Etihad Stadium and the Walt Disney company have today announced a partnership that will see the Docklands venue renamed as Marvel Stadium on September 1. No, really.
In a press release – confirmed not to have been originally scheduled for April 1 – the two parties announced plans to build a Marvel retail store in the stadium.
In an interview on Melbourne radio, stadium chief executive Michael Green said fans would see characters “brought to life” with “a lot of technology content”.
“This is one of the most exciting things for us, this will be far more than having a sign on the building,” he said.
The Geelong Advertiser’s deputy sports editor – Ryan Reynolds (no, not that one) – had this to say;
Do I get free entry into Marvel Stadium? #Deadpool2
— Ryan Reynolds (@Reynolds_R) May 23, 2018
Other members of the AFL community were quick to chime in with their thoughts too;
Etihad renamed Marvel Stadium. Should fit nicely with so much of today’s media also resembling comics.
— Rohan Connolly (@rohan_connolly) May 23, 2018
I’m a new deal, Etihad Stadium will be renamed ‘Marvel Stadium’ and not the more accurate ‘Worst Place in the World’.
— Titus O'Reily (@TitusOReily) May 23, 2018
The Western Bulldogs jumped at the opportunity to ask Thor actor, and longtime Doggies fan, Chris Hemsworth if the news would see him pull on the jumper.
.@EtihadStadiumAU set to be renamed 'Marvel Stadium'.
Next stop: Drafting Thor to the Kennel ?
? – https://t.co/XwjrvF8q8Q pic.twitter.com/1vvM4HSJgI
— Western Bulldogs (@westernbulldogs) May 23, 2018
Marvel has risen to mainstream prominence over the last decade with a string of successful comic book films, starting with Iron Man in 2008 and culminating thus far in Avengers: Infinity War earlier this year.
They have also published successful Netflix series in Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage.
Several other popular characters are published under the Marvel imprint, including Spider-Man, Thor, Captain America, Hulk and the X-Men.