home games' in Ballarat (though not affiliated with North Ballarat Football Club as North Melbourne had been) from 2017 with the option to extend the contract from 2022.

In late October 2016 the AFL released its 2017 playing fixtures confirming that the Western Bulldogs would host Port Adelaide in Round 22 in the first AFL game for premiership points at the Stadium. The Western Bulldogs have also expressed intention to play pre-seasonal games and the popular AFL Women's (AFLW) games at the venue from 2018.

Redevelopment

In June 2015 the Victorian government announced a $38.5 million upgrade to the stadium and the wider Ballarat Major Events Precinct (with approximately half of the funding to be directed to the first stage of redevelopment of the Eureka Stadium).^[3]

The Ballarat Major Events Precinct Master Plan (Released in June 2015), provided a strategic overview for the long-term three-stage development of the stadium as a boutique general purpose stadium; other neighboring sports fields and pavilions; and the nearby Ballarat Indoor Sports and Events Centre.

The Eastern side of Mars Stadium, Ballarat

Stage-one construction works were completed in July 2017 with future development planned, although funding for ongoing development is yet to be announced. Future stages of development propose significant extension of the main grandstand in addition to further development of supporting infrastructure and capital works around the facility. Architects have designed the stadium for an eventual capacity for 13,000–15,000 spectators although further contingency has been included into the design to add additional rows of seating to the new eastern stand (if needed) which would boost capacity to 16,000+ without significantly altering the stadium's footprint or appearance.

Attendance records

Top 6 Attendance Records

^{Source: Austadiums}

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eureka Stadium.

• Eureka Stadium at Austadiums
• Ballarat Major Events Precinct Masterplan Final Report

Coordinates: 37°32′22.3″S 143°50′52.9″E / 37.539528°S 143.848028°E / -37.539528; 143.848028

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