Campbelltown Stadium

Last updated

Campbelltown Sports Stadium
Campbelltown Stadium
Campbelltown Sports Stadium.jpg
Campbelltown Stadium
Former namesOrana Park, Campbelltown Sports Ground
LocationOld Leumeah Rd, Leumeah, New South Wales 2560
Coordinates 34°3′1″S150°50′1″E / 34.05028°S 150.83361°E / -34.05028; 150.83361
Owner Campbelltown City Council
OperatorCampbelltown City Council
Capacity 17,500 [1]
Record attendance20,527 (Wests Tigers vs North Queensland Cowboys, 14 August 2005)
SurfaceGrass
Opened1955
Tenants
Newtown Jets (1983)
Western Suburbs Magpies (1987–present)
Wests Tigers (NRL) (2000–present)
Macarthur Rams (2008)
Western Sydney Wanderers FC (W-League) (2012–2014)
Macarthur FC (A-League Men) (2020–present)

Campbelltown Sports Stadium, formerly Orana Park and Campbelltown Sports Ground, is a multi-use stadium in Leumeah, New South Wales, Australia, owned by Campbelltown City Council. It is currently the home ground of the Western Suburbs Magpies, Wests Tigers rugby league and Macarthur FC. The stadium has a nominal capacity of 17500, with a recorded highest crowd figure of 20,527 for a game between Wests Tigers and North Queensland Cowboys in the 2005 NRL season. It is located adjacent to Leumeah railway station and Wests Leagues Club.

Contents

History

Campbelltown Stadium entrance Campbelltown Stadium Entrance.jpg
Campbelltown Stadium entrance

The area which Campbelltown Stadium occupies, was developed in the early 1960s by the then Campbelltown 'Shire' Council, as a rudimentary sporting field, in the very much rural and undeveloped Leumeah area. Council named the new ground, 'Orana Park'.

The Campbelltown City Kangaroos, playing in the Group 6 Rugby League competition, were the first major tenants of the ground, having been moved from their original home ground on Queen St, Campbelltown. Orana Park would soon become the premier venue of the local Group 6 senior competition, hosting all Grand Finals from 1974 to 1983 and representative fixtures, including a famous clash in 1975 between Group 6 and France, won 2-nil by the locals. A boundary change for the 1984 season, saw Orana Park become a part of the new Newtown- Campbelltown Junior League. The Kangaroos remained as co-tenants of the Orana Park facility until 1997, when the No.2 field was developed into the region's top athletics facility, in time for the 2000 Olympic Games.

The Stadium- Orana Park- had a functional purpose in the lives of most young Campbelltownians, also doubling as the local athletics track for school carnivals.

Orana Park first played host to top level Rugby League in the 1983 NSWRFL season, when the moribund Newtown Jets played half of their home games at Orana Park (with a view to a permanent move for the 1984 season). A bumper crowd of 10,686 turned out for the Round 1 clash, to see reigning 1982 premiers, the Parramatta Eels decimate the Jets 54–14. Bluebags officials, led by John Singleton and partnered by pre-eminent local solicitor John Marsden, were determined to move the ailing Club full-time to Campbelltown to claim the burgeoning junior league in the Campbelltown LGA, and to expand their thin supporter base. However, before the deal could be made, Newtown were excluded from the 1984 season for financial reasons. Orana Park/ Campbelltown Stadium would be the site of the Newtown club's last top-level Rugby League competition match, a 9–6 victory over the Canberra Raiders on Saturday 27 August 1983. The club continued efforts to be re-instated for the 1985 season, fully based in Campbelltown. Based upon Newtown's dire financial position, the Campbelltown side of the merger withdrew its support for entry into the NSWRL Premiership of 1985, consigning the Jets to premiership oblivion. The Jets would be successfully resurrected in the NSWRL Metropolitan Cup (Second-tier competition) in 1991.

