Early history The land on which the stadium is built was known as '''Loton's Paddock''' after the previous owner
William Loton,
Lord Mayor of Perth. The paddock had been reclaimed from part of Stone's Lake, which was part of a lake system known as
The Great Lakes District which included
Lake Monger and
Herdsman Lake.
Lacrosse was one of the main sports played on the oval from the early 1900s to the 1940s, being the home of the WA Lacrosse Association during this time.
Australian rules football was also occasionally played on the oval from 1905. In the early 1930s large white entry gates were built on the north west corner of the ground. These have since been heritage listed. In 1905 the land was offered to the Western Australian British Football Association for
£2,000, equivalent to in , but the asking price was considered too high. Prior to the 2004 redevelopment, the venue was oval-shaped and, when
Perth Glory entered the
National Soccer League (NSL) in 1996, temporary stands were moved on to the pitch to get supporters closer to the action. After playing in these conditions for four years, it became apparent that the Glory would need their own rectangular stadium and, after Glory's proposed redevelopment of
Leederville Oval was rejected, the
Town of Vincent completely overhauled the ground into a rectangular stadium. The venue hosted the 2014
W-League semi-final and grand final matches involving
Perth Glory Women. 2015 saw the return of the
Australia national soccer team to Perth after a 10-year absence, with a 5–0
2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier win against
Bangladesh on 3 September, in front of a 19,495-strong crowd. The following year on 1 September the
Socceroos returned for another World Cup qualifier against
Iraq, with 18,923 in attendance. The stadium was due to host a
2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier against
Kuwait in 2020; however, the
COVID-19 pandemic meant that this did not go ahead. In June 2024, the stadium hosted a
2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Palestine. Perth Rectangular Stadium was selected to host several group stage matches of the
2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. The venue received a $32 million upgrade before the tournament, which included new LED floodlighting, upgrades of player and media facilities, pitch improvements, new player races and bench areas, and additional temporary seating for spectators.
Men's international soccer Women's international soccer 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup The venue hosted five group stage matches of the
2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.
2024 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament Perth hosted six international matches over three match days as part of the second round of Asian qualifiers for the
Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Perth Rectangular Stadium was originally scheduled to host all three match days however the second match day involving matches between
Philippines and
Australia, and
Iran and
Chinese Taipei was moved to larger capacity
Perth Stadium due to strong demand.
2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup Perth will host 10 games at the upcoming
2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup. 8 matches, including 2 quarter-final matches will be held at the Rectangular Stadium, with the opening game and one semi-final to be held at Perth Stadium. match, January 2017
Australian rules football WAFL Australian rules football club
East Perth Football Club moved to Perth Oval from
Wellington Square in 1910, and played at the ground until
1999 except
in 1940 due to a dispute with the
Perth City Council over rents, and
in 1988 and 1989 when the WAFL attempted an unsuccessful move to
the WACA. After the Royals played their last match at the ground, they permanently moved away in 2003. In 1956 the F.D. Book Stand was built as part of East Perth Football Club's golden jubilee celebrations. It was named after administrator
Fred Book, who was instrumental in ensuring Perth Oval stayed as a sporting ground during
World War II. The ground was also briefly used as a home base for East Perth's WAFL rivals
West Perth and
Perth at various points. The
de facto final of the
1921 Perth Carnival was played at Perth Oval between
Western Australia and
South Australia, with Western Australia winning by 10 points to emerge as interstate carnival champions for the first time. The match attracted 26,461 people, a Western Australian sporting record attendance. In July 1929, Perth Oval hosted four interstate matches as part of the
centenary of Western Australia celebrations. the largest sporting crowd ever at the venue. This remained a state record until the
1937 Perth Carnival.
Cricket The venue was home to
Western Australian Grade Cricket teams North Perth and . North Perth played at the oval between 1910 and 1975 and between 1913 and 1929. The ground has occasionally been used by the Western Australian Rugby Union to host state league finals matches at least as far back as 1940.
Perth Spirit played at the venue during the 2007
Australian Rugby Championship. Perth Rectangular Stadium has been the home of the
Western Force since 2010.
Rugby league Rugby league has been an annual fixture at Perth Rectangular Stadium since 2009, with
South Sydney Rabbitohs hosting a home game once a season until 2017 with the
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles joining them for 2016 and 2017. The biggest crowds have occurred in games involving the
New Zealand Warriors. It was announced in January 2016 that the stadium would host Perth's first rugby league test match between the
Australian Kangaroos and the
New Zealand Kiwis on 15 October 2016. The venue hosted the
2017 Rugby League World Cup and the
2020 NRL Nines. List of rugby league test matches played at Perth Rectangular Stadium. The first game played at the venue was in the
1997 Super League season. The Perth-based
Western Reds moved their round 4 game against the
Canterbury Bulldogs to the oval due to the unavailability of their usual home ground, the
WACA. On that occasion the Reds won 36–6 in what was the venue's smallest rugby league attendance (until 2017) of 7,135.
NRL games Record attendances The record crowd for the ground is 32,000 for the
Ed Sheeran concert on 2 December 2015, The record sport attendance is 27,473, for an
interstate Australian football match between
Western Australia and
Victoria on 6 July 1929 – which was at the time the record football crowd in Western Australian history. The highest crowd for a club match was 26,760 for the 31 May 1969
derby Australian football match between
East Perth and
West Perth. The record soccer crowd for a match at the ground is 19,495, for a
2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier between the
Socceroos and
Bangladesh, bettering the previous record of 18,067 in the 1998–99
NSL season game between
Perth Glory and
South Melbourne FC. The record rugby union crowd at the venue prior to the 2012–13 redevelopment is an estimated 22,000 in a
Super Rugby 2011 Season game between the
Western Force and
Crusaders on 30 April 2011. The record sports crowd at the venue since the 2012–13 redevelopment is 20,727 in a
2015 NRL season game between the
South Sydney Rabbitohs and
New Zealand Warriors on 6 June 2015. == Music ==