Looks like the idea isn't dead and buried yet:
AFL considers boutique stadium
By Adam McNicol2:39pm AEDT Monday, March 25, 2013
THE AFL is seriously looking at redeveloping Carlton's Visy Park or Richmond's Punt Road Oval into a boutique 20,000-seat venue, according to League boss Andrew Demetriou.
"We've done a feasibility study on Visy (Park)," Demetriou said on Monday. "Visy can work.
"But we've got a couple of other options. I think Punt Road's got some legs."
With clubs like North Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs struggling to make money from low-drawing games at Etihad Stadium, the push for the AFL to buy the ground earlier than scheduled or develop a boutique venue has intensified.
The current agreement states that the League will be handed Etihad Stadium for the price of $1 in 2025.
If the AFL and Etihad Stadium's owners can't agree on a price, a boutique stadium could work because only 40 matches need to be played at Docklands from 2015, down from 46 this season.
"We have got a number of games that would be attractive in an 18,000- to 20,000-seat venue," Demetriou added.
"If you've got a full house in a ground you can create a great atmosphere, so I don't think we should close our minds to a boutique stadium."
The possibility of a new stadium being built at the E-Gate development site in Melbourne's inner-west was floated 2009, but that has gone off the AFL's radar.
"It's not something we've thought about," Demetriou said.
............then some more stuff about crowds and starting dateshttp://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-03-25/afls-boutique-push