Sydney Showground Stadium (Known commercially as GIANTS Stadium during the
AFL Season
AFL may refer to:
Sports
* American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues:
** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...
)
is a sports and events stadium located at the
Sydney Showground in
Sydney Olympic Park
Sydney Olympic Park is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, located 13 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Parramatta Council. It is commonly known as Olympic Park but officially na ...
. It hosted the baseball events for the
2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
. The Showground, including the stadium, is operated by the
Royal Agricultural Society of NSW
The Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales was founded on 5 July 1822, when a group of Sydney's leading citizens formed the Agricultural Society of NSW, and is "a not-for-profit organisation committed to supporting agricultural developmen ...
(RAS), under lease from the
New South Wales Government.
[Main Arena Upgrade – Overview](_blank)
The stadium hosts flagship events of the
Sydney Royal Easter Show
First held in 1823, the Sydney Royal Easter Show, commonly shortened to The Easter Show or The Show, is an annual show held in Sydney, Australia over two weeks around the Easter period. It comprises an agricultural show, an amusement park and a ...
, such as the Grand Parade. The stadium is also used for sport. It is the primary home ground of the
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...
's
Greater Western Sydney Giants
The Greater Western Sydney Giants (officially the Greater Western Sydney Football Club and colloquially known as the GWS Giants or simply GWS) are a professional Australian rules football team based in Sydney Olympic Park, which represents the ...
and the home ground of the
Big Bash League
The Big Bash League (known as the KFC Big Bash League for sponsorship reasons, often abbreviated to BBL or Big Bash) is an Australian professional club Twenty20 cricket league, which was established in 2011 by Cricket Australia. The Big Bash Le ...
's
Sydney Thunder. It was also the primary home ground 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 ...
's
Western Sydney Wanderers for 3 years starting with the
2016–17 A-League
The 2016–17 A-League was the 40th season of top-flight association football, soccer in Australia, and the 12th since the establishment of the A-League in 2004. The season began on 7 October 2016.
Adelaide United FC, Adelaide United were both ...
season. Events and festivals to have been held at the stadium include
Soundwave,
Big Day Out,
Stereosonic
Stereosonic was an annual electronic dance music festival held in Australia in November and early December. Stereosonic was held in Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Sydney, and Melbourne, attracting attendances of up to 200,000 patrons nationally feat ...
and
Big Exo Day
The Australian Christian Churches (ACC), formerly Assemblies of God in Australia, is a network of Pentecostal churches in Australia affiliated with the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, which is the largest Pentecostal denomination in the w ...
.
The stadium opened in 1998 as the Sydney Showground Main Arena. In conjunction with an expansion and upgrade in 2011–12, it was renamed Sydney Showground Stadium.
History
The stadium was constructed as part of the development of the new Sydney Showground, it was built to replace the ageing
Showground at Moore Park and to provide a venue for the
2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
.
A$65 million upgrade of the stadium to accommodate the GWS Giants was announced on 9 June 2010.
Jointly funded by the NSW Government, the AFL and the RAS, the upgrade included two new stands which increased seating capacity from 13,000 to 25,000 (the stadium seated 13,000 but its full pre-redevelopment capacity was listed as 21,500), upgraded hospitality facilities, improved audio and sound systems and new media facilities. The playing surface was also reconfigured.
The upgrade was officially opened on 23 May 2012.
The RAS is seeking funding from the New South Wales Government to expand the stadium as part of a major upgrade of the Showground precinct. It has targeted a total post-extension capacity of 30,000 seats but is considering revising the target capacity to 35,000 seats.
Following its redevelopment, the venue was known as Å koda Stadium from 2012 until 2013 in a deal with car manufacturer
Å koda
Å koda means ''pity'' in the Czech and Slovak languages. It may also refer to:
Czech brands and enterprises
* Škoda Auto, automobile and previously bicycle manufacturer in Mladá Boleslav
** Å koda Motorsport, the division of Å koda Auto respons ...
,
then as Spotless Stadium from 2014 until 2018 in a deal with cleaning and catering company
Spotless Group Holdings
Spotless Group Holdings is an Australian listed company that provides Integrated facility services in Australian and New Zealand through a number of house brands. The company was formed in 1957, and currently employs more than 36,000 people, ac ...
.
Since 2019, it has been known as GIANTS Stadium in a deal with its primary AFL tenant, the
Greater Western Sydney Giants
The Greater Western Sydney Giants (officially the Greater Western Sydney Football Club and colloquially known as the GWS Giants or simply GWS) are a professional Australian rules football team based in Sydney Olympic Park, which represents the ...
, making the club the only one on the league to play in a self-branded venue; the 'GIANTS' name is styled in capital letters, consistent with the manner in which the club self-styles its name in all media.
Australian rules football
The venue is the primary home ground for The
Greater Western Sydney Giants
The Greater Western Sydney Giants (officially the Greater Western Sydney Football Club and colloquially known as the GWS Giants or simply GWS) are a professional Australian rules football team based in Sydney Olympic Park, which represents the ...
.
