Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the
sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
,
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, located in the suburb of
Milton. The current facility comprises a three-tiered rectangular sporting stadium with a capacity of 52,500 people.
[ The traditional home of ]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 ...
in Brisbane, the modern stadium is also now used for rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
and soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
and has a rectangular playing field
Play is a range of intrinsically motivated activities done for recreational pleasure and enjoyment. Play is commonly associated with children and juvenile-level activities, but may be engaged in at any life stage, and among other higher-functio ...
of . The stadium's major tenants are the Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...
, Queensland Maroons
The Queensland rugby league team represents the Australian state of Queensland in rugby league football. Nicknamed the "Maroons" after the colour of their jersey, they play three times a year against arch-rivals New South Wales in the State of O ...
and Queensland Reds
The Queensland Reds is the rugby union team for the Australian state of Queensland that competes in the Southern Hemisphere's Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996, they were a representative team selected from the rugby union club competitions ...
.
Lang Park was established in 1914, on the site of the former North Brisbane Cemetery, and in its early days was home to a number of different sports, including cycling, athletics, and soccer. The lease of the park was taken over by the Brisbane Rugby League
The Brisbane Rugby League is a rugby league football competition in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was first held in 1922 and for every year until 1997. The competition was reinstated in 2001, known as the FOGS premiership under the Queen ...
in 1957 and it became the home of the game in Queensland (remaining so to this day). It has also been the home ground of major rugby union and soccer matches in Queensland since its modern redevelopment, including the Queensland Reds
The Queensland Reds is the rugby union team for the Australian state of Queensland that competes in the Southern Hemisphere's Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996, they were a representative team selected from the rugby union club competitions ...
and the Brisbane Roar
Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat.
Brisba ...
, and some Wallabies
A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and so ...
and Socceroos
The Australia men's national soccer team represents Australia in international men's soccer. Officially nicknamed the Socceroos, the team is controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Australia, which is affiliated wit ...
matches. It hosted the 2008 and 2017 Rugby League World Cup Finals, and the 2021 NRL Grand Final. In addition to this, the ground hosted Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...
quarter finals and two Super Rugby grand finals, with the Queensland Reds
The Queensland Reds is the rugby union team for the Australian state of Queensland that competes in the Southern Hemisphere's Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996, they were a representative team selected from the rugby union club competitions ...
winning on both occasions. The venue will host several matches for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup including the third-place match as well as the soccer tournament at the 2032 Summer Olympics, including the gold medal matches in both the men's and women's events.
History
Origins
The site of Lang Park was originally the North Brisbane Cemetery, and until 1875 was Brisbane's primary cemetery
A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...
. By 1911 the area was heavily populated, so the Paddington Cemeteries Act (1911) was introduced and the site was redeveloped as a recreational site. In 1914 it was fenced off and named Lang Park after John Dunmore Lang.[
]
The ground was leased by the Queensland Amateur Athletics Association (QAAA) in the 1920s. In 1935, the Queensland Soccer Council (QSC) became a sub-tenant of the QAAA, with a view to using it as the home ground for Brisbane soccer fixtures (leaving its former home, the Brisbane Cricket Ground
The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as the Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. The nickname Gabba derives from the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located. Over the years, the Ga ...
). The Latrobe Soccer Club, in turn, became a sub-tenant of the QSC, using the ground for its home games (see image below).
However, by 1937, the QSC was considering sub-leasing Lang Park to "another code of football" (most likely Western Suburbs Rugby League) as it "was not satisfied with the financial returns ... under the sub-lease to the Latrobe-Milton club". Latrobe in turn responded that "'If no action Is taken to introduce the Ipswich clubs into the Brisbane competition this' season ... the Latrobe-Milton Club cannot accept an increase in rental for Lang Park. Give us competition play with Ipswich and my club will hold the ground as headquarters for the code."
On 11 February 1950, the official opening of the Lang Park Police Citizens Youth Club took place and youth activities commenced because of the concerns with the increase of juvenile delinquency. Activities such as boxing, wrestling, basketball and gymnastics all occur at these premises to this day.
