Marrara Stadium Marrara Oval | |
![]() | |
![]() View of the grandstand at Marrara Oval in March 2016 | |
![]() | |
Former names | Football Park |
---|---|
Location | Marrara, Northern Territory |
Coordinates | 12°23′57″S130°53′14″E / 12.39917°S 130.88722°E |
Owner | Government of the Northern Territory |
Operator | AFL Northern Territory |
Capacity | 12,500 [1] |
Field size | 175 m × 135 m (574 ft × 443 ft) [2] |
Surface | Grass |
Opened | 1991 |
Tenants | |
| |
Ground information | |
End names | |
McMillans Road End Airport End | |
International information | |
First Test | 18–20 July 2003:![]() ![]() |
Last Test | 1–3 July 2004:![]() ![]() |
First ODI | 6 August 2003:![]() ![]() |
Last ODI | 6 September 2008:![]() ![]() |
As of 28 May 2020 Source: Cricinfo |
Marrara Oval (also known as TIO Stadium under naming rights and previously as Football Park) is a sports ground in Darwin, the capital of Australia's Northern Territory. The ground primarily hosts Australian rules football, cricket, and rugby league.
Marrara Oval was opened in 1991. It has a capacity of 12,500 people, making it the largest stadium in the Northern Territory. However, the ground has a record attendance of 17,500, set in 2003 for a football game featuring the Indigenous All-Stars. Marrara Oval has hosted at least one Australian Football League (AFL) game in every season since 2004 and at least one National Rugby League (NRL) game in every season since 2012. The ground has also hosted both Test and One Day International (ODI) cricket fixtures, most recently in 2008.
Marrara Oval was officially opened to the public on 30 June 1991 as the new home of the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL), and was conservatively estimated as costing $8 million. [3] The first game played under lights at Marrara was a match between Nightcliff and Southern Districts on 9 December 1994. Transport and Works Minister Daryl Manzie officially handed over the lights to the NTFL that day. Installing the lights cost $1.2 million. [4] The light towers were constructed by Darwin firm Norbuilt. [5]
In February 1992, Marrara Oval hosted its first match sanctioned by the Australian Football League (AFL), a preseason Foster's Cup fixture between Collingwood and West Coast attended by 11,000 people. Further preseason fixtures were hosted at the ground over the next decade, including several Indigenous All-Stars games and a historic match between Essendon Bombers and West Coast Eagles in the AFL 2000 pre-season where Essendon went on to win the Ansett Cup. A 2003 match between the Indigenous All-Stars and Carlton attracted a crowd of 17,500 people, setting a new ground record. [6] The first regular-season AFL match played at Marrara Oval came in round 20 of the 2004 season, when the Western Bulldogs hosted Port Adelaide. [7]
Between 2004 and 2008 a single Western Bulldogs "home" game was played at the ground each season. In 2010, Melbourne also began to play an annual "home" fixture in Darwin. The Western Bulldogs onsold their 2011 fixture to Richmond, but returned for the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Port Adelaide also had a three-year deal with the Northern Territory government and Marrara Oval, in which they would be the "away" team for games at TIO Stadium each year between 2009 and 2012. Since 2014, only one AFL game has been played at Marrara Oval each year. From 2020, Gold Coast will play two home games a year at Marrara Oval, replacing Melbourne.
Marrara Oval has been a secondary home ground of the Adelaide Crows women's team since 2017. In April 2016, the Adelaide Crows launched a successful bid to enter a team in the inaugural AFL Women's season. The bid was constructed in partnership with AFLNT, with the club to share resources and facilities between its Adelaide base and AFLNT's Darwin location. It included a commitment to host some home games in Darwin. [8]
In 2020, Marrara Oval hosted the annual Dreamtime at the 'G match between Essendon and Richmond as it was not possible for the match to be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground due to the city of Melbourne, and ultimately the state of Victoria, being locked down during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. [9]
|
|
Marrara Oval has hosted top-level international cricket on several occasions. It is sometimes known as Darwin Cricket Ground during these matches. In July 2003, the ground hosted the first Test of a series between Australia and Bangladesh. A One Day International (ODI) game between the same teams was played the following month. In July 2004, a second Test was played, the first of a series between Australia and Sri Lanka. After that, top-level international cricket did not return to Marrara Oval until mid-2008, when the ground hosted a three-ODI series between Australia and Bangladesh. [11]
Two Test [12] and One ODI [13] centuries have been scored at the venue.
