‘AAMI Park. Wednesday night. Be there’: Where in Melbourne to watch the Matildas v England
By Roy Ward
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has confirmed AAMI Park will be opened up as a live site for the Women’s World Cup semi-final between the Matildas and England at Stadium Australia in Sydney on Wednesday night.
AAMI Park, which hosted six World Cup games including the Matildas’ 4-0 win over Canada in the group stage, will join Fed Square as the two Melbourne live sites for the semi-final that will draw thousands of fans into the city.
Jubilant fans celebrate the Matildas’ win at Melbourne’s Federation Square.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
Fed Square has been the official live site for every game of the World Cup and will continue in that role for the remaining games.
Andrews tweeted on Saturday night that AAMI Park would be opened up for fans who want to watch.
The stadium has a capacity of around 29,000 people but was slightly less than that in its World Cup format to accommodate the media, while its video screens were updated as part of refurbishments for the World Cup.
“Big game needs a bigger stadium,” Andrews tweeted.
“AAMI Park. Wednesday night. Be there.”
It promises to be a busy night in Melbourne’s Olympic Precinct, with the Australian Boomers also playing the second night of the Boomers v The World series at Rod Laver Arena, featuring NBA stars including Josh Giddey and Patty Mills. With those games expected to draw about 10,000 fans each night, Basketball Australia confirmed on Monday it had tweaked its schedule for Wednesday.
Instead of starting at 7.45pm, Australia’s match against Brazil will tip-off at 5.30pm and be over before the soccer match begins. The match between South Sudan and Venezuela will assume the 7.45pm timeslot.
Mills said he and his teammates wanted to watch the Matildas match live.
“The Matildas have really captured the nation this World Cup, including the men’s national basketball team. The way the ladies play with so much heart and passion has been so inspiring to witness,” he said.
“Supporting our fellow Australian athletes is crucial, so moving our game was an easy decision.”
The City of Greater Dandenong will also show the Matildas semi-final on the big screen at Harmony Square in Dandenong.
Wednesday night’s arrangements in Melbourne are similar to those that were in place for the Men’s World Cup round-of-16 game between the Socceroos and Argentina last year, for which huge crowds headed to both AAMI Park and Fed Square, while Victoria Golf Club in Cheltenham was also opened in the early morning as a live site as it was also hosting the Vic Open golf tournament at that time.
Speaking on Sunday morning, Victorian mental health minister Gabrielle Williams hailed the success of the Matildas and said the government would do all it could to make sure there were enough live sites for fans to attend.
“I know that there’s obviously a significant effort to make sure that we are growing those sites for viewing for the World Cup,” Williams said.
“Obviously, we’ve seen big crowds at Fed Square and other locations as well. I know it’s been front of mind for him [sports minister Steve Dimopoulos] to be able to create more spaces to be able to view it.”
The City of Greater Geelong has announced it is planning to host a live site at Steampacket Gardens, should the Matildas reach the World Cup Final on Sunday August 20.
Channel Seven will show the game live on free-to-air and on its streaming service 7Plus, while Optus Sport will also show the game live - given its broadcast rights for the whole tournament.
With Annika Smethurst
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