Sydney Showground Stadium

Sydney Showground Stadium
Former names Sydney Showground Main Arena
Sydney Baseball Stadium
Škoda Stadium
Location Sydney Olympic Park, New South Wales
Coordinates 33°50′35″S 151°4′4″E / 33.84306°S 151.06778°ECoordinates: 33°50′35″S 151°4′4″E / 33.84306°S 151.06778°E
Owner New South Wales Government
Operator Royal Agricultural Society of NSW
Capacity 25,000[1]
21,500 (1998–2011)
Field size 160 x 134 metres
Surface Grass
Construction
Broke ground May 1996
Opened February 1998
Renovated 2001
Expanded 2012
Architect Populous (redevelopment)
Tenants
Sydney Royal Easter Show (1998–present)
GWS Giants (AFL) (2012–present)
Sydney Thunder (BBL) (2015–present)
Sydney Storm (ABL) (1998–1999)
2000 Summer Olympics
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (NRL) (2001–2005)
Website
www.sydneyshowground.com.au

Sydney Showground Stadium (commercial name Spotless Stadium, previously Škoda Stadium)[2] is a sports and events stadium located at the Sydney Showground in Sydney Olympic Park. The Showground, including the stadium, is operated by the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW (RAS), under lease from the NSW Government.[3] The stadium is used for flagship events of the Sydney Royal Easter Show, such as the Grand Parade. During the Australian Football League season it is the primary home ground of the Greater Western Sydney Giants. The venue is also used for events and festivals, including Soundwave, Big Day Out, Stereosonic and Big Exo Day. The stadium opened in 1998 as the Sydney Showground Main Arena. In conjunction with an expansion and upgrade in 2011-12, it was renamed Sydney Showground Stadium.[4]

History

View of the 2001 Sydney Royal Easter Show Grand Parade, showing the Main Arena prior to redevelopment

Sydney Showground Stadium was constructed as part of the development of the new Sydney Showground, it was built to replace the aging Showground at Moore Park and to provide a venue for the 2000 Summer Olympics.

A $65 million upgrade of the stadium to accommodate the GWS Giants was announced on 9 June 2010.[3] Jointly funded by the NSW Government, the AFL and the RAS, the upgrade included two new stands which increased seating capacity from 13,000 to 25,000 (the stadium seated 13,000 but its full pre-redevelopment capacity was listed as 21,500), upgraded hospitality facilities, improved audio and sound systems and new media facilities.[5] The playing surface was also reconfigured.[3] The upgrade was officially opened on 23 May 2012.[6]

Australian rules football

The Greater Western Sydney Giants played their first game at the stadium on Saturday, 26 May 2012, Round 9 of the 2012 AFL season.[7] In front of a crowd of 11,887 the Giants lost the match against Essendon by 66 points. The Giants first win at the stadium occurred on 4 August that year, when they defeated Port Adelaide by 34 points.

Cricket

The Sydney Thunder played two games at the venue during the 2014–15 Big Bash League season when ANZ Stadium was unavailable.[8]

Baseball and 2000 Olympics

The stadium hosted the Sydney Storm in the Australian Baseball League for the 1998 and 1999 championship. During the Olympics, it was known as the Sydney Baseball Stadium and was the main baseball venue. Since the Olympics, no other baseball game has been played at the venue. Other Olympic events hosted were the riding and running portion of the modern pentathlon competitions.[9]

Rugby league

In 2001, the Canterbury Bulldogs of the NRL moved their home games to the stadium, playing there until 2005 when they moved to ANZ Stadium.

Motorsport

As the Showground was originally built for both the Royal Easter Show and as a baseball venue, the field included a 450 metres (490 yards) long track that surrounded the playing field of the Stadium prior to its removal during the 2011-12 redevelopment. In the tradition of the Sydney Showground Speedway at Moore Park which ran speedway from 1926 until 1996, the track was used as a Speedway venue, mostly for motorcycle racing, though with limited success. In 2007 and 2008 the Stadium hosted a round of the Australian Solo Championships, just as the old Showground had done on 21 separate occasions between 1935 and 1980.[10] The 2007 championship round, which was the opening round of a five round series, was won by Australia's reigning Speedway World Champion Jason Crump, the son of Phil Crump who won the Australian title at the old Showground in 1975. Jason Crump would go on to win his second Aussie title in 2007, winning three of the five rounds (Newcastle, Sydney and Mount Gambier), while finishing second in Mildura and Adelaide.

The track, which was tight and narrow (a criticism in common with its predecessor) and almost square in shape, was also used for Speedcar racing, also with little success. When the Speedcars raced at the Showground, a temporary fence was put in place on the inside of the track to protect the grass surface from any out of control cars.

The first speedway meeting at the new Showground was held on 1 May 1999 and included an unofficial Solo "Test" between Australia and the United States, won easily by Australia. The program also featured Sidecars, as well as demonstration runs by restored vintage Speedcars and Modifieds which had raced at the old Showground. The speedway was officially opened by 15 time World Champion Ivan Mauger of New Zealand, and the "King of the Royale" (the old Showground Speedway), four time Australian Solo Champion Jim Airey.

Configuration

Artist's impression of the completed stadium.
The southern end of the stadium.

In its present configuration, Sydney Showground Stadium is a playing field running north east to south west. The south western half is surrounded by a single grandstand structure. Additional stands are located on either side of the field, directly adjacent the main structure. A single video screen is located at the north-eastern end. When it was installed, the screen was the largest at a stadium in the southern hemisphere,[11] The stands are:[12][13]

Opened 1998:

Opened 2012:

AFL Records

Players

Teams

Last updated: 6 September 2014.[14]

Attendance Records

Top 10 sports attendance records

No. Date Teams Sport Competition Crowd
1 10 August 2001 Canterbury Bulldogs v. Parramatta Eels Rugby League 2001 NRL season 21,895[15]
2 29 August 2003 Canterbury Bulldogs v. Canberra Raiders Rugby League 2003 NRL season 20,016[16]
3 16 August 2002 Canterbury Bulldogs v. Parramatta Eels Rugby League 2002 NRL season 19,346[17]
4 13 September 2003 Canterbury Bulldogs v. New Zealand Warriors Rugby League 2003 NRL season 18,312[18]
5 4 March 2001 Canterbury Bulldogs v. Newcastle Knights Rugby League 2001 NRL season 18,109[19]
6 8 September 2001 Canterbury Bulldogs v. St George Illawarra Dragons Rugby League 2001 NRL season 17,975
7 15 March 2014 Greater Western Sydney v. Sydney Australian football 2014 AFL season 17,102
8 30 March 2001 Canterbury Bulldogs v. Brisbane Broncos Rugby League 2001 NRL season 16,642
9 6 September 2002 Canterbury Bulldogs v. Brisbane Broncos Rugby League 2002 NRL season 16,492
10 10 January 2015 Sydney Thunder v. Hobart Hurricanes Cricket 2014-15 BBL season 15,880

Last updated on 10 January 2015

Top 5 AFL attendance records

No. Date Round Teams Crowd
1 15 March 2014 1 Greater Western Sydney v. Sydney 17,102
2 25 August 2013 22 Greater Western Sydney v. Richmond 12,314
3 26 May 2012 9 Greater Western Sydney v. Essendon 11,887
4 23 August 2014 22 Greater Western Sydney v. Collingwood 10,851
5 20 July 2013 17 Greater Western Sydney v. Essendon 10,783

Last updated on 22 June 2014 [20]

Top 5 NRL attendance records

No. Date Teams Crowd
1 10 August 2001 Canterbury Bulldogs v. Parramatta Eels 21,895[15]
2 29 August 2003 Canterbury Bulldogs v. Canberra Raiders 20,016[16]
3 16 August 2002 Canterbury Bulldogs v. Parramatta Eels 19,346[17]
4 13 September 2003 Canterbury Bulldogs v. New Zealand Warriors 18,312[18]
5 4 March 2001 Canterbury Bulldogs v. Newcastle Knights 18,109[19]

External links

References

  1. ↑ http://www.sydneyshowground.com.au/venues/stadium.html
  2. ↑ "Welcome to Spotless Stadium". GWS Giants. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Main Arena Upgrade - Overview
  4. ↑ "Sydney Showground Stadium upgrade on track". 29 November 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  5. ↑ New Stadium: FAQs
  6. ↑ http://www.sopa.nsw.gov.au/resource_centre/park_news/2011_park_news/$65_million_redeveloped_sydney_showground_stadium_opens $65 million redeveloped Sydney Showground Stadium opens
  7. ↑ AFL Fixture 2012
  8. ↑ Adno, Carly (26 June 2014). "Sydney Thunder to play two BBL fixtures at Sydney Showground when ANZ Stadium hosts Asia Cup matches". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  9. ↑ 2000 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. p. 371.
  10. ↑ Australian Solo Championship honor roll
  11. ↑ "SKODA Stadium Sydney Showground". APP. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  12. ↑ http://www.afl.com.au/Portals/0/images/2012/GWS_Skoda%20Stadium%20Map%20-%20D.pdf
  13. ↑ http://www.sydneyshowground.com.au/venues/documents/Site%20Map%20-%20Sydney%20Showground.pdf
  14. ↑ http://afltables.com/afl/venues/showground.html
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Mascord, Steve (28 August 2003). "More bad news pain in the neck for Hughes". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Gaffeney, Warren (30 August 2003). "Raiders' win spoilt by injury to Croker". The Telegraph. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Nolan, Ali (16 August 2002). "Bulldogs give the Eels no chance". League Unlimited. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Barclay, Chris (14 September 2003). "Meli scores five as Warriors stun Bulldogs". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Unknown, Unknown (5 March 2001). "Thrilling draw for the Knights in round three of the NRl 2001". Maitland Mercury. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  20. ↑ "Sydney Showground - Attendances (AFL)"