For 1985–86, there was no top-level rugby league tenant at the Stadium. One NSWRL game a year was played at the stadium by Parramatta and Eastern Suburbs respectively. South-western Sydney was still considered neutral, but 'ripe' territory for all of the inner-Sydney based clubs. Ironically, it was the struggling Western Suburbs Magpies in 1987 who made the move from their inner western base of Lidcombe. 'The Pies' had been the opponents of the Eastern Suburbs club in that solitary game at Orana Park in 1986. Led by astute CEO Rick Wayde, the Magpies rapidly moved to secure a more assured future for the club, based in this rapidly expanding population centre. The Magpies had also been threatened with expulsion from the 1984 premiership, along similar lines as those of Newtown. Wests also assumed control of the bankrupt Leagues Club that sat next to the venue; rebranding it as 'Wests Leagues Campbelltown'. This time, Campbelltown Rugby League powerbroker John Marsden assented to the Magpies taking control of the now vast Campbelltown- Liverpool Junior League. The NSWRL rubber stamped that Orana Park- Campbelltown Stadium would become a 1st Grade Rugby League venue.

Sports played at Campbelltown Stadium

Rugby league

In the National Rugby League, the stadium was home to the Western Suburbs Magpies club from 1987 until 1999 and was one of the home grounds for the Newtown Jets in 1983. The Magpies had merged with the Balmain Tigers for the 2000 season to form the Wests Tigers, and thus, since 2000, this ground is being used on an occasional basis by the Wests Tigers, with four of their twelve annual home games played there, in accordance with their stadium deals. The Western Suburbs Magpies junior teams and Ron Massey Cup side also play most of their home games at Campbelltown.

The record crowd for the ground for a rugby league match has been 20,527 between the Wests Tigers and the North Queensland Cowboys on 14 August 2005. The record crowd for Campbelltown in its previous oval configuration was 17,286 between Western Suburbs and St George on 2 August 1991. The record crowd for Newtown at the stadium is 10,686 against rival Parramatta in 1983. [2]

List of rugby league test matches played at Campbelltown Stadium. [3]

Test#DateResultAttendanceNotes
117 October 2015Flag of Tonga.svg  Tonga def. Flag of the Cook Islands.svg  Cook Islands 28–84,813 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifier
26 May 2017Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg  Papua New Guinea def. Flag of the Cook Islands.svg  Cook Islands 32–2218,271 2017 Pacific Tests
3Flag of Tonga.svg  Tonga def. Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji 26–24
4Flag of England.svg  England def. Flag of Samoa.svg  Samoa 30–10
523 June 2018Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg  Papua New Guinea def. Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji 26–1417,802 2018 Pacific Tests
6Flag of Tonga.svg  Tonga def. Flag of Samoa.svg  Samoa 38–22

Association football

On 19 July 2008 Australian A-League Men team Sydney FC played their first Pre-Season Cup match against Brisbane Roar. Sydney won the match 2–1 in front of roughly 4,500 fans. Sydney FC also played a pre-season friendly here in preparation for their 2010–11 A-League season against local club Macarthur Rams in which Sydney won 1–0.

Sydney FC played their first premiership match for A-League points at Campbelltown Stadium against Perth Glory on 18 January 2012 (originally to be played on 7 December 2011). [4] The game ended up in a 1–1 draw and drew 5,505 fans.

The stadium was host for the local Macarthur Football Association Premier League finals in September 2012.

Western Sydney Wanderers FC defeated Newcastle Jets FC 2–1 in a 2012–13 season Regional Round match at the venue. The game was attended by 10,589 fans. The Wanderers would return to the stadium against the same opposition in the 2016–17 season during the redevelopment of Parramatta Stadium. In 2016, Western Sydney Wanderers FC announced that the club would be playing all their 2017 AFC Champions League games at Campbelltown Stadium.

In the 2018–19 A-League season, the stadium played host to a match between Wellington Phoenix FC and Sydney FC in front of 5,115 people. Sydney FC won 1–0. [5]

The stadium also hosted a 2019 FFA Cup match between Sydney United 58 and Western Sydney Wanderers in which the Wanderers won 7–1 in front of 5,061 people. [6]

In February 2020, the stadium played host to five matches in the 2020 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament. [7]

From the 2020–21 A-League season, Macarthur FC were formed and play their home games at the ground.