No. | Score | Player | Team | Balls | Innings | Opposing team | Date | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 110 | Darren Lehmann | ![]() | 221 | 2 | ![]() | 18 July 2003 | Won |
2 | 100* | Steve Waugh | ![]() | 133 | 2 | ![]() | 18 July 2003 | Won |
No. | Score | Player | Team | Balls | Innings | Opposing team | Date | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 101 | Ricky Ponting | ![]() | 118 | 1 | ![]() | 6 August 2003 | Won |
Four Test five-wicket hauls have been taken at the venue. [14]
No. | Figures | Player | Team | Opposing team | Date | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 5/65 | Stuart MacGill | ![]() | ![]() | 18 July 2003 | Australia won |
2 | 5/31 | Chaminda Vaas | ![]() | ![]() | 1 July 2004 | Sri Lanka lost |
3 | 5/37 | Glenn McGrath | ![]() | ![]() | 1 July 2004 | Australia won |
4 | 7/39 | Michael Kasprowicz | ![]() | ![]() | 1 July 2004 | Australia won |
In the National Rugby League (NRL), the Sydney Roosters played host against the North Queensland Cowboys in Round 7 of the 2012 NRL season in front of 10,008 fans. This was the first time Darwin hosted a professional Rugby League game since 1995. [15] The second game at Marrara came in Round 17 of the 2013 NRL season when the Penrith Panthers (who had previously played games in Darwin during the 1990s) defeated the Gold Coast Titans 40–18 in front of 8,050 for what was a Titans home game.
In 2014, the Parramatta Eels, a Sydney-based National Rugby League (NRL) club, announced they would be playing four games at Marrara over the following four years. The first game came on 9 August (Round 22) during the 2014 NRL season when the Eels defeated the Canberra Raiders 18–10 in front of 9,527 fans.
In 2017 Marrara Oval hosted a quarter-final of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup between Australia and Samoa, Australia winning 46–0. It drew a crowd of 13,473, which is the highest rugby league crowd the stadium has ever gotten and the fourth highest overall. [16]
TIO Stadium has hosted AC/DC for their "Ballbreaker" tour in November 1996, when 13,000 fans and 170 tonnes of equipment packed the ground. Sir Elton John performed for the first time in the Northern Territory, at TIO Stadium on 17 May 2008 as part of his Australian Tour. [17] [18]
|
|
Last updated: 17 May 2024 [19]
No. | Date | Teams | Sport | Competition | Crowd |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 7 February 2003 | Indigenous All-Stars vs. Carlton | Australian rules football | n/a | 17,500 |
2 | 12 February 1994 | Indigenous All-Stars vs. Collingwood | Australian rules football | n/a | 15,000 |
3 | 12 August 2006 | Western Bulldogs vs. Port Adelaide | Australian rules football | AFL | 14,100 |
4 | 17 November 2017 | Australia vs. Samoa | Rugby league | 2017 RLWC | 13,473 |
5 | 14 August 2004 | Western Bulldogs vs. Port Adelaide | Australian rules football | AFL | 13,271 |
6 | 11 February 2007 | Indigenous All-Stars vs. Essendon | Australian rules football | n/a | 13,119 |
7 | 18 June 2005 | Western Bulldogs vs. Carlton | Australian rules football | AFL | 13,037 |
8 | 16 May 2024 | Gold Coast vs. Geelong | Australian rules football | AFL | 12,112 |
9 | 15 July 2017 | Melbourne vs. Adelaide | Australian rules football | AFL | 12,104 |
10 | 23 April 2021 | Parramatta Eels vs. Brisbane Broncos | Rugby League | NRL | 12,056 |
Last updated on 17 May 2024
Canberra Stadium, commercially known as GIO Stadium Canberra, is a facility primarily used for rugby league and rugby union games, located adjacent to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It is the largest sports venue by capacity in Canberra.
