Cazalys Stadium is a sports stadium in
Cairns
Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people.
The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...
,
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
, Australia. It is situated in the suburb of
Westcourt. The stadium is named after the
social club
A social club or social organization may be a group of people or the place where they meet, generally formed around a common interest, occupation or activity with in an organizational association known as a Club (organization), club. Exampl ...
which abuts the oval, Cazalys, which itself was named after Australian rules footballer
Roy Cazaly
Roy Cazaly (13 January 1893 – 10 October 1963) was an Australian rules footballer who played for South Melbourne and St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He also represented Victoria and Tasmania in interstate football and, af ...
.
With a capacity of approximately 13,500 people, Cazalys Stadium is the largest oval stadium in Cairns. It features a main grandstand relocated from 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 ...
in the late 1990s. It is used by the
Queensland Cricket Association
Queensland Cricket, formerly known as the Queensland Cricket Association, is the governing body of Cricket in Queensland, Australia. Formed in 1876, it is directly responsible for the Queensland Bulls, Queensland Fire, Allan Border Field and Q ...
,
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 mem ...
, and
AFL Cairns
AFL Cairns is a semi-professional Australian rules football league that includes clubs from the Cairns region in Queensland, Australia. It is widely regarded as the strongest regional Australian rules football league in Queensland and has a lar ...
. The stadium has hosted matches in the
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...
(AFL),
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...
(NRL), and
A-League
A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...
, as well as
Test
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film) ...
and
One Day International
One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...
cricket. It is the third largest oval venue in Queensland which has hosted both professional AFL and cricket matches.
History
In 1957 the
Australian National Football Council
The Australian National Football Council (ANFC) was the national governing body for Australian rules football in Australia from 1906 until 1995. The council was a body of delegates representing each of the principal leagues which controlled the ...
, through
Bruce Andrew, purchased land in Cairns for the first dedicated field in regional Queensland, which became Australian Football Park.
The
Cairns Australian Football League, led by Kevin Crathern (then president of the CAFL), helped clear the land of trees, filled in the dense bushland, and turned the land into a suitable playing field. In 1984 the CAFL began negotiations with the ANFC in a bid to purchase the freehold of Australian Football Park. The bid would prove successful, and the CAFL made the final payment on the ground in 1994. From 1997 to 1998, $2.4 million was spent upgrading the stadium, which included acquiring the western grandstand from the Gabba and the installation of four light towers. In 1999, the CAFL purchased the adjacent 51st Battalion barracks housing property, which later became the headquarters for AFL Cairns, and renamed the ground to Cazalys Stadium after the adjoining social club. In 2008, $3 million was spent upgrading the stadium including lighting to AFL television standards, new entrance gates on Till Street, increasing the size of player dressing rooms, providing adequate first aid and medical facilities and improved coaching facilities. In 2011, a $15 million stadium redevelopment was completed, which included new grandstand and players facilities, media box and upgraded lighting.
Sports
Cricket
In July and August 2003,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
hosted
Bangladesh
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
in an
out of season series in Cairns and Darwin. Cazalys Stadium hosted the 2nd Test and the first two One Day Internationals while
Marrara Oval in
Darwin hosted the 1st Test and 3rd ODI. Australia won all matches comfortably. In July 2004, Australia hosted
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
in a two test series with matches again in Cairns and Darwin. However, due to disappointing attendances in both series, Cairns has not hosted Australian international cricket matches since, despite the fact that, according to cricket historian Gideon Haigh, "Almost a quarter of the combined populations of Cairns and Darwin attended the cricket" during the Bangladesh Test and ODI series. In October 2008, the venue hosted a
Ford Ranger Cup match between
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
and
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
On 8 December 2016 Cazalys Stadium hosted a First-Class match between a
Cricket Australia XI
Cricket Australia XI is a domestic cricket team that plays matches against international teams touring Australia.
Cricket Australia XI played in Australia's limited-overs tournament from 2015–16 to 2017–18. Before each tournament, a 14-ma ...
v
Pakistan cricket team
The Pakistan men's national cricket team represents Pakistan in international cricket. It is controlled by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the governing body for cricket in Pakistan, which is a Full Member of the International Cricket Counc ...
.
In January 2019, Cazalys Stadium hosted
WBBL T20 cricket. International fixtures for the 2020-21 cricket season at Cazalys Stadium for October 2020 were announced by
Cricket Australia
Cricket Australia (CA) is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in Australia. It was originally formed in 1905 as the 'Australian Board of Control for International Cricket'. It is incorporated as an Australian Public Company ...
, including T20 and
ODI, hosting the
West Indies cricket team and the
New Zealand women's national cricket team
The New Zealand women's national cricket team, nicknamed the White Ferns, represents New Zealand in international women's cricket. One of eight teams competing in the ICC Women's Championship (the highest level of international women's cricke ...
respectively. Planned international fixtures announced for 2020 were subject to prevailing COVID-19 circumstances and the international women's matches were relocated to
Allan Border Field
Allan Border Field is a cricket ground in the Brisbane suburb of Albion in Queensland. The Australian Cricket Academy has been based at the oval since 2004, using it as a base for the development of elite cricketers throughout Australia.
It ...
in
Albion, Queensland
Albion is an inner north-eastern Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Albion had a population of 3,446 people.
Geography
Albion is bounded by Wooloowin, Queensland, Wooloowin i ...
in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
after the schedules were announced due to the prevailing circumstances and logistical issues at the time.