Contemporaneous records are scant, but it appears the QSC did not renew the lease the ground after the intervening World War II. In 1953 the Brisbane Rugby League (BRL) amalgamated with the Queensland Rugby League
The Queensland Rugby Football League QRL Constitution, 2009: 3 (QRL QRL Constitution, 2009: 2) is the governing body for rugby league in Queensland. It is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL Commission) and selects the membe ...
(QRL). QRL secretary Ron McAullife negotiated a 21-year lease of Lang Park from the Brisbane City Council
Brisbane City Council (BCC) is the democratic executive local government authority for the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the state of Queensland, Australia. The largest City Council in Australia by population and area, BCC's jurisd ...
in order to give the QRL a financially viable base of operations. The park had only the most basic facilities, and the QRL contributed £17,000 to its development. Lang Park hosted its first game of first grade rugby league during the 1930s, with regular BRL games commencing there in 1955. In 1958 it hosted its first Brisbane rugby league grand final in which Brothers
A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...
defeated Valleys
A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...
22 points to 7.[ A record crowd of 19,824 saw Northern Suburbs defeat Fortitude Valley at Lang Park in the BRL grand final in September 1961.
In the 1960s, Fonda Metassa famously burst from the back of an ambulance to return to the field after being carted off injured in a match for Norths against Redcliffe. As the ground was used increasingly by the QRL, it became no longer viable for use as a public recreation facility due to spoilage of the running track. In 1962 the Lang Park Trust was created under an act of ]Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
. This allowed for the construction of the Frank Burke Stand (1962), Ron McAuliffe
Ronald Edward McAuliffe OBE (25 June 1918 – 16 August 1988) was a politician and sports administrator in Queensland, Australia. He is best remembered for his years running the Queensland Rugby League, and his instrumental role in the formatio ...
Stand (1975) and the Western Grandstand (1994). The Trust had on its board one member from the Queensland Government
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 ...
, one member from the Brisbane City Council
Brisbane City Council (BCC) is the democratic executive local government authority for the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the state of Queensland, Australia. The largest City Council in Australia by population and area, BCC's jurisd ...
, two members from the Queensland Rugby League
The Queensland Rugby Football League QRL Constitution, 2009: 3 (QRL QRL Constitution, 2009: 2) is the governing body for rugby league in Queensland. It is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL Commission) and selects the membe ...
and one member from the Brisbane Rugby League
The Brisbane Rugby League is a rugby league football competition in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was first held in 1922 and for every year until 1997. The competition was reinstated in 2001, known as the FOGS premiership under the Queen ...
.[
From the 1960s, Lang Park hosted interstate and international rugby league, including the inaugural State of Origin match. Up until 1972, it was the home ground of the ]Western Suburbs Panthers
The Western Suburbs Panthers, often simply referred to as Wests for short, are a rugby league club based in the western suburbs of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The club is the oldest in the QRL and despite absences from the top grade in rec ...
.
NSWRL/ARL years
In 1988, the Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...
entered the NSWRL Premiership
The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia and contributor to today's National Rugby League. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League (initially named the New Sout ...
along with the Gold Coast Chargers and the Newcastle Knights. The Broncos played out of Lang Park from 1988 until 1992 when they moved to the 60,000 capacity ANZ Stadium
ANZ may refer to:
People
* Anz (musician), a British DJ and electronic musician
Banks
* ANZ (bank), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, the fourth-largest bank in Australia
** ANZ Bank New Zealand, the largest bank in New Zealand
* ...
, the stadium for the 1982 Commonwealth Games. The move occurred due to a dispute over the Broncos sponsor, Power's Brewery
Power's Brewery now CUB brewery, is a brewery based at Yatala in South East Queensland, Australia. It started out as an upstart brewery headed by publican Bernie Power to compete against the major Queensland brewery Castlemaine Perkins, in part ...
, being a competitor of the QRL's sponsor XXXX.