The club played their first game at the stadium on Saturday, 26 May 2012, Round 9 of the
2012 AFL season
The 2012 AFL season was the 116th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989.
The season featured eig ...
. In front of a crowd of 11,887 the Giants lost the match against by 66 points. The Giants first win at the stadium occurred on 4 August that year, when they defeated by 34 points. On 24 September 2016, the ground hosted its first ever AFL finals game with the Giants losing to the by six points in a
close preliminary final.
Cricket
The
Sydney Thunder played two games at the stadium during the
2014–15 Big Bash League season
The 2014–15 Big Bash League season or BBL, 04 was the fourth season of the Big Bash League (BBL), the premier Twenty20 cricket competition in Australia. The fourth edition ran from 18 December 2014 to 28 January 2015. The league ran two weeks l ...
when
ANZ Stadium was unavailable due to the
2015 AFC Asian Cup
The 2015 AFC Asian Cup was the 16th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in Australia from 9 to 31 January 2015. The tournament was ...
. In June 2015, the Sydney Thunder announced a 10-year agreement to play all home games at Sydney Showground Stadium until the 2024–25 BBL season.
The opening Sydney Derby of the
fifth season (2015–16) of BBL attracted record audience, with more than 1.5 million people tuning in for this match between the
Sydney Thunder and the
Sydney Sixers.
[#SydneySmash breaks ratings record](_blank)
cricket.com.au. Retrieved on 18 Dec 2015 On 28 December 2015, Sydney Thunder defeated Adelaide Strikers at the stadium in front of 21,500 spectators.
The stadium hosted several games of the
2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup
The 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup was the seventh ICC Women's T20 World Cup tournament. It was held in Australia between 21 February and 8 March 2020. The final took place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on International Women's Day. Hosts Aus ...
.
Soccer
The
Western Sydney Wanderers played most of their homes games at the stadium during the
2016–17 A-League
The 2016–17 A-League was the 40th season of top-flight association football, soccer in Australia, and the 12th since the establishment of the A-League in 2004. The season began on 7 October 2016.
Adelaide United FC, Adelaide United were both ...
season while
Parramatta Stadium
Parramatta Stadium was a sports stadium in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia, 23 kilometres west of Sydney's central business district. The stadium was the home ground of several western Sydney-based sports teams, at the time of closure t ...
was rebuilt. Home games against
Sydney FC
Sydney Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was fo ...
,
Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory e ...
and
Perth Glory
Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues.
Founded in 19 ...
were played at the nearby
ANZ Stadium. The Wanderers played their first home game at the ground on 23 October 2016 against the
Newcastle Jets.
Baseball and 2000 Olympics
The stadium hosted the
Sydney Storm
The Sydney Storm, originally Sydney Blues were a team in the now defunct Australian Baseball League. The franchise featured in every post season throughout its existence and won the Claxton Shield once.
History
The Storm were formed for the 1 ...
in the
Australian Baseball League for the 1998 and 1999 championship. During the Olympics, it was known as the Sydney Baseball Stadium and was the main
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
venue. The
gold medal game
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile meta ...
played in front of 14,107 saw the
USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, managed by
Tommy Lasorda, a former two time
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
winning manager with the
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
, defeated
defending champions Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
4–0 to win their first ever Olympic gold medal in baseball.
Since the Olympics, no other baseball game has been played at the venue. Other Olympic events hosted were the riding and running portion of the
modern pentathlon
The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport consisting of fencing (one-touch épée), freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running. The event is inspired by the traditional pentathlon held during the anci ...
competitions.
Rugby league
In 2001, the
Canterbury Bulldogs
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilita ...
of the
NRL
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 ...
moved their home games to the stadium, playing there until 2005 when they moved to
ANZ Stadium.
Rugby sevens
The Showground became the new home of Australia's events in the
men's and
women's
A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...
versions of the World Rugby Sevens Series effective with the 2018–19 seasons. This change was made because the
Sydney Football Stadium
The Sydney Football Stadium, commercially known as Allianz Stadium and previously Aussie Stadium, was a football stadium in Moore Park, Sydney, Australia. Built in 1988 next to the Sydney Cricket Ground, the stadium was Sydney's premier rect ...
, previously host to both events, is to be demolished to make way for a new stadium on the same site.
Motorsport
As the Showground was originally built for both the Royal Easter Show and as a baseball venue, the field included a long track that surrounded the playing field of the Stadium prior to its removal during the 2011–12 redevelopment. In the tradition of the
Sydney Showground Speedway
Sydney Showground Speedway, originally known as the Speedway Royal and later the Speedway Royale but often referred to as just The Royale or The Showground, was a dirt Dirt track racing venue at the old Sydney Showground used from 1926 until ...
at Moore Park which ran speedway from 1926 until 1996, the track was used as a
Speedway
Speedway may refer to:
Racing Race tracks
*Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta
*Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana
Types of races and race cours ...
venue, mostly for
motorcycle
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...
racing, though with limited success. In 2007 and 2008 the Stadium hosted a round of the
Australian Solo Championships, just as the old Showground had done on 21 separate occasions between 1935 and 1980. The 2007 championship round, which was the opening round of a five-round series, was won by Australia's
reigning Speedway World Champion Jason Crump, the son of
Phil Crump who won the Australian title at the old Showground in 1975. Jason Crump would go on to win his second Aussie title in 2007, winning three of the five rounds (Sydney,
Newcastle Showgrounds
Newcastle Entertainment Centre is a multi-purpose Australian arena within the Newcastle Showgrounds. It was opened in 1992 at a cost of .
