Cazalys Stadium

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Cazalys Stadium
Cazaly's Stadium logo.png
Cazaly's Stadium
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
Former namesBundaberg Rum Stadium (2001–2003)
Australian Football Park (1957–1998)[1][2]
Location344 Mulgrave Road, Westcourt, Cairns, Queensland
Coordinates16°56′09″S 145°44′57″E / 16.93583°S 145.74917°E / -16.93583; 145.74917Coordinates: 16°56′09″S 145°44′57″E / 16.93583°S 145.74917°E / -16.93583; 145.74917
OwnerAFL Cairns
Capacity13,500[3]
SurfaceGrass
Opened1957
Tenants
Manunda Hawks (AFL Cairns)
Richmond Football Club (AFL) (2011 – 2013)
Western Bulldogs (AFL) (2014 – 2017)
Gold Coast Suns (AFL) 2018
Ground information
End names
City End
Club End
International information
First Test25–28 July 2003:
 Australia v  Bangladesh
Last Test9–13 July 2004:
 Australia v  Sri Lanka
First ODI2 August 2003:
 Australia v  Bangladesh
Last ODI3 August 2003:
 Australia v  Bangladesh
As of 28 May 2020
Source: Cricinfo

Cazalys Stadium[4] is a sports stadium in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. It is situated in the suburb of Westcourt. The stadium is named after the social club which abuts the oval, Cazalys, which itself was named after Australian rules footballer Roy Cazaly.

With a capacity of approximately 13,500 people, Cazalys Stadium is the largest oval stadium in Cairns and features a main grandstand relocated from the Brisbane Cricket Ground in the late 1990s. It is used by the Queensland Cricket Association, Queensland Rugby League, and AFL Cairns. The stadium has hosted matches in the Australian Football League, National Rugby League, and A-League, as well as Test and One Day International cricket.

History[]

In 1957 the Australian National Football Council, through Bruce Andrew, purchased land in Cairns for the first dedicated field in regional Queensland, which became Australian Football Park. The Cairns Australian Football League, led by Kevin Crathern (then president of the CAFL), helped clear the land of trees, filled in the dense bushland, and turned the land into a suitable playing field.[5] In 1984 the CAFL began negotiations with the ANFC in a bid to purchase the freehold of Australian Football Park. The bid would prove successful, and the CAFL made the final payment on the ground in 1994. From 1997 to 1998, $2.4 million was spent upgrading the stadium, which included acquiring the western grandstand from the Gabba and the installation of four light towers. In 1999, the CAFL purchased the adjacent 51st Battalion barracks housing property, which later became the headquarters for AFL Cairns, and renamed the ground to Cazalys Stadium after the adjoining social club. In 2008, $3 million was spent upgrading the stadium including lighting to AFL television standards, new entrance gates on Till Street, increasing the size of player dressing rooms, providing adequate first aid and medical facilities and improved coaching facilities.[6] In 2011, a $15 million stadium redevelopment was completed, which included new grandstand and players facilities, media box and upgraded lighting.

Sports[]

Cricket[]

In July and August 2003, Australia hosted Bangladesh in an out of season series in Cairns and Darwin. Cazalys Stadium hosted the 2nd Test and the first two One Day Internationals while Marrara Oval in Darwin hosted the 1st Test and 3rd ODI. Australia won all matches comfortably. In July 2004, Australia hosted Sri Lanka in a two test series with matches again in Cairns and Darwin. However, due to disappointing attendances in both series, Cairns has not hosted Australian international cricket matches since, despite the fact that, according to cricket historian Gideon Haigh, "Almost a quarter of the combined populations of Cairns and Darwin attended the cricket" during the Bangladesh Test and ODI series.[7] In October 2008, the venue hosted a Ford Ranger Cup match between Queensland and New South Wales[8] On 8 December 2016 Cazalys Stadium hosted a First-Class match between a Cricket Australia XI v Pakistan cricket team.