In 1995, professional rugby league returned to the ground when the South Queensland Crushers
The South Queensland Crushers were an Australian rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. In 1992 it was decided that the team would be admitted into the New South Wales Rugby League competition, along with three other teams, a ...
entered the newly formed Australian Rugby League
The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL), formerly the Australian Rugby Football League known as the Australian Rugby League is an Australian rugby league football competition operator. It was founded in 1986 as the Australian Rugby Footbal ...
premiership. The Crushers had a fairly average first season, winning six of 22 games and finishing 16th out of 20. Their second season in 1996, began with promise. The team won their first two games and after losing round 3, led big brother Brisbane 8-6 at half time in front of their biggest ever home crowd, 34,263. But the Broncos scored 4 tries in the second half to see the Crushers lose. They only won two more games that year (rounds 13 & 14) and received the wooden spoon, a terrible ending to a season starting with so much promise. Their final season, 1997, saw them compete in the ARL's half of 1997's split competition and they won another wooden spoon, finishing 12th of 12. They were liquidated at the end of 1997 after merger talks with the Gold Coast Chargers
The Gold Coast Chargers were a professional rugby league club which played in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership from 1988 to 1994, the Australian Rugby League premiership from 1995 to 1997, and the National Rugby League premiership ...
broke down.
In 1994, the stadium's name was changed to Suncorp Stadium, when naming sponsorship was attained by Queensland financial institution, Suncorp
Suncorp Group Limited is an Australian finance, insurance, and banking corporation based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is one of Australia's mid-size banks (by combined lending and deposits) and its largest general insurance group, fo ...
. The venue is currently managed by AEG Ogden AEG Ogden was an Australian company that managed sports venues and convention centres in Australia and Asia. It was a joint venture between Australian interests and AEG Facilities (affiliate of the Anschutz Entertainment Group) and Australian invest ...
. On 25 May 1997, the 1996/1997 National Soccer League Grand final was played in front of then a capacity crowd of 40,446, where the Brisbane Strikers FC
Brisbane Strikers Football Club is an Australian semi-professional football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in 1991 as Brisbane United, the club competed in the National Soccer League until the 2003–04 season and was one of two c ...
defeated Sydney United FC 2–0.
Redevelopment
In the late 1990s, it was decided that Brisbane needed a state of the art rectangular stadium. Suncorp Stadium was chosen as the site. The $280 million redevelopment commenced in July 2001 after Game One of the 2001 State of Origin series. The redevelopment was completed in time for the match between the Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...
and Newcastle Knights
The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, th ...
on 1 June 2003; Brisbane's first game at Suncorp Stadium since 1996.
The stadium is now a 52,500 state of the art all-seater rectangular stadium, a far cry from the former Lang Park oval with two grandstands set back from a perimeter road. The only remaining stand from before the redevelopment is the Western Grandstand. The extension of the facility resulted in the demolition of a number of buildings along Milton Road, including the former Brisbane City Council
Brisbane City Council (BCC) is the democratic executive local government authority for the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the state of Queensland, Australia. The largest City Council in Australia by population and area, BCC's jurisd ...
trolley-bus depot.
During their relocating year, the Broncos only recorded one win at the venue, against the Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...
in Round 16, 2003, unlike one loss at their previous home, ANZ Stadium
ANZ may refer to:
People
* Anz (musician), a British DJ and electronic musician
Banks
* ANZ (bank), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, the fourth-largest bank in Australia
** ANZ Bank New Zealand, the largest bank in New Zealand
* ...
in Round 5, 2003, against the New Zealand Warriors
The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...
.
Following its redevelopment, questions were raised about the standard of the surface, which was soft underfoot and sandy and was blamed for a spate of injuries to rugby league players using it (temporarily earning the stadium the nickname "Sandcorp Stadium
. Prior to the redevelopment, the stadium was known as "The Cauldron", and Queensland fans developed a reputation for vocal support of their teams, adding to this mythology.
Suncorp Stadium suffered significant damage during the 2010–2011 Queensland floods with the entire playing field being covered by flood water. An electrical fire started in a transformer room due to water ingress, however there was no major damage from the fire. Brisbane Roar
Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat.
Brisba ...
's match with Wellington Phoenix
Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the ...
