The city's former largest rectangular stadium, Olympic Park, had been repurposed from a track and field facility.

Until 2010, Olympic Park Stadium was Melbourne's main venue for soccer, rugby league and rugby union; not purpose-built, it was an athletics stadium with the rectangular grass field set inside the running track, and it could hold 18,500 spectators, but only 11,000 seated.

[1] The opening ceremony featured the NRL's all-time highest point-scorer, Hazem El Masri, who had retired the previous season, kicking a goal.

Two days later the first National Rugby League match was played at the stadium when the Brisbane Broncos defeated the Melbourne Storm in front of a crowd of 20,042.

It was also another first, as the newly formed Melbourne Heart FC played their first game in front of 11,050 fans against the Central Coast Mariners.

[15] Western United's last home game at the stadium prior to the completion of Ironbark Fields occurred on 14 March 2024 against crosstown rivals Melbourne Victory, with the match concluding in a 2-2 draw in front of a crowd of 3058.

[16] AAMI Park played host to 6 Matches as part of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 under its non-commercial name of Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.

The Stadium hosted two Open Training Sessions on 21 & 23 May 2024 as part of Global Football Week Melbourne.

The Melbourne Rising played their first National Rugby Championship match on 24 August 2014, defeating the North Harbour Rays by a resounding 55–34 score.

The exterior of the stadium is covered in thousands of LED lights which can be programmed to display a variety of patterns and images.

It has planned to house public bars and cafes, 24 corporate boxes, a dining room with a capacity of 1000 people, a gym and lap pool.

Alternative plans put forward by the Victorian Government proposed a capacity of 30,050, on the condition that the Victory sign on as a tenant.

The Victorian Government contributed $25 million to replace the old video screens with two new curved screens, install LED sports light technology in the light towers and under the roof canopy, and replace static advertising and wayfinding boards with LED.

The results were as follows; The venue hosted six matches of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup – four group games and two knockout ones.