List of Australian Football League grounds
The Australian Football League has numerous grounds upon which senior VFL/AFL games have been played. This list comprises current grounds in use, former grounds in use, regional pre-season grounds and international grounds.
In accordance with the Laws of Australian football, a ground must be grassed, have a minimum length of and a minimum width of. Most Australian rules football grounds are also used for cricket, which is also played on a grassed, oval-shaped ground, and it is commonplace for a ground to be used for football in winter and cricket in summer.
Due to the popularity of Australian rules football, particularly in southern Australia, most of Australia's largest stadiums by capacity are used for Australian rules football; and it is therefore common to use those stadiums for other high-drawing events, particularly sporting events. Sports such as rugby and soccer can be readily played on an Australian rules football arena, as their rectangular fields are small enough to be set on the larger oval.
The oldest Australian Football League ground is the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The ground was built in 1854 and is still used for hosting AFL matches, including each year's Grand Final. The ground also has the largest capacity, at 100,024. The ground to be used most recently for its first Australian Football League matches is Mars Stadium in Ballarat, Victoria, on 19 August 2017.
As of the end of 2017, a total of 46 different venues have hosted VFL/AFL premiership matches since the league was established in 1897.
AFL/VFL premiership season venues
Current grounds
The following table shows a list of all of grounds that are currently used in the Australian Football League, as of the 2017 AFL season. The table includes grounds where teams have commercial deals in place to transfer home games to these grounds each season but are not full-time tenants of those grounds; in these cases, the club is shown in italics in the current tenants column.| Ground | Image | Other/sponsored names | City | State/territory | Capacity | First used | Current tenant |
| Melbourne Cricket Ground | MCG The 'G | Melbourne | Victoria | 100,024 | 1897 | Essendon Carlton | |
| Perth Stadium | Optus Stadium | Perth | Western Australia | 60,000 | 2018 | ||
| Docklands Stadium | Colonial Stadium Telstra Dome Etihad Stadium Marvel Stadium | Melbourne | Victoria | 56,347 | 2000 | ||
| Adelaide Oval | Adelaide | South Australia | 53,583 | 2011 | |||
| Sydney Cricket Ground | SCG | Sydney | New South Wales | 48,000 | 1903 | ||
| Brisbane Cricket Ground BCG | Brisbane | Queensland | 42,000 | 1991 | Brisbane | ||
| Kardinia Park | Shell Stadium Baytec Stadium Skilled Stadium Simonds Stadium GMHBA Stadium | Geelong | Victoria | 36,000 | 1941 | ||
| Carrara Stadium | Metricon Stadium | Gold Coast | Queensland | 25,000 | 1987 | ||
| Sydney Showground Stadium | Škoda Stadium Spotless Stadium GIANTS Stadium | Sydney | New South Wales | 25,000 | 2012 | ||
| York Park | Aurora Stadium University of Tasmania Stadium | Launceston | Tasmania | 20,000 | 2001 | ' | |
| Bellerive Oval | Blundstone Arena | Hobart | Tasmania | 20,000 | 2012 | ' | |
| Manuka Oval | StarTrack Oval Canberra UNSW Canberra Oval | Canberra | ACT | 15,000 | 1998 | ||
| Marrara Oval | TIO Stadium | Darwin | Northern Territory | 12,000 | 2004 | ' | |
| Eureka Stadium | Mars Stadium | Wendouree | Victoria | 11,000 | 2017 | ' | |
| Jiangwan Stadium | Adelaide Arena | Shanghai | China | 11,000 | 2017 | ' | |
| Riverway Stadium | Tony Ireland Stadium | Townsville | Queensland | 10,000 | 2019 | ||
| Traeger Park | TIO Traeger Park | Alice Springs | Northern Territory | 10,000 | 2014 | ' |
Former major grounds
The following table comprises a list of former grounds that were at one stage the primary home ground for a club to play its VFL/AFL matches on.Most of the grounds were the original home of current teams and have ceased hosting VFL/AFL matches, usually due to location and lack of capacity. Princes Park was the last of the suburban venues to see an AFL game, with the last match occurring in 2005. These grounds now usually serve as a boutique training oval and administrative base for these AFL clubs, and some are used for TAC Cup, VFL or suburban league matches.