In July 2022, it was announced that Cazalys Stadium would make its
BBL debut, with the
Brisbane Heat
The Brisbane Heat are an Australian professional franchise men's and women's cricket team, competing in Australia's domestic Twenty20 cricket competition, the Big Bash League (BBL). The Heat are the successors of the Queensland Bulls who playe ...
to hold their
BBL12 season opener against the
Melbourne Renegades
Melbourne Renegades are an Australian professional men's Twenty20 franchise cricket club based in Melbourne, the capital city of the Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. They compete in the Australian Twenty20 cricket competit ...
on 15 December.
In September 2022, the stadium hosted
New Zealand for three ODIs, the first international cricket matches in Cairns since 2004. Australia won the series 3–0.
Test centuries
, seven Test centuries have been scored in Cairns.
ODI centuries
, one ODI century has been scored in Cairns.
Test five-wicket hauls
, only two bowlers have taken five-wicket hauls at the venue - both bowlers took 10 wickets in the match.
ODI five-wicket hauls
, only one ODI five-wicket haul has been taken at the venue.
Rugby league
In 2001, the stadium hosted two
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...
matches, both involving the
North Queensland Cowboys
The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest city in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL).
Sinc ...
. Crowds of 13,000 and 6,113 attended the matches.
Australian rules football
Cazalys Stadium hosts Australian rules football matches during the winter. AFL Cairns is headquartered at Cazalys Stadium; the league's Manunda Hawks plays its home matches at the stadium, and all AFL Cairns finals are played at the stadium.
18th, September 2004,
Port Douglas Crocs and North Cairns Tigers contested the
Grand Final
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Synonymous with a championship game in North Ameri ...
, which was marred by violence, starting at the end of the national anthem, and continued during the game, with further violence in the stands. Although North Cairns won the game, they were stripped of the premiership 3 months later.
The venue hosted AFL pre-season matches each season from 2000 until 2007; and its first
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...
match for premiership points in
2011
The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
. The
Richmond Football Club
The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed the Tigers or colloquially the Tiges, is a professional Australian rules football team competing in the Australian Football League (AFL). Founded in 1885 in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond, Victoria, Ric ...
played a home-away-from-home match against the newly established
Gold Coast Football Club in each of the 2011, 2012 and 2013 AFL seasons; sellout crowds of 10,382, 10,961 and 11,197 attended the three matches. The
Western Bulldogs
The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition.
Originally named the Footscray F ...
replaced Richmond in hosting the Suns in Cairns from the
2014 AFL season
The 2014 AFL season was the 118th 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 the first round the
2018 AFL season
The 2018 AFL season was the 122nd season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season feature ...
, the Gold Coast replaced the Bulldogs as the home team and hosted
North Melbourne
North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government ar ...
as Gold Coast's regular home ground
Metricon Stadium was unavailable due to preparations for the
2018 Commonwealth Games
The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that was held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...
.
In the
2020 AFL season
The 2020 AFL season was the 124th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featur ...
. the
Fremantle Dockers and
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a Austral ...
relocated temporarily to Cairns with officials and support staff for football matches played at Cazalys Stadium. From rounds 15 to 18, Cairns hosted one match per round, featuring either Sydney or Fremantle.
The
2021 AFL season
The 2021 AFL season was the 125th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest-level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season feature ...
fixture saw play their round 13 home game against at the venue, with the match replacing the Saints' annual match in Shanghai, China, which was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. St Kilda returned to Cazalys Stadium in round 7 of the
2022 season, when they played .
Soccer
Cazalys Stadium hosted its first
A-League
A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...
match between
Brisbane Roar
Brisbane Roar Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland. competing in Australia's premier men's competition, A-League Men, which is the top tier Australia's football pyramid.
When Queensland Lions F.C. were ...
and
Wellington Phoenix
Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League Men, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the 2007–08 ...
on Saturday, 12 December 2015. Brisbane won the game 2–1.
Other events
In June 2013 the stadium hosted a
Nitro Circus Live show during its 2013 Australian Regional Tour. A crowd of around 10,000 people attended the event.
Notable games
* Australia hosted the first international Test cricket match played outside of an Australian capital city against Bangladesh from 25 to 28 July 2003.
Australia defeated Bangladesh by an innings and 98 runs.
* Australia hosted the 2nd Test in its series against Sri Lanka from 9–13 July 2004.
The match ended in a draw.
* AFL club Gold Coast Suns won their third AFL home and away season game on 16 July 2011, winning a tough and hard-fought game against Richmond 12.13 (85) to 9.16 (70)
* Gold Coast Suns won its first match of the 2012 AFL home and away season on 14 July 2012, ending a twenty-one match losing streak by defeating Richmond 13.12 (90) to 13.10 (88). With 30 seconds left in the 4th quarter the Gold Coast Suns trailed by 10 points, but kicked two goals including one after the siren by rugby league convert
Karmichael Hunt to win the match.
Attendance records
''Last updated on 23 July 2017''
Sources
AFL Attendance Records
See also
*
List of Test cricket grounds
One hundred and twenty-three Ground (cricket), grounds have hosted Test cricket, men's Test cricket since the first officially recognised Test match between Australia and England in Melbourne in March 1877. The grounds are listed in the order in ...
References
External links
*
Cazaly'sCazaly's Social Club website
{{Test Cricket Grounds AUS
Rugby league stadiums in Australia
Buildings and structures in Cairns
Test cricket grounds in Australia
1957 establishments in Australia
Sports venues completed in 1957
North East Australian Football League grounds
Women's Big Bash League
Sport in Cairns
Sports venues in Queensland