Cairns Basketball Stadium (known

commercially Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...

as Early Settler Stadium and locally as The Fishtank) is a basketball facility in Cairns,

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia. Comprising a centre court, four side courts, a sports science centre, a weights room and multiple locker rooms, the facility currently hosts the

Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Convention Centre, known colloquially as "The ...

Cairns Marlins The Cairns Marlins are an Australian basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Marlins compete in the men's NBL1 North league and play their home games at Early Settler Stadium. The team is closely affiliated with the Cairns Taipans and C ...

and Cairns Dolphins, training sessions, the Taipans' NBL pre-season games, and the Marlins' and Dolphins'

NBL1 North NBL1 North, formerly the Queensland Basketball League (QBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Queensland partnered wit ...

games. The facility also hosts regular junior and senior competitions run by the Cairns Basketball Association.

History

Cairns Basketball Stadium was originally opened in 1963 as the home of the Cairns Amateur Basketball Association, which was founded five years earlier in 1958. The facility was first opened as an outdoor court, before the first indoor court was opened in 1986 when the

joined the Queensland State Basketball League. The usage of the facility was then increased with the introduction of the Cairns Dolphins into the women's QSBL in 1987. When the

joined the National Basketball League (Australia) in 1999 the Cairns Convention Centre was announced as their home, however their training sessions were held at Cairns Basketball Stadium. Their continued involvement in the facility attracted multiple expansions from the

Government of Queensland The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended fr ...

and

CQUniversity Central Queensland University (alternatively known as CQUniversity) is an Australian public university based in central Queensland. CQUniversity is the only Australian university with a campus presence in every mainland state. Its main campus ...

, including the most recent expansion in late 2017/early 2018.

Expansions

After the introduction of the Marlins and the Dolphins into the state basketball league, the first expansion for the facility was a seating increase on the centre court in 1994. This was then quickly followed by the air-conditioning of the facility in 1996. Nearly a decade later there were more expansions, with courts 3 and 4 opened in 2004. Across 2010 and 2011 there were two adjustments to the operations of the stadium, with the car park upgraded in 2010 to enable wheelchair access, and a 20KW solar system installed in 2011. In 2017 a federal government grant allowed Cairns Basketball Stadium to complete a $3 million expansion of the facility, which added a fifth court, improved the landscaping and constructed a teaching facility for CQUniversity to teach sport science on site.

Recent events

* 2018 Commonwealth Games - Basketball training sessions * 2019

Queensland Basketball League NBL1 North, formerly the Queensland Basketball League (QBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Queensland partnered wit ...

quarter-finals * 2019 Pole Sports Australia competition * Four 2019 NBL pre-season games

References

{{Cairns Taipans 1963 establishments in Australia Sports venues completed in 1963 Basketball venues in Australia Cairns Dolphins Cairns Marlins Cairns Taipans Sport in Cairns Sports venues in Queensland

History

Expansions

Recent events

See also

References