The centre's original tenant was the Newcastle Falcons NBL team who moved to the new venue in 1992 from th ...
, and
Borderline Speedway
Borderline Speedway, is a dirt track racing venue in the Australian state of South Australia located in the locality of Glenburnie, South Australia about east of the city of Mount Gambier. Racing at the speedway generally takes place between ...
in
Mount Gambier), while finishing second in
Mildura (
Olympic Park Speedway
The Motordrome, also known as the Olympic Park Speedway, the Melbourne Speedway or the Victorian Speedway, was a former speedway and Australian rules football ground located approximately on the site of the present day Melbourne Rectangular Stad ...
) and the
Gillman Speedway in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
.
The track, which was tight and narrow (a criticism in common with its predecessor) and almost square in shape, was also used for
Speedcar racing, also with little success. When the Speedcars raced at the Showground, a temporary fence was put in place on the inside of the track to protect the grass surface from any out of control cars.
The first speedway meeting at the new Showground was held on 1 May 1999 and included an unofficial Solo "Test" 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 the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, won easily by Australia. The program also featured
Sidecars, as well as demonstration runs by restored vintage Speedcars and Modifieds which had raced at the old Showground. The speedway was officially opened by 15 time World Champion
Ivan Mauger of
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, and the "King of the Royale" (the old Showground Speedway), four time Australian Solo Champion
Jim Airey
James Sydney Airey (born 19 August 1941 in Earlwood, New South Wales)
is a former Australian international motorcycle speedway rider who rode in the 1971 World Final in Göteborg, Sweden and was a member of the Great Britain team that won the ...
.
Configuration
In its present configuration, the stadium is a playing field running north east to south west. The south western half is surrounded by a single grandstand structure. Additional stands are located on either side of the field, directly adjacent the main structure. A single video screen is located at the north-eastern end. When it was installed, the screen was the largest at a stadium in the southern hemisphere,
The stands are:
Opened 1998:
*Members Stand
*Suttor Stand
*Vincent Fairfax Stand
*Sinclair Stand
*Martin & Angus Stand
Opened 2012:
*Sydney Royal Stand
*Cumberland Stand
AFL records
Players
* Most games played:
Callan Ward
Callan Ward (born 10 April 1990) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Western Bulldogs from 2008 to 2011. Ward receive ...
(/), 51
* Most goals kicked:
Jeremy Cameron
Jeremy Cameron (born 1 April 1993) is a professional footballer with the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Greater Western Sydney Giants from 2012 to 2020. Cameron has kicked the most ...
(/), 127
* Most goals kicked in a match:
Jack Riewoldt
Jack Riewoldt ( ; born 31 October 1988) is a professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is a three-time premiership player, a three-time Coleman Medallist, a ...
(), 11.2 (68) vs. , 24 May 2014
* Most disposals in a match:
Tom Mitchell (), 50 vs. , 30 June 2018
Teams
* Highest score: 29.13 (187) defeated 7.10 (52), 12 May 2013
* Lowest score: 4.2 (26) defeated by 20.14 (134), 9 June 2018
* Biggest margin: defeated , 135 points, 12 May 2013
* Longest winning streak: (2015–6), 6 games
Last updated: 4 July 2018
Attendance records
Top 10 sports attendance records
Source:
Austadiums
(2003 crowds onwards)''
Top 5 AFL attendance records
Source:
'
Top 5 BBL attendance records
Source
Austadiums
'
Top 5 NRL attendance records
''Last updated on 1 January 2017''
See also
*
2000 Summer Olympics venues
For the 2000 Summer Olympics, a total of thirty sports venues were used. After Melbourne hosted the 1956 Summer Olympics, Australia made several bids for the Summer Olympics before finally winning the 2000 Summer Olympics by two votes over Beiji ...
*
List of sports venues in Australia
The following is a list of sports venues in Australia.
National league stadiums
Venues for Australian rules football, cricket, rugby league, rugby union and soccer are listed here, if they are a regular venue of:
*An Australian national team (Aus ...
References
External links
*
External links
AFL Attendance Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sydney Showground Stadium
Sports venues in Sydney
Multi-purpose stadiums in Australia
Australian Football League grounds
Cricket grounds in New South Wales
Baseball venues in Australia
Olympic baseball venues
Music venues in Sydney
Venues of the 2000 Summer Olympics
Olympic modern pentathlon venues
Defunct speedway venues in Australia
Rugby league stadiums in Australia
Women's Big Bash League
North East Australian Football League grounds
Sydney Olympic Park
Soccer venues in Sydney
World Rugby Sevens Series venues