Marconi Stadium is a soccer stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is the home ground for Marconi Stallions, as well as regularly hosting matches for the Western Sydney Wanderers FC National Youth League and W-League teams. Marconi Stallions Although a soccer pitch had existed on the site since the start of the soccer club in the 1960s, Marconi Stadium itself was built in 1972 with a capacity of 11,500 and used for Marconi Stallions matches within the NSW State League soccer pyramid. In 1977 the team joined the newly formed NSL and played in that competition until it ended in 2004 and the team re-joined the NSW State system. The stadium currently hosts Marconi games in the NSW Premier League. Marconi Stadium hosted the 2006 NSW Premier League final between Sydney United and Blacktown City. During the peak of the club success in the late 1980s to early 1990s the stadium earned the nickname "The Palace", being set alongside Club Marconi, the large licensed venue which generated significant financial support for the soccer club which helped them acquire a large number of talented players & staff. In November 2006, Berti Mariani ran for election to the board, on a platform of Marconi Stallions making a bid to join the A-League, and rebuilding Marconi Stadium into suitable venue. After the end of the NSL and the failure of Marconi to enter the new national competition the A-League, the full capacity of the stadium was no longer needed. The Eastern stand in particular fell into disuse and was eventually declared unsafe due to a shifting foundation. By 2018 the seating had been removed, the foundation repaired, a raised structure built containing a box for commentary or camera operators, with the rest of the former grandstand area being converted into a basic grassy hill. Other soccer usage The venue was used as a training camp for Australia as part of their preparation for their 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign. In 2007, the stadium hosted a match in which Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola made a guest appearance in a game between APIA Leichhardt Tigers and the Marconi Stallions. The ground record crowd for Marconi Stadium was set in 1993 when 14,220 fans attended to see the Australian under-20s take on the Brazil under-20s side in a warm up game for the 1993 FIFA World Youth Championship held in Australia later that year. The stadium