Docklands Stadium

Docklands Stadium (also known by its former  sponsored names of  Colonial Stadium and  Telstra Dome and its current sponsorship name of  Etihad Stadium) is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment  stadium in the  Docklands precinct of  Melbourne,  and is the current home ground of the St Kilda Football Club. The Saints began their tenancy at Docklands in 2000, along with Essendon and the Western Bulldogs. Carlton (2005) and North Melbourne (2002) became regular tenants later, while other Victorian-based clubs such as Collingwood and Geelong also hold home matches at the ground. The Saints have fared well when playing at Docklands, and boast a win percentage of 62.80 at the end of the 2012 season.

History
The stadium was announced on 31 October 1996 as a replacement for the much larger Waverley Park  as a headquarters for the Australian Football League.[4]  The opening match was played between Essendon and Port Adelaide before a crowd of 43,012. Eventual premiers of that season, Essendon, ended up victorious by 94 points, with full-forward Matthew Lloyd kicking seven goals.[5]  Originally developed by the Docklands Stadium Consortium and thereafter controlled by the Seven Network, the remaining leasehold interest in the stadium was sold to James Fielding Funds Management on 21 June 2006 for A$330 million.[6]  In 2025 the AFL is expected to take over the ownership.[7]

Docklands Stadium, like Waverley Park, was built primarily for Australian rules football, unlike most grounds of a similar size in Australia which were originally designed for cricket.

The stadium is the first stadium to have movable seating in Australia. All four level-one tiers of the stadium can be moved up to 18 metres forward into a rectangular configuration. It was first used for a Melbourne Storm game in July 2001. Despite the seating being a key feature of the stadium, it has rarely been used, citing damage to turf, time to deploy the seats and a reduced capacity (the corners of the stadium in level 1 are not movable).



The Saints at Docklands
Since becoming tenants in 2000, the Saints have enjoyed a healthy win percentage of 62.80%, when playing as either the home or away side (as at the end of the 2012 season). The Saints have kicked 100+ points at the ground on 89 occasions, second only to the club record of 113 at their former homeground of Moorabbin Oval.

The Saints hold a number of records at Etihad stadium, including 5 of the 10 largest wins at the ground, 2 of the 10 highest scores at the ground, and the highest AFL attendance at the ground (round 14 2009, 54,444 people). The Saints have also played more home matches at Docklands than any other AFL team, and boast an average crowd of 34,744 when playing as the home team.