The Gabba

Brisbane Cricket Ground

Ground information
Location	Woolloongabba, Brisbane, Queensland
Establishment	1895
Capacity	42,000
Owner	Queensland Government
Operator	Stadiums Queensland
Tenants	Queensland Bulls, Brisbane Lions, Cricket Australia
End names
Stanley Street End Vulture Street End
International information
First Test	27 November 1931: Australia v South Africa
Last Test	28 November 2009: Australia v West Indies
First ODI	23 December 1979: England v West Indies
Last ODI	14 February 2010: Australia v West Indies
Domestic team information
Queensland Bulls (1896-present) Brisbane Lions (1997-present)
As of 5 May 2010 Source: CricketArchive

The Brisbane Cricket Ground, also known as The Gabba,^[1][2] is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. It is named after the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located.

The land on which the ground sits was first set aside for use as a cricket ground in 1895. The first cricket match was held on the site on 19 December 1896 between Parliament and The Press. The Gabba was not used for interstate or international cricket until 1931. The first Sheffield Shield match scheduled for The Gabba was to be played between 31 January 1931 and 4 February 1931. However, it was washed out without the captains' even bothering to toss a coin. The first cricket Test match at The Gabba was played between Australia and South Africa between 27 November and 3 December 1931.

Over the years, The Gabba has hosted athletics, Australian rules football, baseball, concerts, cricket, cycling, rugby league, rugby union, soccer and pony and greyhound races.

Between 1993 and 2005, The Gabba was redeveloped in six stages at a cost of $128,000,000 AUD. The dimensions of the playing field are now 170.6 metres (east-west) by 149.9 metres (north-south). The seating capacity of the ground is now 42,000. In its appearance the Gabba now almost resembles a mini Melbourne Cricket Ground complete with light towers and a gigantic modern grandstand ringing the ground providing an intimidating and noisy atmosphere for visiting teams.

Sports played at the ground

Cricket

A grandstand at The Gabba in 1907

The Gabba is used from October to March for cricket and is home to the Queensland Cricket Association, the Queensland Cricketers Club and the Queensland Bulls cricket team. The venue usually hosts the first Test match of the season each November in addition to a number of international one-day matches usually held in January. The pitch is usually fast and bouncy.

Test cricket was first played at the ground in November 1931, the first Test of the series between Australia and South Africa. In December 1960, Test cricket's first-ever Tied Test took place at the ground when Richie Benaud's Australian team tied with Frank Worrell's West Indian side. Queensland clinched its first-ever Sheffield Shield title with victory over South Australia in the final at the ground in March 1995.

A record crowd for any cricket match, of 39,874, went to the Gabba on 15 January 2006 to see Australia play South Africa in the second game of the triangular VB Series.

The Gabba was the first Australian venue to host an International Twenty20 cricket match.

Australian Rules Football

Australian Football Premiership Finals, at The Gabba, 1907.

An Australian Football Match at the Gabba in 2008.

Since 1993 The Gabba has been the home ground for the Brisbane Bears (to 1996) and (from 1997) Brisbane Lions AFL teams. The record crowd for an Australian rules football match is 37,224 between the Brisbane Lions and Collingwood.

Australian football has a long association with the ground. The Queensland Football League (a precursor to AFL Queensland) played matches at The Gabba from 1905 to 1914, 1959 to 1971, and in the late 1970s and early 1980s. AFLQ matches resumed in 1993 as curtain-raiser events to AFL games, along with occasional AFLQ Grand Finals.

Interstate games, including the 1961 national carnival have also been played there, as was a demonstration game during the 1982 Commonwealth Games. In 1991 the Gabba was host to Queensland's only victory over a Victorian side.

Association football (Soccer)

During the 1950s and 1960s The Gabba hosted soccer matches for English first division clubs including Blackpool FC, Everton FC and Manchester United. The Chinese and South African national teams also played at the ground. During the 2000 Olympic Games The Gabba hosted Association football group games.

Rugby league

On 8 May 1909 the first match of rugby league was played in Brisbane at the Gabba. Norths played against Souths before a handful of spectators at the ground.^[3] The Gabba hosted its first rugby league Test match on 26 June 1909, when Australia defeated New Zealand 10-5. The Kangaroos continued to play Tests at this venue until 2 July 1955, when a ground record crowd of 47,906 people saw Australia play Great Britain. From 1932 to 1959 The Gabba was also used to host interstate matches and Brisbane Rugby League grand finals.

Rugby Union

The Gabba has hosted six rugby union Test matches.

The Queensland Bulls at the "nursery" pitch

Greyhound racing

Greyhound racing was also conducted at The Gabba prior to the redevelopment.^[4]

See also

• List of Test cricket grounds
• List of international cricket centuries at the Brisbane Cricket Ground

References

• History of the Gabba
• Overview of Information about the Gabba
• Brisbane Lions information

External links

• Brisbane Cricket Ground - Queensland Government Legislation Act, 1993 (.pdf file)
• Brisbane Cricket Ground - Statistical Overview (Test Cricket) - HowSTAT! Grounds Statistics
• Brisbane Cricket Ground Redevelopment, Brisbane, QLD
• The Gabba at Austadiums
• Satellite photo of The Gabba
• The Brisbane Lions - an Overview
• Brisbane Lions information
• World Stadiums