In January 2019, Cazalys Stadium hosted WBBL T20 cricket.[9] International fixtures for the 2020-21 cricket season at Cazalys Stadium for October 2020 were announced by Cricket Australia, including T20 and ODI, hosting the West Indies cricket team and the New Zealand women's national cricket team respectively.[10] Planned international fixtures announced for 2020 were subject to prevailing COVID-19 circumstances and the international women's matches were relocated to Allan Border Field in Albion, Queensland in Brisbane after the schedules were announced due to the prevailing circumstances and logistical issues at the time.[11][12]

Rugby league[]

In 2001, the stadium hosted two National Rugby League matches, both involving the North Queensland Cowboys. Crowds of 13,000 and 6,113 attended the matches.[13]

Australian rules football[]

Cazalys Stadium hosts Australian rules football matches during the winter. AFL Cairns is headquartered at Cazalys Stadium;[14] the league's Manunda Hawks plays its home matches at the stadium, and all AFL Cairns finals are played at the stadium.

The venue hosted AFL pre-season matches each season from 2000 until 2007; and its first Australian Football League match for premiership points in 2011. The Richmond Football Club played a home-away-from-home match against the newly established Gold Coast Football Club in each of the 2011, 2012 and 2013 AFL seasons;[15] sellout crowds of 10,382, 10,961 and 11,197 attended the three matches.[16][17] The Western Bulldogs replaced Richmond in hosting the Suns in Cairns from the 2014 AFL season.[18][19][20] In the first round the 2018 AFL season, the Gold Coast replaced the Bulldogs as the home team and hosted North Melbourne as Gold Coast's regular home ground Metricon Stadium was unavailable due to preparations for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

The 2020 AFL season would see the Fremantle Dockers and Sydney Swans relocate temporarily to Cairns with officials and support staff for football matches played at Cazalys Stadium. Match listings had listed both the Fremantle Dockers and Sydney Swans teams, as well as matches with visiting teams from Round 15.[21]

A 2021 AFL season fixture would see St Kilda play a home game against Adelaide at the venue, with the match replacing the Saints' annual match in Shanghai, China, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[22]

Soccer[]

Cazalys Stadium hosted its first A-League match between Brisbane Roar and Wellington Phoenix on Saturday, 12 December 2015. Brisbane won the game 2–1.

Other events[]

In June 2013 the stadium hosted a Nitro Circus Live show during its 2013 Australian Regional Tour.[23] A crowd of around 10,000 people attended the event.[24]

Notable games[]

  • Australia hosted the first international Test cricket match played outside of an Australian capital city against Bangladesh from 25 to 28 July 2003.[25] Australia defeated Bangladesh by an innings and 98 runs.[26]
  • Australia hosted the 2nd Test in its series against Sri Lanka from 9–13 July 2004.[25] The match ended in a draw.[27]
  • AFL club Gold Coast Suns won their third AFL home and away season game on 16 July 2011, winning a tough and hard-fought game against Richmond 12.13 (85) to 9.16 (70) [28]
  • Gold Coast Suns won its first match of the 2012 AFL home and away season on 14 July 2012, ending a twenty-one match losing streak by defeating Richmond 13.12 (90) to 13.10 (88). With 30 seconds left in the 4th quarter the Gold Coast Suns trailed by 10 points, but kicked two goals including one after the siren by rugby league convert Karmichael Hunt to win the match.[29]

Attendance records[]

Top 10 sports attendance records
No. Date Teams Sport Competition Crowd
1 10 March 2001 North Queensland Cowboys v. Penrith Panthers Rugby league NRL 13,500
2 13 July 2013 Richmond Tigers v. Gold Coast Suns Australian rules football AFL 11,197
3 14 July 2012 Richmond Tigers v. Gold Coast Suns Australian rules football AFL 10,961
4 16 July 2011 Richmond Tigers v. Gold Coast Suns Australian rules football AFL 10,832[30]
5 12 July 2014 Western Bulldogs v. Gold Coast Suns Australian rules football AFL 9,746
6 19 February 2005 Brisbane Lions v. Melbourne Demons Australian rules football AFL (preseason) 9,486
5 11 July 2015 Western Bulldogs v. Gold Coast Suns Australian rules football AFL 9,449
8 22 July 2017 Western Bulldogs v. Gold Coast Suns Australian rules football AFL 9,364
9 16 July 2016 Western Bulldogs v. Gold Coast Suns Australian rules football AFL 8,509
10 2 August 2003 Australia v. Bangladesh Cricket ODI 8,308