Waverley Park, located in Mulgrave, Victoria was the first purpose-built stadium for VFL/AFL matches, opening in 1970. Until the 1990s, it did not serve as any team's home ground, but was instead a neutral venue to which each club shifted one or two of its home matches each year; in the 1990s, it was adopted as a home ground by and. Original plans called for the grounds capacity to be 155,000, which would have made it one of the largest stadiums in the world. The venue, with its planned higher capacity, was originally to be a replacement for the Melbourne Cricket Ground as host of the VFL's Grand Final. However, in 1982/1983, when the extensions to finish the original plans were due to commence, the Government of Victoria refused to approve the plans for the stadium because the upgrade would have threatened the Melbourne Cricket Ground's right to host the Grand Final. Hence, no further development ever occurred and the capacity was set at 78,000. It was used until 1999, and was replaced by the Docklands Stadium.
Football Park, which was located in West Lakes, Adelaide, had a similar history to Waverley Park; it was purpose built for South Australian National Football League games and opened in 1974, replacing Adelaide Oval as the primary venue for the league. Unlike Waverley Park, it did become the venue for SANFL Grand Finals. It was the primary South Australian venue for VFL/AFL matches from 1991, when the league expanded into Adelaide, until 2013, and it was replaced by the newly refurbished Adelaide Oval. However, a NAB Challenge match was played between and at the ground in March 2015.
| Ground | Other/sponsored names | City | State | Capacity | Year First Used | Year Last Used | Tenants |
| Arden Street Oval | North Melbourne Recreation Reserve | North Melbourne | Victoria | 15,000 | 1925 | 1985 | North Melbourne |
| Brunswick Street Oval | Fitzroy Cricket Ground | North Fitzroy | Victoria | 15,000 | 1897 | 1966 | Fitzroy |
| Coburg City Oval | Coburg | Victoria | 25,000 | 1965 | 1965 | North Melbourne | |
| Corio Oval | Geelong | Victoria | ? | 1897 | 1940 | Geelong | |
| East Melbourne Cricket Ground | East Melbourne | Victoria | 10,000 | 1897 | 1921 | Essendon: 1897–1921 University: 1908–1910 | |
| Football Park | AAMI Stadium | West Lakes | South Australia | 51,240 | 1991 | 2015 | |
| Glenferrie Oval | Hawthorn | Victoria | 10,000 | 1925 | 1973 | Hawthorn | |
| Junction Oval | St Kilda Cricket Ground | St Kilda | Victoria | 8,000 | 1897 | 1984 | St Kilda: 1897–1964 Fitzroy: 1970–1984 |
| Lake Oval | South Melbourne Cricket Ground | Albert Park | Victoria | 14,000 | 1897 | 1981 | South Melbourne |
| Moorabbin Oval | Moorabbin | Victoria | 27,000 | 1965 | 1992 | St Kilda | |
| Princes Park | Optus Oval | Carlton | Victoria | 35,000 | 1897 | 2005 | Carlton: 1897–2005 Fitzroy: 1967–1969, 1987–1993 Hawthorn: 1974–1991 South Melbourne: 1942–1943 Western Bulldogs: 1997–1999 |
| Punt Road Oval | Richmond Cricket Ground | Richmond | Victoria | 15,000 | 1908 | 1964 | Richmond: 1908–1964 Melbourne: 1942–1946, 1956 |
| Stadium Australia | Telstra Stadium ANZ Stadium | Sydney Olympic Park | New South Wales | 82,500 | 2002 | 2016 | Sydney Swans |
| Subiaco Oval | Patersons Stadium Domain Stadium | Perth | Western Australia | 42,922 | 1987 | 2017 | West Coast: 1987–2017 Fremantle: 1995–2017 |
| Victoria Park | Abbotsford | Victoria | 27,000 | 1897 | 1999 | Collingwood: 1897–1999 Fitzroy: 1985–1986 | |
| WACA Ground | East Perth | Western Australia | 35,000 | 1987 | 2000 | West Coast: 1987–2000 Fremantle: 1995–2000 | |
| Waverley Park | VFL Park | Mulgrave | Victoria | 72,000 | 1970 | 1999 | Central ground: 1970 – 1991 Hawthorn: 1992–1999 St Kilda: 1993–1999 |
| Western Oval | Whitten Oval | West Footscray | Victoria | 25,000 | 1925 | 1997 | Footscray: 1925, 1941, 1943–1997 Fitzroy: 1994–1996 |
| Windy Hill | Essendon Recreation Reserve | Essendon | Victoria | 15,000 | 1922 | 1991 | Essendon |
Former minor grounds
Minor grounds have been used in the VFL/AFL, but only sparingly. There have been two main reasons historically for this:- To spread the game to other parts of the country. A prominent example of this is round 8, 1952, when all games for that round were played at minor grounds throughout Australia.