Panorama of Campbelltown Stadium prior to Western Sydney Wanderers defeating Newcastle Jets 2-1 in the 2012-13 A-League season Pre-Game WSW 2-1 NUJ Round 20 10.02.2013.jpg
Panorama of Campbelltown Stadium prior to Western Sydney Wanderers defeating Newcastle Jets 2–1 in the 2012–13 A-League season

In July 2023, the venue will host Korea Republic as their training facility during the FIFA Women's Wolrd Cup tournament.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wests Tigers</span> Australian rugby league football club

The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a joint-venture club between the Balmain Tigers and the Western Suburbs Magpies. The Wests Tigers started playing in the 2000 NRL season and they won their maiden premiership in 2005. It is one of only two clubs that has never lost a Grand Final in which it has participated. The club also won the final edition of the World Sevens in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Suburbs Magpies</span> Australian rugby league club, based in Sydney, NSW

The Western Suburbs Magpies are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly referred to, were one of the nine foundation clubs of the first New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia. The club, as a sole entity, departed the top-flight competition in 1999 after forming a 50–50 joint venture with Balmain Tigers to form the Wests Tigers. The club currently fields sides in the NSW State Cup, Ron Massey Cup (Opens), S.G. Ball Cup and Harold Matthews Cup competitions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newtown Jets</span> Australian rugby league club, based in Sydney, NSW

The Newtown Jets are an Australian rugby league football club based in Newtown, a suburb of Sydney's inner west. They currently compete in the NSW Cup competition, having left the top grade after the 1983 NSWRFL season. The Jets' home ground is Henson Park, and their team colours are blue and white.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leichhardt Oval</span> Stadium in Lilyfield, New South Wales, Australia

Leichhardt Oval is a rugby league and soccer stadium in Lilyfield, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently one of three home grounds for the Wests Tigers National Rugby League (NRL) team, along with Campbelltown Stadium and Western Sydney Stadium. Prior to its merger with the Western Suburbs Magpies, it was the longtime home of the Balmain Tigers, who used the ground from 1934–1994 and 1997–1999. It was named after Ludwig Leichhardt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Massey Cup</span> Australian semi-professional rugby league competition

The Ron Massey Cup is a semi-professional development level rugby league competition in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, run jointly by the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) and the Country Rugby League of New South Wales (CRL). The competition is run concurrently with the National Rugby League (NRL). It currently comprises 13 teams drawn from the Sydney metropolitan area. The competition is named after Ron Massey, a former rugby league coach. Ron Massey died 19 September 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parramatta Stadium</span> Defunct sports stadium in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia,

Parramatta Stadium was a sports stadium in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia, 23 kilometres west of Sydney's central business district. The stadium was the home ground of several western Sydney-based sports teams, at the time of closure the most notable were the Parramatta Eels of the National Rugby League and the Western Sydney Wanderers of the A-League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Raudonikis</span> Australian rugby league footballer and coach (1950–2021)

Thomas Walter Raudonikis was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach. He played 40 International games and World Cup games as Australia representative halfback and captained his country in two matches of the 1973 Kangaroo tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macarthur Division Rugby League</span>

The Macarthur Division Rugby League is a senior Rugby league competition in New South Wales, Australia, administered by the New South Wales Rugby League. Formerly known as Group 6, the competition was, until 2019, run under the auspices of the Country Rugby League. The geographical area covered by the former CRL Group 6 takes in much of the Southern Highlands and southern Macarthur regions of New South Wales, extending from Marulan, New South Wales in the south, to Mount Annan/ the M5 in the north and Warragamba in the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wentworthville Magpies</span> Australian rugby league club, based in Sydney, NSW