Last updated on 23 July 2017

Sources[]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Cairns to get Lions games". The Sunday Mail. 27 December 1998. p. 140. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  2. ^ "Season kick-off on New Year's Eve". The Australian. 16 July 1999. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  3. ^ "Cazalys Stadium - Austadiums". austadiums.com. Archived from the original on 18 June 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  4. ^ "AFL Game | Cazalys". Cazalys. 3 September 2020. Archived from the original on 10 March 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  5. ^ "History of Cairns AFL CLub". Archived from the original on 19 March 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  6. ^ c=AU, ou= Treasury ; o= Commonwealth of Australia. "Press Release - $3 Million to Upgrade Cazaly's Stadium - Cairns [01/11/2007]". Archived from the original on 1 April 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  7. ^ Haigh (2004), p. 670
  8. ^ "Ben Laughlin makes his Cup mark with 6-23 for Bulls".
  9. ^ "Big Bash Cricket". Archived from the original on 23 June 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  10. ^ "Cricket Australia International Schedule". Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Cairns' international cricket double-header thrown into doubt". Adelaide Now. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  12. ^ "Australia Women 138/6 vs New Zealand Women 121/7 | 1st T20I | ICC". www.icc-cricket.com. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  13. ^ "Rugby League Tables / Cazalys / All Games". www.afltables.com. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  14. ^ "Facilities - AFL Cairns - SportsTG". SportsTG. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  15. ^ "Richmond to play in Cairns". Archived from the original on 30 June 2013.
  16. ^ "Sell out expected in Cairns - richmondfc.com.au". Archived from the original on 5 February 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  17. ^ "Tigers grind past Suns to end Cairns hoodoo". afl.com.au. 13 July 2013. Archived from the original on 13 July 2013.
  18. ^ Western Bulldogs to play in Cairns in 2014 Archived 5 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Western Bulldogs official website, 30 October 2013
  19. ^ Western Bulldogs to replace Richmond Tigers as Gold Coast Suns rival in 2014 AFL Cairns game Archived 5 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Cairns Post, 31 October 2013
  20. ^ Jackson Macrae inspires the Western Bulldogs to a big win over Gold Coast Suns in Cairns, The Courier Mail, 12 July 2014
  21. ^ "Up There Cazaly. AFL returns to Cairns". AFL. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  22. ^ "2021 Fixture: Saints to host game in Cairns". St Kilda Football Club. 21 December 2020. Archived from the original on 21 December 2020. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  23. ^ Jesse Kuch (31 May 2013). "Nitro Circus stars ramp it up for big event at Cazalys Stadium". The Cairns Post. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  24. ^ Jesse Kuch (3 June 2013). "Extreme sports daredevils amaze Cairns crowd at Nitro Circus Live at Cazalys Stadium". The Cairns Post. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  25. ^ Jump up to: a b "Cazaly's Stadium - Australia - Cricket Grounds - ESPNcricinfo". Cricinfo. Archived from the original on 17 September 2008. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  26. ^ "2nd Test, Bangladesh tour of Australia at Cairns, Jul 25-28 2003 - Match Summary - ESPNCricinfo". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  27. ^ "2nd Test, Sri Lanka tour of Australia at Cairns, Jul 9-13 2004 - Match Summary - ESPNCricinfo". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  28. ^ "Suns win first AFL clash in Cairns". The Sydney Morning Herald. 16 July 2011. Archived from the original on 21 September 2012.
  29. ^ Sam Lienert (15 July 2012). "Gold Coast's Karmichael Hunt kicks a goal after the siren to put Richmond's finals hopes in turmoil". news.com.au. Archived from the original on 19 July 2012.
  30. ^ Stafford, Andrew (17 July 2011). "Suns sold on winning". The Age. Melbourne. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2012.

External links[]

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