Eureka Stadium

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

Eureka Stadium

Mars Stadium
The western side of Mars Stadium
Former names	Northern Oval #1, AUSTAR Arena and Eureka Stadium
Location	Midland Highway, Wendouree. Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
Owner	City of Ballarat
Operator	City of Ballarat
Capacity	11,000 (5,127 seated)[1]
Field size	159.5m x 128.8m
Surface	Grass
Scoreboard	Video-electronic (50 sqm)
Construction
Broke ground	1990
Built	1990
Renovated	2016–17
Expanded	2017
Construction cost	$21.976 million (AUD) (Stage 1)
Architect	Peddle Thorp (Melbourne)
Main contractors	AW Nicholson Constructions and Atelier Projects
Tenants
North Ballarat Football Club (VFL/BFL) (1990–) GWV Rebels (NAB League) (1993–) North Ballarat Cricket Club (BCA) (1993–) Western Bulldogs (AFL) (2017–) Western United FC (A-League) (2019–)

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 hosted the Ballarat Gift (Athletics Carnival) and until recently was used by the Ballarat Agricultural and Pastoral Society during the annual Ballarat Agricultural Show. The facility today is the home of the North Ballarat Sports Club including the Greater Western Victoria Rebels of the NAB League, and the North Ballarat City of the Ballarat Football and Netball League. It is also used as a venue for Central Highlands Football League and Ballarat Football League finals.

Until 2016 spectator conditions and capacity were limited by the lack of elevated vantage points bordering the main playing arena. The entire playing 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 commenced proceedings to acquire 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 2018 an agreement for the acquisition was reached. In June 2017, commercial naming rights for the venue were granted to Mars Confectionery Australia, with the facility recently renamed to Mars Stadium.

The stadium also hosts association football. A-League club Western United FC played two home matches of the club's inaugural 2019/20 season at Mars Stadium, the first of which was against Wellington Phoenix on 28 December 2019.[2] The Phoenix won the match 3–1 in front of 5,084 fans. The club is likely to utilise the venue for some home matches until construction of their new stadium in Tarneit is completed.

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.

On 19 August 2017, the Bulldogs hosted the first AFL match for premiership points at the venue against Port Adelaide in front of 10,087 spectators. Port Adelaide won the match by 17 points. 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. The Western Bulldogs are scheduled to play two home games at Mars Stadium in May and July 2018.[3]

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 then called Eureka Stadium).[4]

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 future funding for development is yet to be announced. In May 2018 the State Government allocated $500,000 AUD for a feasibility study to determine priorities and scale for future development works. The completed study engaged major stakeholders and recommends significant expansion of the capacity, improvements to lighting, public accessibility, enhanced facilities for female users as well as upgrades to supporting infrastructure. While Architects originally designed the stadium for an eventual capacity for 13,000–15,000 spectators the Western Bulldogs Football Club have recently advocated for eventual expansion to 20,000.

Attendance records

Top 5 Attendance Records

No.	Date	Teams	Sport	Competition	Crowd
1	19 August 2017	Western Bulldogs v. Port Adelaide	Australian Rules Football	AFL	10,087
2	25 August 2019	Adelaide Crows v. Western Bulldogs	Australian Rules Football	AFL	9,564
3	11 May 2019	Brisbane Lions v. Western Bulldogs	Australian Rules Football	AFL	9,039
4	11 March 2012	North Melbourne v. Western Bulldogs	Australian Rules Football	NAB Cup	8,000
5	15 February 2014	North Melbourne v. Carlton	Australian Rules Football	NAB Challenge	7,800

References

1. "Eureka Stadium". Austadiums. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
2. "A-League matches confirmed for Ballarat for season 2019/20". Ballarat Courier. 8 August 2019.
3. "Mars Stadium". AFL. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
4. "Eureka Stadium funding confirmed". Western Bulldogs. 17 June 2015.

External links

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