Jack Manski Oval is a sporting venue situated in the suburb of Kirwan in

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

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 , established_ ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Predominantly used as a

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

ground, it is the home ground of the

Townsville Blackhawks The Townsville & Districts Blackhawks are an Australian semi-professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, Queensland. They compete in Queensland's top rugby league competition, the Queensland Cup. The club was admitted to the Que ...

, who play in the

Queensland Cup The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by four ...

. The ground is also used by the Townsville Brothers junior and senior rugby league teams.

History

Originally based at Queens Park and, later, Gill Park, the Townsville Brothers rugby league club purchased 20 acres of land from Kern Brothers Earthmoving in the early 1980s in Kirwan to develop a new clubhouse and playing fields in the suburb. On 14 May 1983, the venue was officially named Jack Manski Oval, in honour of Jack Manski, a club official who worked for the club for over 40 years. The ground was officially opened on 13 August 1984, with Brothers playing University and winning in all four grades. On 10 September 2014, it was announced that the

were admitted into the

for the 2015 seasons and would play their home games at the venue. On 14 February 2015, the Blackhawks played their first game at the venue, a 12–24 loss to the

North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest town in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...

in a pre-season trial. On March 7, they played their first

at the venue, defeating the

Mackay Cutters The Mackay Cutters are a semi-professional rugby league football club based in Mackay, Queensland, Mackay, Queensland. They compete in Queensland's top rugby league competition, the Queensland Cup. The club was admitted to the Queensland Cup i ...

. In 2017, the venue was upgraded with new playing lights thanks to a state government grant. The new 227 lux lights allowed the venue to host night games.

References

External links

Townsville Blackhawks websiteTownsville Brothers website
* {{Rugby League in Queensland Rugby league stadiums in Australia 1984 establishments in Australia Sports venues completed in 1984 Sports venues in Townsville Townsville Blackhawks