experiences in the sport and event business,
experiences that suddenly had a monetary value. The
development of the experience economy in sports
design first appeared in Australia with the
redevelopment of the Melbourne Cricket Ground
(MCG) between 2003-2006. This transformed fan (and
member) experiences from the utilitarian adventure
into one of social gathering, cohesion and opportunity.
The design, and the vision of owners and operators, set
out to reaffirm the ground as Australia’s pre-eminent
sporting cathedral, one that enshrined the country’s
commitment to sport as a cultural identifier.
The MCG set out to reaffirm stadia as iconic
buildings that help define our cities. It rejected the
reconfigurable field and movable grandstands, instead
crafting an environment perfect for 100,000 passionate
fans to follow Australian Rules Football or cricket. The
redevelopment was timed to allow Melbourne to host
the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
Following the success of the MCG redevelopment
and the ongoing concerns of multi-use stadia in
Melbourne and Sydney, focus turned to fan experiences
for rugby and soccer. Again, Melbourne led the charge
with inspiration drawn from Suncorp Stadium in
Brisbane – opened in 2003. Melbourne took on the
challenge of providing a home for rugby and soccer in
A new breed of venue
This new wave of architecturally expressive sports
buildings evolved in Australia with the Sydney Olympic
Stadium and Marvel Stadium (formerly Docklands
Stadium) in Melbourne. Both developments were not
only expressive in form but embodied new commercial
realities for public and private partnerships. New
revenue streams and fan engagement approaches were
adopted that saw the development of stadium clubs as
funding models. In conjunction, multi-use and multiformat
stadiums maximized venue flexibility, allowing
them to accommodate both oval and rectangular
sports, such as Australian rules football and soccer.
While multi-purpose stadia with reconfigurable
fields provided greater content, they were disliked by
fans and players. Fans felt removed from the action
with questions arising as to the sustainability and
suitability of grass playing surfaces. Although adaptable
stadiums were great in theory, and the recognition of
capital expenditure was commendable, the sacrifice to
the fan experience was too great.
The rise of the experience economy as a defined
economic driver was identified by Joseph Pine and
James Gilmore in the 1999 book ‘The Experience
Economy.’ Their theory was manifested in the postindustrial
world through the development of unique
ARCHITECTURE
(Above) The interconnecting
shell-shaped roof structure at
AAMI Park enhances crowd
noise and atmosphere
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