- Due to unavailability of primary home grounds. In particular, minor grounds were also used throughout World War II, as some of the larger grounds throughout Victoria were being occupied by servicemen.
| Ground | City | State | Capacity | Times Used | Year Last Used | Match Played |
| Albury Oval | Albury | New South Wales | 15,000 | 1 | 1952 | South Melbourne vs North Melbourne: round 8, 1952 |
| Blacktown International Sportspark | Sydney | New South Wales | 10,000 | 1 | 2012 | ' vs ': round 3, 2012 |
| Brisbane Exhibition Ground | Bowen Hills | Queensland | 25,490 | 1 | 1952 | Essendon vs. Geelong: round 8, 1952 |
| Bruce Stadium | Canberra | Australian Capital Territory | 25,000 | 1 | 1995 | Fitzroy vs. West Coast: round 9, 1995 |
| Cazaly's Stadium | Cairns | Queensland | 13,500 | 8 | 2018 | Gold Coast vs. : round 1, 2018 |
| Euroa Oval | Euroa, Victoria | Victoria | 7,500 | 1 | 1952 | Carlton vs. Hawthorn: round 8, 1952 |
| North Hobart Oval | Hobart | Tasmania | 18,000 | 5 | 1992 | Fitzroy vs Melbourne: round 8, 1952 Fitzroy: two home games in each of 1991 and 1992 |
| Motordrome | Melbourne | Victoria | 30 000 | 3 | 1932 | Melbourne: three home games in early 1932 when MCG was being resurfaced. |
| Toorak Park | Prahran | Victoria | 15,000 | 13 | 1942–43 | St Kilda: home games for the 1942 and 1943 seasons South Melbourne: occasional home games during World War II |
| Westpac Stadium | Wellington | New Zealand | 36,000 | 3 | 2013–15 | St Kilda: one home game each year from 2013 to 2015 |
| Yarraville Oval | Yarraville | Victoria | 10,000 | 7 | 1942 | Footscray: home games for the 1942 VFL season. |
| Yallourn Oval | Yallourn | Victoria | 3,500 | 1 | 1952 | St Kilda vs. Footscray: round 8, 1952 |
Pre-season venues
The following list, is a list of the venues that have been used in AFL pre-season competition.Many of the grounds were used in the Regional Challenge stage of the AFL pre-season competition, NAB Cup, which was used to bring AFL games to regional centres of South Australia, New South Wales, Queensland, Northern Territory, Western Australia and Victoria.
