Stadium - General Information
Location
Lakeside Stadium is located on the corner of Albert Road and Clarendon Street in Albert Park.
The Melways reference is 57 H4.
Capacity
Lakeside Stadium has a capacity of 14,000, which includes seating for 10,000 spectators.
The record crowd at the venue for a National Soccer League fixture is 14,850 spectators, when South Melbourne beat Carlton Soccer Club 1-0 in 1998. This was when the whole ground except the grandstand was terracing. In 2001, seats were installed around the outer sections of the ground and as a result reduced the capacity.
The record crowd at the venue for a Victorian Premier League fixture is 11,800, achieved in 2005 when South Melbourne hosted Heidelberg United. This crowd figure is also the highest crowd attendance ever recorded at a VPL match.
History
Situated on the banks of the picturesque Albert Park lake (site of the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix), Lakeside Stadium is only a five minute drive from the Melbourne CBD. Once the home of Victorian Football League club South Melbourne Swans (now the Sydney Swans) as well as the South Melbourne Cricket Club, nowadays the purpose-built football stadium is the pride of the South Melbourne FC blue and white army.
Events
Due to its location and excellent facilities, many organisations and sporting clubs external to South Melbourne FC have seen Lakeside Stadium play host to other events apart from South Melbourne FC football fixtures. International football teams have used Lakeside Stadium for training sessions and matches.
The ground has been used for training by Euro 2000 winners France (in 2001), Euro 2004 winners Greece (in 2006) and the Socceroos (in 1997 before the Iran series, in 2001 before the French friendly and Uruguay series and in 2007 and 2008 before Melbourne Asian Cup and World Cup Qualifiers). The Socceroos have also used the venue for friendly matches. In addition, football advertisements have been filmed at the venue, including the Nike advertisements that featured heavily throughout the 2006 FIFA World Cup) and Hyundai A-League advertisements.
Other events that have been hosted by Lakeside Stadium include VPL finals fixtures, Summer Futsal competitions, rugby union games, Sydney Swans family days, various corporate and organisation fundraisers, outdoor film screenings and the Lakeside Cup.
Public Transport
Train
The nearest train station is the Southern Cross (Spencer Street) train station, which is located on the corner of Spencer and Collins Streets and is a five minute drive from Lakeside Stadium.
Tram
The tram to use to get to Lakeside Stadium is number 112 (to South Melbourne and St Kilda beach). From the Melbourne CBD, the tram can be caught from the corner of Collins and Spencer Streets. The Lakeside Stadium stop is on the corner of Clarendon Street and Albert Road.
For timetabling information, please visit www.yarratrams.com.au
Parking
The car park outside Lakeside Stadium has a capacity of 500, which does not take long to fill up on weekends due to being used by park patrons along with football patrons. In addition, there are less spots available on match days as a section of the car park is closed off for officials, players and media. Parks Victoria has recently installed parking machines inside the car park, which charges $2 on weekends.
Parking is also available along Clarendon Street, Aughtie Drive and Albert Road, but there is no parking available in the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre or along Aquatic Drive for football patrons.
Spectators are advised to closely check the parking signs along these roads, as there could be special conditions for VPL match days.