, originally scheduled for the weekend of 14–16 January, was postponed until 26 January, and the remaining Brisbane Roar home matches were moved to Skilled Park
A skill is the learned ability to act with determined results with good execution often within a given amount of time, energy, or both. Skills can often be divided into domain-general and domain-specific skills. For example, in the domain of wo ...
on the Gold Coast
Gold Coast may refer to:
Places Africa
* Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana:
** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642)
** Dutch G ...
. Suncorp Stadium was out of action until late February, but restored just in time for the commencement of the 2011 NRL season
The 2011 NRL season was the 104th season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the fourteenth and last run by the National Rugby League's partnership committee of the Australian Rugby League and News Ltd. The NRL ...
. Temporary change rooms were set up as the original change rooms were damaged as a result of the floods. The original change rooms were restored in time for the commencement of the 2012 NRL season.
In September 2016, it was announced that the video screens, originally installed in 2003, would be replaced. Construction started on the new video screens in March 2017 and was finished in early May 2017 in time for an NRL double header.
Today
Although the stadium has been the traditional home of 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 ...
in Queensland, it has also become the state's premier venue for soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
, as well as rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
. The re-developed Suncorp Stadium first hosted rugby union games at the 2003 Rugby World Cup
The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup. Originally planned to be hosted by India, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the Indian Rugby Union and Rugby World Cup ...
and in 2005, the stadium became the new home of the Queensland Reds
The Queensland Reds is the rugby union team for the Australian state of Queensland that competes in the Southern Hemisphere's Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996, they were a representative team selected from the rugby union club competitions ...
Super Rugby team when they moved from their former home at Ballymore Stadiumbr>
This move caused some disquiet amongst rugby traditionalists, however was accepted by Queensland Rugby Union CEO Theo Psaros, who said that "our hearts may be at Ballymore but our heads say it's time to move.". The year before the Reds' move, the newly established football team Brisbane Roar FC, Queensland Roar of the A-League
A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...
also elected to play their home games at Suncorp Stadium.
New Zealand rugby journalist Wynne Gray called Suncorp Stadium perhaps the best rugby stadium in the world. "It is so intimate you can hear the smack of bodies, the boot on leather, you feel the power and rhythm of the games."[
The stadium has also been favourably compared to Cardiff's ]Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...
and London's Twickenham Stadium
Twickenham Stadium () in Twickenham, south-west London, England, is a rugby union stadium owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), English rugby union governing body, which has its headquarters there. The England national rugby union team plays ...
.[
On 29 July 2006, the ]Bledisloe Cup
The Bledisloe Cup is an annual rugby union competition originally staged between the national teams of Australia's Wallabies and New Zealand's All Blacks that has been contested since the 1930s. The frequency that the competition is held has va ...
clash between the Wallabies
A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and so ...
and the All Blacks
The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...
returned to Brisbane for the first time in over a decade for the 2006 Tri Nations Series
6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number.
In mathematics
Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...
. Though Australia narrowly lost the match, the game saw a new ground record set.
A month later on 7 October the stadium hosted a 1–1 friendly soccer game between 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 ...
and Paraguay
Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
in which Tony Vidmar
Antony Vidmar (born 4 July 1970) is an Australian soccer coach and former player, who serves as an assistant coach with the Australia national team. He was a member of the Australia national team, competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona ...
, Stan Lazaridis, Zeljko Kalac
Zeljko Kalac (born 16 December 1972) is an Australian former soccer goalkeeper, who is currently the manager of NK Urania Baška Voda, who play in the Croatian third division. Nicknamed "Spider" due to his tall, gangly figure, standing at 2.02& ...
and goal scorer Tony Popovic
Tony Popovic (born 4 July 1973) is an Australian association football manager and former player. He is the current manager of A-League club Melbourne Victory.
As a player Popovic's usual position was centre-back. Starting in 1989 at Sydney Unit ...
all retired from international football.
On 8 November 2006, a crowd of 44,358 at Suncorp Stadium saw the Great Britain national rugby league team
The Great Britain national rugby league team represents Great Britain in rugby league. Administered by the Rugby Football League (RFL), the team is nicknamed The Lions.
For most of the 20th century, the Great Britain team toured overseas, ...
play against 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 ...
for the last time.
On Wednesday 13 and Thursday 14 December, Suncorp Stadium hosted its first music concert since the 1980s and the stadium's redevelopment when Robbie Williams
Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...
performed in front of two 52,413 sell-out crowds during his "Close Encounters" tour of Australia, and was the venue for the U2 360 tour in December 2010. That same month the stadium hosted Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...
as part of The Circle Tour
The Circle Tour is a worldwide concert tour by American rock band Bon Jovi. The tour supported the band's 11th studio album '' The Circle'' (2009). Starting in North America in early 2010, the tour progressed to Europe, South America, Asia and ...
.
Suncorp Stadium was also the site of the 2011 A-League Grand Final, drawing a crowd of over 50,000 for the climactic football event. The match was one of the dramatic in A-League history, with the Brisbane Roar
Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat.
Brisba ...
scoring two goals in the last five minutes to level the scores with the Central Coast Mariners
Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional association football, soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League, A-League Men, under ...
after several hundred home supporters had left the stadium early, many returning after hearing the stadium erupt while waiting for the train. The Roar went on to win 4–2 in the penalty shootout, making for an incredible victory.
The stadium is also home to the Lang Park Police Citizens Youth Club.
American Singer-Songwriter Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
played at Suncorp Stadium for her Red Tour
The Red Tour was the third concert tour by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, in support of her fourth studio album, ''Red'' (2012). The tour started on March 13, 2013, at CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska and concluded on June 12, 2 ...
on 7 December 2013.
In 2019, Suncorp Stadium hosted the NRL's inaugural Magic Round, in which all eight matches in a single round are played at the one venue.
In 2020, the Melbourne Storm
The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998. ...
played their "home" finals at the venue, as it was not possible for the team to play them at its regular home ground, AAMI Park, due to the state of Victoria being locked down during the state's second wave of coronavirus
Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the com ...
infections.
On 26 June 2021, the Queensland Maroons
The Queensland rugby league team represents the Australian state of Queensland in rugby league football. Nicknamed the "Maroons" after the colour of their jersey, they play three times a year against arch-rivals New South Wales in the State of O ...
played at home against the New South Wales Blues in the State of Origin series
The State of Origin series is an annual best-of-three rugby league series between two Australian state representative sides, the New South Wales Blues and the Queensland Maroons.
Referred to as “Australian sport's greatest rivalry”, the ...
. Queensland lost the game 26-0, and henceforth the series.
Due to a COVID-19 lockdown in New South Wales, which began on 26 June 2021 and was still in effect into October, the stadium hosted the 2021 NRL Grand Final on 3 October 2021. This was the second time that a rugby league premiership Grand Final was played outside of Sydney, following the 1997 Super League Grand Final.
Attendance
Popular culture
In the 1980s, Brisbane 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 ...
icon Wally Lewis
Walter James Lewis AM (born 1 December 1959) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s. He became a commentator for television coverage of the sp ...
became known as ''The Emperor of Lang Park'' after his performances in State of Origin
A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Ov ...
matches played at the ground. Brisbane-based beer XXXX, which is brewed at the nearby Castlemaine Brewery, ran a television advertisement celebrating this title in song:
In 2006, Queensland Minister for Sport, Tom Barton introduced the Stadium's Sports Media Hall of Fame which honours the achievements of media representatives who have covered the two major football codes (Rugby league and Rugby union) played at this historic ground over the past 40 years. So far, there are five inductees: rugby league commentator George Lovejoy, rugby league journalists Jack Reardon
Jack Reardon (1914-1991) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s and who later became a sports journalist. An Australian international and both a New South Wales and Queensland representative , he played club ...
and Steve Ricketts, Gerry Collins and Frank O'Callaghan.
Statues
There are bronze statues outside the stadium. So far, all of them are of rugby players:
* Wally Lewis
Walter James Lewis AM (born 1 December 1959) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s. He became a commentator for television coverage of the sp ...
(Rugby league)
* Darren Lockyer
Darren James Lockyer (born 24 March 1977) is an Australian television commentator and former professional rugby league footballer. Lockyer was an Australian international and Queensland State representative captain, who played his entire profes ...
(Rugby league)
* Mal Meninga
Malcolm Norman Meninga (; born 8 July 1960) is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the Australian national team and a former professional rugby league footballer. Meninga is widely regarded as one of the fin ...
(Rugby league)
* Arthur Beetson (Rugby league)
* John Eales
John Eales AM (born 27 June 1970) is an Australian former rugby union player and the most successful captain in the history of Australian rugby. In 1999, he became one of the first players to win multiple Rugby World Cups.
Early life
Eales ...
(Rugby union)
* Allan Langer
Allan Jeffrey "Alfie" Langer AM (born 30 July 1966) is an Australian former multi-award-winning rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s and worked as an assistant coach for the Australian national team, the Queensland ...
(Rugby league)
Awards
In 2009, as part of the Q150 celebrations, Suncorp Stadium (Lang Park) was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as a "structure and engineering feat".
Concerts
Accessibility
Controversially, the redevelopment was the first major sporting facility in Australia with no car parking, primarily due to concerns with traffic congestion in the surrounding residential neighbourhood. Instead, the stadium's is surrounded by pubs, restaurants, cafes, bars and the XXXX brewery. This together with dedicated pedestrian links to Milton railway station and Brisbane CBD adds to the match day experience and is seen as a model for new stadiums and large entertainment venues. The stadium redevelopment has been the catalyst for the Barracks urban renewal development at Petrie Terrace midway along the dedicated pedestrian link to the CBD.
Facts
2015 AFC Asian Cup
2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
Controversies
On Saturday, 16 June 2011, The Weekend Australian
''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...
revealed that Suncorp Stadium was in danger of either losing the hosting rights to all Queensland based NRL finals matches to Sydney, or having its capacity limited to 25,000 seats, due to a condition included in the legislation regarding the Stadium's redevelopment that only 24 'special events' (i.e. with attendance in excess of 25,000) a year can hosted at the venue. This number of special events was reached when the Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...
faced the Manly Sea Eagles
The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...
in Round 26 of the 2011 NRL Telstra Premiership Season. On 6 September 2011, legislation was passed to lift the crowd capacity limit to 35,000 for those 24 events, enabling the Broncos to host finals matches should they progress that far.[
]
The stadium's grass quality was criticised by coaches and players during 2015 AFC Asian Cup.
Rugby league test matches
The venue has hosted forty-one 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 ...
internationals. The results were as follows;
It also hosted three non Australia matches. Incidentally, they were all England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
matches. The first was a 1975 Rugby League World Cup match against Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
on 10 June 1975 with 6,000 in attendance and lost 12 - 7. The second was a 2008 Rugby League World Cup match against New Zealand on 15 November 2008 with 26,659 in attendance and lost 32 - 22. The third and final to date was a 2014 Four Nations match between against Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...
with 47,813 in attendance and was a double header which was followed by the Australia New Zealand match. England won 32 - 26.
Suncorp Stadium will host two matches of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. The venue will play host to the first semi-final on 24 November and the tournament final on 2 December.
Rugby Union Internationals
Football men's internationals
Football women's internationals
Boxing
Suncorp Stadium was the host of the Manny Pacquiao vs. Jeff Horn
Manny Pacquiao vs. Jeff Horn, billed as the ''Battle of Brisbane'', was a boxing match for the WBO welterweight championship. The event took place on July 2, 2017 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia. Horn won the fight by unanimous decisio ...
fight for the WBO welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...
championship with 51,052 people in attendance.
References
52. https://www.nrl.com/news/2021/06/21/maroons-v-blues-state-of-origin-ii-preview/
External links
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{{2023 FIFA Women's World Cup stadiums
Sports venues in Brisbane
A-League Men stadiums
Soccer venues in Queensland
Boxing venues in Australia
Rugby league stadiums in Australia
Rugby League World Cup stadiums
Rugby union stadiums in Australia
Rugby World Cup stadiums
History of Brisbane
Brisbane Roar FC
Brisbane Broncos
Queensland Reds
Queensland rugby league team
Sports venues completed in 1914
Milton, Queensland
1914 establishments in Australia
Former cemeteries
Q150 Icons
Music venues in Australia
2023 FIFA Women's World Cup stadiums
Venues of the 2032 Summer Olympics and Paralympics