Princes Park was first used in 1897 by the Carlton Football Club, during the inaugural season of the AFL/VFL.
The club went on to win 673 of its 962 VFL/AFL games at the venue.
The Alderman Gardiner Stand was designed in 1903 and completed in stages between 1909 and 1913.
 The mostly iron stand with original cast iron columns remains the second oldest to be associated with the VFL/AFL competition.

The Robert Heatley Stand was officially opened by Alderman Sir William Brunton on Saturday, 7 May 1932.

During World War II, Princes Park hosted three VFL grand finals – in 1942, 1943, and 1945. (
The 1944 match was played at the Junction Oval.)
The 1945 grand final, between Carlton and South Melbourne, attracted a record crowd of 62,986.
Three weeks earlier, the semi-final between Carlton and North Melbourne had attracted 54,846 people.
Those were the only two crowds of over 50,000 in the venue's history.
The record home-and-away (i.e., non-finals) crowd was set in 1963, when 47,514 attended a match between Carlton and Geelong.

Princes Park was the venue for the second Ashes test of the 1992 Great Britain Lions tour, in which the visitors defeated Australia 33–10.
The ground became known as Optus Oval in November 1993 due to a naming rights deal with telecommunications company Optus.
In 1994, the Balmain Tigers played two New South Wales Rugby League premiership games at Princes Park.
Work on the Legends Stand began in 1995 and was completed for opening on 25 April 1997.
 The roof, with its curved modern structure, ensured that the oval was now enclosed with a roof all the way around its circumference.
The first naming rights deal lapsed at the end of the 2005 season, and Optus declined to renew, citing the ground's lower profile now that AFL matches were no longer played there.
In April 2006, it was announced that the naming rights for the stadium had once again been awarded, this time for a two-year term, during which the stadium was known as MC Labour Park.

In 2005, it was decided to discontinue the use of the ground for AFL home and away games.
A farewell AFL game was played at Princes Park on Saturday 21 May 2005.
 The game was contested between Carlton and Melbourne.
It was the last of the suburban grounds in Melbourne to be used in the AFL.
The result was an 18-point win to Melbourne.
Also in the same year, the ground hosted matches from the Australian Football Multicultural Cup as well as finals for the 2005 Australian Football International Cup.

In January 2006, Graham Smorgon, ex-president of the Carlton Football Club, prepared a A$67 million redevelopment proposal involving the demolition of most of the stands, returning much of the ground to parkland and the establishment of club training facilities and community centre.
On 7 June 2006 it was announced that Visy Park would receive a A$15.7m redevelopment to provide the Carlton Football Club with elite training and administration facilities.
The proposed redevelopment will provide state-of-the-art facilities exclusively for Carlton, including:
Gymnasium, weights and stretch areas
4-lane, 25-metre indoor heated pool
Medical offices and rehabilitation/treatment areas
Football Administration offices
Lecture theatre and meeting rooms
Change room facilities
From the 2015 season, the ground is known as Ikon Park.

The inaugural match of the AFL Women's competition was held at the ground in February 2017.
The game, featuring Carlton and Collingwood, attracted a capacity crowd of 24,568.
The venue hosted the 2018 AFL Women's Grand Final.
The success of the AFL Women's competition resulted in both state and federal governments allocating funding towards enhancement of the stadium's facilities, to enable it to become the home of women's football in Victoria.
The Victorian Government committed $20 million in April 2018 to cater for the growth of women's football, which was followed the next year by $15 million from the Federal Government.
The joint funding allows the venue to become a high performance women's training facility, with an upgraded oval, women’s coaching education h
Princes Park was first used in 1897 by the Carlton Football Club, during the inaugural season of the AFL/VFL. The club went on to win 673 of its 962 VFL/AFL games at the venue. The Alderman Gardiner Stand was designed in 1903 and completed in stages between 1909 and 1913.  The mostly iron stand with original cast iron columns remains the second oldest to be associated with the VFL/AFL competition.
The Robert Heatley Stand was officially opened by Alderman Sir William Brunton on Saturday, 7 May 1932.
During World War II, Princes Park hosted three VFL grand finals – in 1942, 1943, and 1945. (The 1944 match was played at the Junction Oval.) The 1945 grand final, between Carlton and South Melbourne, attracted a record crowd of 62,986. Three weeks earlier, the semi-final between Carlton and North Melbourne had attracted 54,846 people. Those were the only two crowds of over 50,000 in the venue's history. The record home-and-away (i.e., non-finals) crowd was set in 1963, when 47,514 attended a match between Carlton and Geelong.
Princes Park was the venue for the second Ashes test of the 1992 Great Britain Lions tour, in which the visitors defeated Australia 33–10. The ground became known as Optus Oval in November 1993 due to a naming rights deal with telecommunications company Optus. In 1994, the Balmain Tigers played two New South Wales Rugby League premiership games at Princes Park. Work on the Legends Stand began in 1995 and was completed for opening on 25 April 1997.  The roof, with its curved modern structure, ensured that the oval was now enclosed with a roof all the way around its circumference. The first naming rights deal lapsed at the end of the 2005 season, and Optus declined to renew, citing the ground's lower profile now that AFL matches were no longer played there. In April 2006, it was announced that the naming rights for the stadium had once again been awarded, this time for a two-year term, during which the stadium was known as MC Labour Park.
In 2005, it was decided to discontinue the use of the ground for AFL home and away games. A farewell AFL game was played at Princes Park on Saturday 21 May 2005.  The game was contested between Carlton and Melbourne. It was the last of the suburban grounds in Melbourne to be used in the AFL. The result was an 18-point win to Melbourne. Also in the same year, the ground hosted matches from the Australian Football Multicultural Cup as well as finals for the 2005 Australian Football International Cup.
In January 2006, Graham Smorgon, ex-president of the Carlton Football Club, prepared a A$67 million redevelopment proposal involving the demolition of most of the stands, returning much of the ground to parkland and the establishment of club training facilities and community centre. On 7 June 2006 it was announced that Visy Park would receive a A$15.7m redevelopment to provide the Carlton Football Club with elite training and administration facilities. The proposed redevelopment will provide state-of-the-art facilities exclusively for Carlton, including:
Gymnasium, weights and stretch areas
4-lane, 25-metre indoor heated pool
Medical offices and rehabilitation/treatment areas
Football Administration offices
Lecture theatre and meeting rooms
Change room facilities
From the 2015 season, the ground is known as Ikon Park.
The inaugural match of the AFL Women's competition was held at the ground in February 2017. The game, featuring Carlton and Collingwood, attracted a capacity crowd of 24,568. The venue hosted the 2018 AFL Women's Grand Final. The success of the AFL Women's competition resulted in both state and federal governments allocating funding towards enhancement of the stadium's facilities, to enable it to become the home of women's football in Victoria. The Victorian Government committed $20 million in April 2018 to cater for the growth of women's football, which was followed the next year by $15 million from the Federal Government. The joint funding allows the venue to become a high performance women's training facility, with an upgraded oval, women’s coaching education h
Princes Park (stadium)