The Port Macquarie Regional Sports Stadium was constructed in 1992 with funding assistance by NSW Sport & Recreation, NSW Country Rugby League and Hastings Council, making the venue become a primary location of rugby league in the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

' North Coast region. The venue is managed by Port Macquarie Hastings Council. The venue was upgraded with a 1,000 seat grandstand, transforming the area from a playing field to a genuine high quality sports stadium. Along with the underground irrigation and drainage, the site is available for use on a year-round basis. The stadium has been used for

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

pre-season matches as well holding minor and regional representative fixtures. Elite sporting teams, the

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 ...

and the

Newcastle Jets Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from The Australia ...

have played pre-season friendlies against other teams at the stadium. In 2010 the annual

City vs Country Origin City vs Country Origin was an annual Australian rugby league football match that took place in New South Wales between City and Country representative sides. The City side represented the Sydney metropolitan area. While technically it was Sydne ...

match was held at the venue, drawing a crowd of 7,688.

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 ...

is the predominant sport played at the venue, however

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 ...

fixtures, at the elite level, have also been played. The principal users of the facility are the

Port Macquarie Sharks The Port Macquarie Sharks are an Australian rugby league football team based in Port Macquarie and was formed in 1940. Playing Record Playing record compiled from scores published in the Rugby League Week ''Rugby League Week'' (frequently ...

and the

Port City Breakers Rugby League Football Club A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

who both play in the Country Rugby League Group 3 competition. The Port Macquarie Regional Sports Stadium acts as an alternative venue for the

and has played host to some

A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup The A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup competition was an annual soccer tournament held for all A-League clubs in July and August in the lead up to the start of the A-League season. The competition featured a group stage and a knockout stage. ...

matches, as well as one

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 ...

fixture between the

and

Melbourne Heart FC Melbourne City Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in the south–eastern Melbourne suburb of Cranbourne East, that plays in the A-League, the top level of Australian soccer, under licence from Australian Profession ...

. The match ended with a victory to the Heart. Since 2006 the Jets have played at Port Macquarie a total of 6 times where they have come away with only 1 point and conceded 7 goals and scored none. Since 2007 one or both teams that have played in a Pre-Season match has gone on to claim the

Championship. With Newcastle Jets in 2007/08, Melbourne Victory in 2008/09, Sydney FC in 2009/2010.Port Maquarie Sports Ground
referenced 14 December 2009

References

External links

AusStadiums
Soccer venues in New South Wales Sports venues in New South Wales Port Macquarie {{NewSouthWales-struct-stub