Having identified concrete cancer in the old Southern Stand, the Melbourne Cricket Club joined forces with the (now) Australian Football League to redevelop the entire southern section of the stadium in time for the Cricket World Cup. With Sir Richard Hadlee behind the controls of a Delta excavator our demolition works continued under the gaze of world media as the stadium continued to host local and international cricket games, as well as Australian Rules Football.
A decade later Delta Group returned to demolish the Members’, Olympic and Ponsford Stands, and completed civil construction works to prepare for the 2006 Commonwealth Games and to accommodate 100,000 spectators in 21st Century comfort. As before, all work was carried out without disrupting a packed schedule of sporting events.
An extensive and complex civil works programme included bulk excavation and retention works for a new 2 level basement area under the stands and the actual playing surface. We were also responsible for excavating and re-laying what is now regarded as the ‘hallowed turf’ of Australian and international sport.
Each grandstand structure predominantly consisted of post-tensioned concrete cantilevered frames, supporting precast and in-situ concrete floor slabs. Working at heights in excess of 35 metres we pioneered a range of demolition, recycling and remediation techniques to safely and successfully deconstruct the stadium, including:
Key achievements from our civil works programme included:
