Tony Ireland Stadium

The Tony Ireland Stadium is an international standard AFL and cricket stadium in Thuringowa Central, Townsville, Australia. The stadium is a part of the Riverway sporting and cultural complex.

Facilities

The stadium includes the oval, a 1013-seat grandstand and supporting facilities, a practice oval and cricket practice nets. The design was modelled on Brisbane’s Gabba cricket ground specifications and has a 6 turf wicket block.^[2] Tony Ireland Stadium has a maximum capacity of 10,000+^[3] This was achieved on New Year's Eve 2007 when 10,024 people attended a Twenty20 cricket match featuring the Queensland and the Victoria.^[4] The stadium is also home to the Thuringowa Bulldogs AFL club, and the AFL's local regional office.^[2] In June 2009, the stadium hosted a 4-day first class match between Pakistan A and the Australia A cricket team.^[5] The stadium also hosted some matches of the 2012 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup which was held in Australia from 11 August 2012. India emerged as the winner of Under-19 Cricket World cup after beating Australia in the final at the Tony Ireland Stadium.

In November 2014, the stadium hosted its first international match between debutants Papua New Guinea and Hong Kong. The Stadium became the 10th ODI venue in Australia.

Lighting

In 2008 the inadequancy of the current "temporary" lighting was highlighted when a Queensland v Western Australia AFL representative match had to be rescheduled from dusk to mid afternoon.^[6] Costs to install lighting adequate for televised sport have been estimated at five million dollars.^[6]

Attendance records

Top 5 Sports Attendance Records

^{Last updated on the 2nd of March 2015}

References

See also

• Tony Ireland Stadium at Austadiums