Ballymore Stadium
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| Ballymore Stadium | |
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| Location | Herston, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Opened | 1966 |
| Closed | Open |
| Demolished | N/A |
| Owner | Queensland Rugby Union |
| Surface | Grass |
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Ballymore Stadium is the name of a rugby union stadium situated in Herston, a suburb of Brisbane, Australia. It is also the home of Queensland Rugby Union, and was the home ground for the Queensland Reds and the Brisbane Strikers Soccer Club. The Queensland Reds have since moved to Suncorp Stadium and the Brisbane Strikers moved to Perry Park before folding.
The QRU set up headquarters at Ballymore in 1966 under a deed of grant from the state government. The first club game played at the new site was a match between Teachers and Wests. The QRU then officially moved in February 1967. In March of the following year Ballymore's grandstand was officially opened. The Eastern Stand was opened on June 21, 1992. The ground exceeded capacity in 1993 when 26,000 squeezed in to watch the Wallabies play South Africa. A year later the first match under lights was played at the ground. Today the grandstand is known as the McLean Stand (named in 1980), and the Eastern stand is known as the Bank of QLD stand.
In 2006 it was announced that there was a new proposal to turn Ballymore into a state-of-the-art training facility for Australian rugby, for teams throughout the Asia-Pacific region. The proposed development would also include a Rugby hall of Fame, and an archive for the preservation of rugby history and memorabilia.
The QRU said that the Australian Rugby Union (ARU), the state government and the Brisbane City Council all supported conducting a feasibility study. It will apparently share traits with the French Rugby Federation's Centre National de Rugby, which is near Paris. The QRU proposed that the training centre be built on the land adjacent to the headquarters at Ballymore. The new complex would include advanced sports medicine and training facilities, a gymnasium and aquatic facilities, as well as on-site accommodation for visiting teams.
Though the Reds have since moved out of Ballymore, to the Suncorp Stadium, which has double capacity, Ballymore is still the host to many rugby union matches. The Queensland Club rugby final is usually held at the ground, and Queensland XVs and off-season matches for the Reds are also played at Ballymore. The Reds will also play both of their home games during the 2006 Australian Provincial Championship at Ballymore. It is also likely that both of Brisbane's teams in the new national competition being launched in 2006 will play out of Ballymore.
In late 2006, it was hinted that the Queensland Roar of the A-League may move to Ballymore, as they have been getting just 10,000 to low 20,000s in a 50,000 plus Suncorp Stadium, and not being able to keep up with the high price of playing there.
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