Anzac Day Telstra Dome boost?

The capacity of Telstra Dome is set to be increased as a one-off to ensure the annual Anzac Day game between Essendon and Collingwood is able to be staged in Melbourne next season.

The match is one of around 15 games that will have to be moved from the MCG during the first six rounds of next season while the MCG is unavailable due to the removal of the athletics track following the Commonwealth Games in late March.

There has been speculation the match could be moved to the 82,000-capacity Telstra Stadium in Sydney but AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou told afl.com.au the match is likely to remain in Melbourne with Telstra Dome's capacity likely to be increased from 53,500 to closer towards 60,000 for the match.

"There would be a lot of appeal about bringing the game to Sydney but we respect the fact that Melburnians love the game," Demetriou said of the biggest game on the home-and-away calendar.

"If the MCG was available the game would be there but Collo (Telstra Dome boss Ian Collins) tells me he is prepared to sell standing room tickets to get the capacity of Telstra Dome up for the match."

There is also speculation the exclusive Medallion Club area on level two on the harbour side of the stadium - which has only been filled to its capacity on a handful of occasions since the ground first opened in 2000 - could also be turned over to Essendon and Collingwood members for the game to ensure as many seats as possible are filled for a match that in 1995 attracted 94,825 fans to the MCG.

Demetriou said there were standing room areas available for fans in Telstra Dome but they were not usually sold for AFL matches but had been for other sporting events previously held at the Docklands venue.

And he said the atmosphere for Anzac Day at Telstra Dome, with the ground filled to an even larger capacity than usual would be a memorable occasion.

"I remember going to a non AFL game there involving the British Lions (rugby union team) where they got 56,000 at Telstra Dome so I dare say a full house with that sort of crowd would create an unbelievable atmosphere for Anzac Day."

The biggest crowd so far for an AFL match at Telstra Dome was 53,312 for a clash between the Kangaroos and Collingwood in 2003 while the 50,000 mark has only been exceeded on eight occasions from the 248 matches the ground has hosted so far.