SOPHIE GANNON: Marvel Stadium is a curse for the teams forced to call it home

Victorian footy’s great divide was on full display last Thursday night at Marvel Stadium.

North Melbourne used the match against flag fancies the Western Bulldogs to celebrate the Kangas’ 100th year in the VFL/AFL. North’s club legends were in attendance, reflecting on the club’s rich history and past premierships.

But when I looked at the stands, they were half-empty. Hardly a celebration.

The Marvel Stadium co-tenants managed to attract just over 25,000 fans that night

Is this roofed stadium a curse for those clubs who call it home?

Back in 2000, the AFL split the Melbourne clubs between the MCG and its shiny new venue, Marvel Stadium (Colonial Stadium at the time).

The Bulldogs, Kangaroos, Bombers, Saints and Blues were allocated to play homes games at Docklands.

A new millennium and a new stadium for five teams who had enjoyed a fruitful decade in the 1990s. Four flags between them and numerous grand final appearances.

This century the Marvel Five have only managed to leverage one flag - the Western Bulldogs’ 2016 Cinderella run to glory. Look, and if you really want to count the Bombers 2000 premiership, go for it. But I don’t. That premiership team was built throughout the 1990s, so it’s hard to consider them a true indoor footy team.

In the same time period. The ‘Lucky Five’ have won 13 flags.

The Pies, Cats, Hawks, Dees and the Tigers have played in 22 grand finals since 2000.

The Marvel Five played in just six. Ouch.

And to make things even more comical, The Lucky Five are contractually required to do their annual “Marvel duty”. The AFL is telling their teams and fans that playing there is a chore.

Some may argue that this is just football luck and a mere coincidence. But 25 years is a long time. Just ask Bombers fans.

This isn’t luck. It’s a trend and here are the issues.

An indoor stadium, protected from the elements. It’s a different game under a roof.

But when finals roll around, they are thrown onto the big, open spaces of the ‘G, where the weather often plays a significant role.

There hasn’t been a final played at Marvel since 2011. Instead, The Marvel Five plays their finals at the MCG. A ground that some of the Marvel teams play at twice a year.

Take the 2023 Saints for example. Ross Lyon’s men earned the right for a home final against GWS. Played it at the ‘G. Lost by 24 points. Season over.

Incoming AFL CEO Andrew Dillon defended the decision at the time saying that “the MCG is the home of the finals … that’s where they get the most people in.”

I understand the AFL want to maximise their profits. But they also are responsible for upholding a fair and even competition.

If fans know their club won’t play finals at their true home ground, or the big games will just be shifted to the ‘G, why even invest in Marvel? Why invest in the atmosphere? Why even rock up?

And for the fans that do rock up.

Marvel lacks the history and electricity of the MCG. When I go to Docklands it feels clinical, it feels corporate, and it feels straight-up awkward.

It’s not a dig at the fans. This is on the AFL. They have failed over the last 25 years to establish an atmosphere at the only ground they own.

It’s hard to build culture, attract fans or even marquee players when your home stadium lacks everything a good footy fortress should have.

It’s even harder to keep your marquee players.

As it stands, the big teams will continue to get bigger and small teams will get smaller.

If you were an eight-year-old from Melbourne deciding who to support. Would you pick one of the struggling Marvel sides playing in a half-empty indoor stadium or a team playing in front of massive crowds, in big occasions and winning premierships at the MCG?

I know what I’d choose.