The Wentworthville Magpies, colloquially known as Wenty, are a rugby league team based in the suburb of Wentworthville in Sydney's Western Suburbs. Founded in 1963, the club has competed in various Sydney district competitions and, since 2003, the semi-professional Ron Massey Cup and Sydney Shield competitions in NSW, Australia. The club also fielded a team in the Canterbury Cup NSW as part of a joint-venture with the Parramatta Eels between 2008 and 2019 acting as Parramatta's feeder club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lidcombe Oval</span>

Lidcombe Oval is a playing field and velodrome in the Western Sydney suburb of Lidcombe. It is part of Wyatt Park. It is situated in the Western side of Church Street, on the northern side of the railway line. The outfield has a capacity of more than 20,000 spectators. The infield is used mainly for football matches of various codes. The velodrome hosts track cycling events and has been the home of Lidcombe-Auburn Cycle Club since 1947, and Neo Cycling Club since 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shannon Gallant</span> Australian rugby league footballer

Shannon Gallant is an Australian rugby league footballer. He has played in the National Rugby League (NRL) for the North Queensland Cowboys and the Wests Tigers. He primarily plays as a fullback and is known for his speed and small stature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campbelltown Eagles</span> Australian rugby league club, based in Campbelltown, NSW

East Campbelltown Eagles are an Australian Junior Rugby League Club that also supports a semi-professional rugby league team. The team previously competed in the Western Suburbs 1st Grade competition, Canterbury 1st Grade competition, Jim Beam Cup, Bundaberg Red Cup, the Wests Juniors/Group 6 combined competition, Group 6 CRL Competition and now the Semi Professional New South Wales Sydney Shield Competition.

Sydney Football Club is an Australian women's football club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It competes in the A-League Women, the top tier of women's football in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Sydney Stadium</span> Stadium in Parramatta, Australia

Western Sydney Stadium, commercially known as CommBank Stadium, is a multi-purpose rectangular stadium in Parramatta, within the Greater Western Sydney region, approximately 24 km (15 mi) west of Sydney CBD. It replaced the demolished Parramatta Stadium (1986) which in turn was built on the site of the old Cumberland Oval, home ground to the Parramatta Eels since 1947. The current stadium opened in April 2019 and has a 30,000-seat capacity. The stadium is owned by the NSW Government and built at a cost of $300 million. The stadium hosts games across the major rectangular field sports in Sydney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney Metropolitan Women's Rugby League</span>

The Sydney Metropolitan Women's Rugby League was the premier Women's rugby league competition in the state of New South Wales, Australia. In 2017, the competition became known as the NSWRL Women's Premiership. The New South Wales Rugby League also administer open age women's and age group girls' competitions that sit below the NSWRL Women's Premiership. Within the Sydney Metropolitan region, there are several conferences.

Tim Barnes is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s. He played for the Newtown Jets, Eastern Suburbs and the Parramatta Eels in the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) competition.

Gary Webster is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played for Newtown, Balmain and Western Suburbs in the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) competition.

Allen Geelan is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played for Newtown, Eastern Suburbs, Canterbury-Bankstown and Western Suburbs in the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) competition.

Geoff Coburn is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s. He played for the Newtown Jets and the Parramatta Eels in the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) competition.

References

  1. "Campbelltown Stadium". Austadiums. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  2. Rugby League Tables / Campbelltown / All Games
  3. Ferguson, Shawn Dollin and Andrew. "Campbelltown Stadium – Current Name: Campbelltown Stadium – Rugby League Project". rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  4. FFA Take A-League Into The Regions Archived 2 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine , au.fourfourtwo.com, 29 September 2011. Retrieved on 13 November 2011.
  5. "Wellington Phoenix vs Sydney FC, Hyundai A-League, Round 20, 23rd Feb 2019". Hyundai A-League. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  6. "Sydney United 58 FC vs Western Sydney Wanderers FC, FFA Cup, Round of 16, 28th Aug 2019". FFA Cup. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  7. "Tickets now on sale for matches at Campbelltown Stadium". Matildas. 3 February 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2020.