The land on which the stadium was built, known as Loton Park, was made a public reserve in 1904, with the main ground developed several years later.

The ground is also used by the West Coast Pirates, a semi-professional rugby league team competing in the S. G. Ball Cup, as well as for concerts.

The Force's move to the stadium led to a minor redevelopment of facilities at the ground, including an increase in capacity and improved lighting.

[4] In 2015, the stadium hosted a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier between Australia and Bangladesh, the first A-international in Perth in over a decade.

[12][13] 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.

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.

[16] Perth Rectangular Stadium was selected to host several group stage matches of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.

It was named after administrator Fred Book, who was instrumental in ensuring Perth Oval stayed as a sporting ground during World War II.

[26] 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

Perth Rectangular Stadium has been the venue of major music concerts, including: Additionally, in September 2020 Tame Impala performed on the pitch in the empty park amid the COVID-19 pandemic in promotion of EA Sports FIFA 21.