| Ground | City | State | Capacity | Pre-season series |
| Richmond Oval | Richmond | South Australia | 16,500 | 2014, 2017 |
| Narrandera Sports Ground | Narrandera | New South Wales | — | 2007, 2008, 2017 |
| Noarlunga Oval | Noarlunga Downs | South Australia | 12,000 | 2008, 2017 |
| Collingwood Park | Albany | Western Australia | — | 2008 |
| Deakin Reserve | Shepparton | Victoria | — | 2004, 2008 |
| Casey Fields | Cranbourne | Victoria | 4,000 | 2008, 2017 |
| Blue Lake Sports Park | Mount Gambier | South Australia | — | 2007 |
| Quandong Park | Red Cliffs | Victoria | — | 2006, 2007 |
| Queen Elizabeth Oval | Bendigo | Victoria | 18,000 | 2005, 2006, 2008, 2017 |
| Morwell Recreation Reserve | Morwell | Victoria | 12,000 | 2004, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2019 |
| Arena Joondalup | Joondalup | Western Australia | 16,000 | 2005, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2020 |
| Fremantle Oval | Fremantle | Western Australia | 17,500 | 2006, 2015 |
| Rushton Park | Mandurah | Western Australia | 10,000 | 2005, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020 |
| Lathlain Park | Lathlain | Western Australia | 2020 | |
| Leederville Oval | Leederville | Western Australia | 15,000 | 2006 |
| Lavington Sports Ground | Albury | New South Wales | 25,000 | 2005, 2006, 2017 |
| Newcastle Number 1 Sports Ground | Newcastle | New South Wales | 20,000 | 2004 |
| North Sydney Oval | North Sydney | New South Wales | 20,000 | 2004 |
| Giffin Park | Coorparoo | Queensland | — | 2004 |
| Coffs Harbour International Stadium | Coffs Harbour | New South Wales | 20,000 | 2003, 2015, 2017 |
| Nuriootpa Oval | Nuriootpa | South Australia | — | 2003 |
| Beachlands Oval | Geraldton | Western Australia | — | 2003 |
| Moreton Bay Central Sports Complex | Burpengary | Queensland | — | 2015, 2016 |
| Wonthella Oval | Geraldton | Western Australia | — | 2017 |
| Ted Summerton Reserve | Moe | Victoria | — | 2017 |
| Malseed Park | Mount Gambier | South Australia | — | 2017 |
International exhibition/pre-season venues
The following is a list of all of the international venues where a game of Australian rules football featuring VFL/AFL clubs has been played. International matches have included pre-season competition matches or postseason exhibition matches. As of the end of 2018, the only international venues to host matches for premiership points are Westpac Stadium, in Wellington, New Zealand; and Adelaide Arena at Jiangwan Stadium, Shanghai, China.The first international Australian rules football exhibition match was in London in 1916. A team of Australian soldiers stationed in England at the time formed a team to play against a "training group". The game brought a crowd of 3,000 people that even included the Prince of Wales and King Manuel II of Portugal.
The more recent AFL international matches have been part of the pre-season competition format and been highly successful. Countries that have hosted such matches include: United Arab Emirates, South Africa and the United Kingdom. There are also plans to expand the game further into countries such as India and Japan.
AFL Women's venues
Below are the venues that were used during the 2017 AFL Women's season.| Stadium/Ground | City | Host club | Capacity |
| Blacktown International Sportspark | Sydney, New South Wales | 10,000 | |
| Casey Fields | Melbourne, Victoria | 12,000 | |
| Fremantle Oval | Perth, Western Australia | 17,500 | |
| IKON Park | Melbourne, Victoria | 22,000 | |
| Manuka Oval | Canberra, Australian Capital Territory | 16,000 | |
| Norwood Oval | Adelaide, South Australia | 22,000 | |
| Olympic Park Oval | Melbourne, Victoria | 3,000 | |
| Rushton Park | Mandurah, Western Australia | 9,000 | |
| South Pine Sports Complex | Brisbane, Queensland | 3,000 | |
| Thebarton Oval | Adelaide, South Australia | 15,000 | |
| TIO Stadium | Darwin, Northern Territory | 14,000 | |
| Victoria Park | Melbourne, Victoria | Collingwood | 15,000 |
| VU Whitten Oval | Melbourne, Victoria | 12,000 |