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby league, rugby union, soccer, tennis among other sports as well as regularly being used to hold concerts. Austadiums.com described Adelaide Oval as being "one of the most picturesque Test cricket grounds in Australia, if not the world." After the completion of the ground's most recent redevelopment in 2014, sports journalist Gerard Whateley described the venue as being "the most perfect piece of modern architecture because it's a thoroughly contemporary stadium with all the character that it's had in the past."
Eden Park is a sports venue in Auckland, New Zealand. It is located three kilometres southwest of the Auckland CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and Kingsland. The main stadium has a nominal capacity of 50,000, and is sometimes referred to as New Zealand's national stadium. The stadium is used primarily for rugby union in winter and cricket in summer, and has also hosted rugby league and association football matches, as well as concerts and cultural events. It is owned and operated by the Eden Park Trust Board, whose headquarters are located in the stadium.
Carrara Stadium is a stadium on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Carrara.
North Sydney Oval is a multi-use sporting facility in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, owned and operated by North Sydney Council. First used as a cricket ground in 1867, it is also used for Australian rules football, rugby league, rugby union and soccer.
Manuka Oval is a sporting venue in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It is located in Griffith, in the area of that suburb known as Manuka. Manuka Oval has a seating capacity of 13,550 people and an overall capacity of 16,000 people, although this is lower for some sports depending on the configuration used. The area on which the ground is situated has been used for sport since the early 20th century, but was only enclosed in 1929. It has since undergone several redevelopments, most recently beginning in 2011.
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.
Hindmarsh Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Hindmarsh, an inner western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is the home of the Australian A-League team, Adelaide United.
Cazalys Stadium is a sports stadium in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. It is situated in the suburb of Westcourt. The stadium is named after the social club which abuts the oval, Cazalys, which itself was named after Australian rules footballer Roy Cazaly.
The Willows Sports Complex was a grass football stadium situated in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It was used predominantly as a rugby league ground as the home ground of the North Queensland Cowboys National Rugby League club. The ground was also used for rugby union and soccer. From 2009 to 2011, A-League football club North Queensland Fury called it home.
The Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) is an Australian rules football semi-professional league operating in Darwin in the Northern Territory.
Traeger Park is a sports complex located in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia, and is named after Alfred Hermann Traeger. The park was officially opened by Anne Catherine Smallwood Alfred's younger daughter. The primary stadium in the complex caters for Australian rules football and cricket and has a capacity of 7200. The complex also has a small baseball stadium.
Australian rules football is the most popular sport in the Northern Territory (NT), particularly among Indigenous Australian communities in Darwin, Alice Springs and the Tiwi Islands. It is governed by AFL Northern Territory. In 2017, it was reported that 18% of Territorians participate in Australian rules football—the highest rate of participation in Australia. The sport also produces more professional AFL players per capita in the than any other state or territory.
Belmore Sports Ground, formerly known as Belmore Oval, is a multi-purpose stadium in Belmore, New South Wales, Australia. The park covers 22 acres (89,000 m2) and from 1951 has contained the Belmore Bowling Recreation Club green. It is close to Belmore railway station.
Many sports are played in the Northern Territory of Australia.
Drummoyne Oval is a multi-use sports ground in the Sydney inner-west suburb of Drummoyne, New South Wales. The ground has been used for international women's cricket matches, domestic men's cricket matches and first grade rugby league as well as local Australian rules football and Rugby Union games.
Thebarton Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia currently used for a variety of sports including Australian rules football. It was the home ground of South Australian National Football League (SANFL) club West Torrens between 1922 and 1989, and since 2008 has been the home of the South Australian Amateur Football League (SAAFL) now called the Adelaide Footy League.
Sydney Showground Stadium is a sports and events stadium located at the Sydney Showground in Sydney Olympic Park, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It hosted the baseball events for the 2000 Summer Olympics. The Showground, including the stadium, is operated by the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW (RAS), under lease from the New South Wales Government.