Canberra Stadium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|
| Former names | Bruce Stadium, National Athletics Stadium |
|---|---|
| Location | Bruce, Canberra, ACT |
| Coordinates | 35°15′0″S 149°6′10″E / 35.25°S 149.10278°ECoordinates: 35°15′0″S 149°6′10″E / 35.25°S 149.10278°E |
| Opened | 1977 |
| Owner | Australian Sports Commission |
| Surface | Grass |
| Architect | Phillip Cox & Partners |
| Capacity | 25,011[1] |
| Tenants | |
| Canberra Raiders (NRL) (SL) (1990-present) ACT Brumbies (Super 14) (1996-present) Canberra City SC (NSL) (1977-1986) Canberra Cosmos (NSL) (1995-2001) Canberra Bushrangers (ABL) (1993-1995) |
|
Canberra Stadium (originally known as Bruce Stadium) is a facility primarily used for rugby league and rugby union games[2], located adjacent to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Bruce is the Canberra suburb where the stadium is located, and in turn Bruce was named after Stanley Bruce, Australian Prime Minister 1923-1929.
Capacity is a nominal all-seated 25,011, the largest crowd being 28,753 for the 2004 Super 12 Final. The main grandstand is named after Canberra Raiders and Australian rugby league player Mal Meninga, and a statue of another Raiders and Australian league representative Laurie Daley adorns the main grandstand entrance. The eastern grandstand was named the Gregan/Larkham Grandstand on 28 April 2007, after Brumbies and Australia rugby union greats George Gregan and Stephen Larkham. Both ended their international careers after the 2007 Rugby World Cup as the two most-capped players in Wallabies history, with Gregan at a world-record 139 and Larkham at 102.
The stadium is currently owned by the Australian Government through the Australian Sports Commission and leased to the Australian Capital Territory Government. While the current lease is due to expire in 2010, the ACT Government is seeking ownership of the stadium through a land transfer with the Australian Government.
Contents |
[edit] History
Constructed in 1977 for the Pacific Conference Games, it also was the venue for the 4th IAAF World Cup in Athletics. At the latter meet, the fastest 400m for women was recorded by East German Marita Koch - a time that still stands today.
Further renovations occurred in 1997 in preparation for staging football (soccer) matches as part of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, which also in turn shrank the size of the playing field preventing any future Australian rules football games being played on the field. The final cost of the renovations was more than seven times what was originally anticipated by the territory government of the time, and the subsequent controversy ended the career of then Chief Minister Kate Carnell. During the lead-up, on 29 May 2000, unseasonal snow fell during a match between the Raiders and the Wests Tigers, the only such event in National Rugby League history, with the snow causing frost damage to the turf intended for the Olympic football tournament.
Olympic football in 2000 has initiated a stadium facelift converting the playing surface from oval to rectangular and bringing the crowd closer to the action. The only downside to this revamp is the stadium can no longer host AFL games. It is now an all-seater rectangular stadium with two main grandstands on either side of the playing field.
There is currently an A-League bid from Canberra that would play at the stadium, starting in 2010, if accepted.
[edit] Current Tenants
Canberra Raiders (rugby league) 1990 - present
ACT Brumbies (rugby union) 1996 - present
[edit] Former Tenants
Canberra City Arrows (football (soccer)) 1977 - 1986
Canberra Cosmos (football (soccer)) 1995 - 2001
Canberra Bushrangers (baseball) 1993 - 1995
[edit] Other events
- Super 12 Rugby union Final 2000, 2001, 2004
- Four Group Matches from the 2003 Rugby World Cup were also played at the stadium.
- In 1990, the stadium hosted an International Rules match (a combination of Gaelic football and Australian rules football) between Ireland and Australia.
- In 1995, the AFL's ailing Fitzroy Football Club played one home game against the West Coast Eagles at the venue.
- Kanga Cup International Youth Soccer Tournament.
- The 2008 Pacific Schools Games
- One Group Match from the 2008 Rugby League World Cup was also played at the stadium.
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.austadiums.com/stadiums/stadiums.php?id=28
- ^ Coders: Webster's Quotations, Facts and Phrases. Icon Group International, Inc.. 2008. pp. 51. ISBN 2009-07-03. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=riV_wmFKrZUC&dq=tuqiri&source=gbs_navlinks_s.
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Canberra Stadium at Austadiums
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||
