The Willows Sports Complex, currently known as 1300SMILES Stadium through
sponsorship
Sponsoring something (or someone) is the act of supporting an event, activity, person, or organization financially or through the provision of products or services. The individual or group that provides the support, similar to a benefactor, is kn ...
,
is a grass
football stadium situated 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, 30 ...
,
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. It has been a predominantly
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 as the home ground of 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 ...
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 ...
club. The ground has also been used for
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...
and
soccer. From 2009 to 2011,
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 competit ...
football club
North Queensland Fury
Northern Fury Football Club was an Australian professional soccer club based in Townsville, Queensland. The club was founded in 2008 and competed in the A-League under the name North Queensland Fury. On 1 March 2011, the club was removed from th ...
called it home. Since inception as a rugby league ground, the ground has had sponsored naming rights: Stockland Stadium (1995–97), Malanda Stadium (1998) and Dairy Farmers Stadium (1999–2013). The last NRL match to be played at 1300SMILES Stadium was on Thursday 29 August 2019 between the North Queensland Cowboys and
Canterbury Bankstown 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 facilit ...
.
History
Willows Sporting Complex
Prior to 1995, the stadium site was occupied by the Willows Sporting Complex. It hosted trotting paceway nights, and was the main pacing venue for the Townsville District. With the admission of the North Queensland Cowboys to the
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 ...
competition in 1995, the Willows site was transformed into a basic rugby league venue with a western grandstand as well as eastern side terraces. The northern and southern ends had sloped grass hills.
Stockland Stadium
The Willows Sports Complex was renamed "Stockland Stadium" in 1995 through sponsorship linked with 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 ...
. A contract was signed by the Stockland Trust Group for three years giving them the naming rights of the venue. The Joint Board of the old Willows Sports Complex (
Townsville City Council
The City of Townsville is a local government area (LGA) located in North Queensland, Australia. It encompasses the city of Townsville, together with the surrounding rural areas, to the south are the communities of Alligator Creek, Woodstock a ...
and
Thuringowa City Council
The City of Thuringowa () was a city and local government area in North Queensland, Australia covering the northern and western parts of what is now Townsville. The suburb of Thuringowa Central is the main business centre in this area.
Thurin ...
) sub-leased the facility to the Cowboys Rugby League Football Limited, who manage the venue on a day-to-day basis. The first stage of development was funded by a combination of borrowings by the Joint Board, 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 f ...
grants and a considerable amount of community and business donations.
The stadium was first used for any type of football for the North Queensland Cowboys first home game which attracted a crowd of 23,156, a good crowd by
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 ...
(now
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 ...
) standards. Crowds continued to push the capacity of the stadium and in 1996 Stockland Stadium was renovated to include both northern and southern seating, where previously there had been only standing room.
Stockland Stadium had the honour of hosting the first-ever game of the only
Super League season on 1 March 1997 when the Cowboys hosted new team the
Adelaide Rams
The Adelaide Rams were an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Adelaide, South Australia. The team was formed in 1995 for the planned rebel Super League competition. The Rams lasted two seasons, the first in the Super L ...
in front of 17,738 fans. After trailing 16–4 at half time the Cowboys eventually prevailed 24–16.
Stockland ended their sponsorship after three years, which paved the way for long-term sponsor, Dairy Farmers Limited.
Malanda Stadium
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 ...
home stadium sponsor
Stockland finished up their sponsorship contract seeing out their three-year deal. A new sponsorship deal was signed with local milking organisation Dairy Farmers who owned the local
North Queensland
North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland that lies just south of Far North Queensland. Queensland is a massive state, larger than many countries, and its tropical northern part has been ...
milking dairy in the
Tablelands. Season 1998 saw the stadium renamed with a new sponsorship deal "Malanda Stadium". Following the purchase of Malanda Milk by
Dairy Farmers, the ground was renamed "Dairy Farmers Stadium".
Dairy Farmers Stadium
Many stages of redevelopment were taken on and gradually completed over the Cowboys growing success. The venue had changed from a disused Harness Racing facility to the current complex. The management and operation of the stadium was handed over t
Stadiums Queenslandin December 2003 in the hope for more cash inflow and government spending.
In 2005 the eastern terraces were extended, a new replay screen invested, public address system installed, 30 more corporate boxes and upgraded catering facilities as part of the funding injection. The lighting facilities were upgraded for night time broadcasts. 2006 saw the eastern, northern and southern grandstands receiving even further upgrades with the fitting of extra seating and the eastern terrace was extended completely taking over the old eastern hill.
Two of
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
's
2008 Rugby League World Cup Group A
Group A of the 2008 Rugby League World Cup was one of the three groups of teams that competed in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup. Group A was the largest of the tournament, consisting of four teams: Australia, New Zealand, England and Papua New G ...
games were played at Dairy Farmers Stadium, one against
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 ...
and the other against
Australia.
During 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 ...
a capacity crowd attended
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 ...
's record-setting 350th NRL match at the ground.
1300SMILES Stadium
It was announced on 19 February 2013 that 1300SMILES had signed a five-year deal for naming rights, bringing Dairy Farmers' fifteen years to an end.
1300SMILES is an Australian dentistry business headquartered in Townsville.
