Festival Hall (Melbourne)
| The House of Stoush | |
 |
|
| Former names | West Melbourne Stadium Melbourne Stadium The Stadium |
|---|---|
| Location | 300 Dudley St, West Melbourne, Victoria, 3003 |
| Coordinates | 37°48′40″S 144°56′47″E / 37.81111°S 144.94639°ECoordinates: 37°48′40″S 144°56′47″E / 37.81111°S 144.94639°E |
| Owner | Stadiums Limited |
| Operator | Arena Management Pty Ltd |
| Capacity | Seating: 1,741 Standing: 2,600 Concerts: 5,445 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | May 1915 |
| Construction cost | 250,000 pounds |
Festival Hall is a concert and sporting venue located at 300 Dudley Street, West Melbourne, Victoria. It is one of Melbourne's larger concert venues and has hosted a variety of local and international acts over many years.
Formerly known as the West Melbourne Stadium (shortened to The Stadium), it was originally built in 1915 by John Wren (chairman) and Dick Lean (general manager) of Stadiums Limited as a multi-function venue for boxing and pro wrestling. It quickly became known to locals as "the House of Stoush", as over the years some of the greatest names in Australian boxing have duked it out, including Lionel Rose, Johnny Famechon, Anthony Mundine, Lester Ellis and Barry Michael. Professional wrestling also featured regularly, as did Roller Derby, ballroom dancing, cultural and religious gatherings and the first Indoor Tennis Exhibition featuring John McEnroe. It was used by the Painters and Dockers as a meeting place. During the Great Depression, unemployed men seeking work would gather at Festival Hall to be picked for dock work.
The Stadium was destroyed by fire in 1955 but was rebuilt in time for the 1956 Olympics, where it was used for boxing, basketball and gymnastics events.
Dick Lean Jnr (son of the original general manager, Dick Lean) joined Stadiums in 1960 and set about successful promotion of major music acts of all genres from both the UK and US, increasing the use of the venue significantly. The Stadium was renamed Festival Hall in the early 1960s to reflect its increasing use as Melbourne's largest live entertainment venue at the time.
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