Replacement
A redeveloped stadium was featured as part of Australia's
2022 FIFA World Cup
The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022; it is the first Wo ...
bid. The planning for the bid identified several issues with the existing stadium, particularly sub standard facilities, congestion and limited transport access. Stadiums Queensland identified that some form of redevelopment or replacement was necessary regardless of the failed World Cup bid. In 2011, the Cowboys in conjunction with Stadiums Queensland developed a $185 million plan to replace the aging Dairy Farmers Stadium. The proposed ground would be located at the Saunders Street QR National site close to the Townsville CBD, as part of an urban renewal plan. The existing QR National rail yards are to be relocated in accordance with the Townsville Port Authority Master Plan 2010–2040.
In 2016 a replacement was funded by the Queensland State Government and the Federal Government, the resulting
North Queensland Stadium
North Queensland Stadium, commercially known as Queensland Country Bank Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in South Townsville, Queensland, Australia, primarily used for rugby league.
History
As part of Australia's 2022 FIFA World Cup bid in ...
began construction in 2017, with the opening in February 2020, with the first event being an
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
concert, and the North Queensland Cowboys rugby league team hosting its first game in Round 1 of the 2020 NRL Season against Queensland rivals the Brisbane Broncos.
As at early 2020 the future of the stadium is still unclear with prior reports suggesting it could be used for a new school or redeveloped for housing.
Throughout the
COVID-19 pandemic in Queensland, the carpark at the stadium is being used for a
drive-through coronavirus assessment clinic.
On the 25th January 2022, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced a $30 million investment to turn the stadium into a state-of-the-art Queensland Police hub.
Attendance records
Uses
Rugby league
1300SMILES Stadium was predominantly used as a
rugby league ground, having been the home ground of the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League competition, and the North Queensland Young Guns 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 fo ...
competition. The stadium also hosted an
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal ...
Test match against
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
in 2000, an Australian XIII match in 2005, the
Super League
The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of ...
World 9's tournament in 1997 and charity fixtures with State of Origin Legend matches and Australia Legends v New Zealand Legends. It also hosted England vs Papua New Guinea in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.
With 2012 being an
Olympic year and the games being held in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, the annual
Rugby League Four Nations
The Rugby League Four Nations (known as the Ladbrokes Four Nations in 2016, for sponsorship purposes) was a biennial rugby league football tournament run in partnership between the Australian Rugby League Commission, Rugby Football League and ...
, usually held at the end of the NRL season, was not scheduled as a result. This has resulted in an end-of-year test between Australia and
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 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...
being scheduled to be held at the Dairy Farmers Stadium on 13 October for its first international match since the 2008 World Cup.
Rugby League Test Matches
List of rugby league test matches played at the stadium.
Rugby union
The stadium was first used for first class
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...
when the touring British and Irish Lions team played a Queensland President's XV team in 2001. In 2003 a number of matches, which involved
Japan in the
Rugby Union 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 ...
were played at the ground, averaging a crowd of 19,249. On 12 May 2006 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 ...
played a
Super 14 match at Dairy Farmers Stadium in front of a crowd of 10,580.
In June 2007 the stadium hosted Australia A and Japan in the IRB Pacific Nations Cup.
Rugby World Cup
The Willows Sports Complex hosted three Pool B games from the
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...
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 ...
which was held in Australia.
Touch Football
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 ...
NRL Touch Premiership touch football sides (men's and women's) have played their home games out of 1300SMILES since the premierships inaugural season in 2018. The first games were played on Saturday, 19 May 2018, with both the men's and women's sides taking on the
Gold Coast Titans
The Gold Coast Titans are a professional rugby league football club, based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australia and New Zealand's national rugby league club competition. The ...
.
Football (Soccer)
*
Australia national under-23 soccer team Australia national under-23 soccer team may refer to:
* Australia men's national under-23 soccer team
* Australia women's national under-23 soccer team
See also
* Australia national under-20 soccer team
* Australia national under-17 soccer tea ...
friendly.
* In 2009, the stadium became home to Townsville's new club, the
North Queensland Fury
Northern Fury Football Club was an Australian professional soccer club based in Townsville, Queensland. The club was founded in 2008 and competed in the A-League under the name North Queensland Fury. On 1 March 2011, the club was removed from th ...
who played in 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 competit ...
, the nation's premier soccer competition. Their licence was revoked in March 2011.
Other
*
Kostya Tszyu
Konstantin Borisovich "Kostya" Tszyu (; rus, Константин Борисович «Костя» Цзю, , kənstɐnʲˈtʲin bɐˈrisəvʲɪtɕ ˈkosʲtʲə ˈdzːʲu; born 19 September 1969) is a Russian Australian former professional b ...
's World Title boxing qualifier
*
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...
Super 8's state championships
*
Crusty Demons tour.
*
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
performed at Dairy Farmers Stadium on 4 December 2007, as part of his "Knight under the stars" tour.
*
Nitro Circus
''Nitro Circus'' is an "action sport collective" led by Travis Pastrana, featuring his friends and him traveling around the world riding dirtbikes, BASE jumping, and performing stunts. Co-founded in 2003 by Pastrana, Nitro Circus has become a m ...
tour
References
External links
Official website*
{{Super Rugby stadiums
Northern Fury FC
Rugby league stadiums in Australia
Rugby union stadiums in Australia
Rugby League World Cup stadiums
Rugby World Cup stadiums
A-League Men stadiums
1994 establishments in Australia
Sports venues completed in 1994
Sports venues in Townsville
Queensland Reds
Soccer venues in Queensland
Sports complexes in Australia