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The Willows Sports Complex (last known as 1300SMILES Stadium due to
naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...
) was a grass
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
stadium situated in
Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...
, Queensland, Australia. It was used predominantly as a
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
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 city 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 (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 ...
club. The ground was also used for
rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
and
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
. From 2009 to 2011,
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 ...
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 had several 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 club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilitated by ...
.


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 Limited (ARL), formerly the Australian Rugby Football League Limited known as the Australian Rugby League is an Australian rugby league football competition operator. It was founded in 1986 as the Australi ...
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 city 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 an ...
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. Thuring ...
) 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 state government of Queensland, Australia, a Parliament, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, ...
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 Limited (ARL), formerly the Australian Rugby Football League Limited known as the Australian Rugby League is an Australian rugby league football competition operator. It was founded in 1986 as the Australi ...
(now
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 ...
) 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 was 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 Lea ...
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 city in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...
home stadium sponsor
Stockland Stockland Corporation Limited is a diversified Australian property development company. It has business in shopping centers, residential estates, industrial estates and manufactured housing communities. History Stockland was founded in 1952 by ...
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 North Queensland, trop ...
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 Dairy Farmers may refer to various companies, brand names, co-operatives or trade unions: * Dairy Farmers, Inc - United States * Dairy Farmers Pty Ltd - Australia * Dairy Farmers of America * Dairy Farmers of Britain * Dairy Farmers of Canada ...
, 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 Queensland
in 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, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
's 2008 Rugby League World Cup Group A games were played at Dairy Farmers Stadium, one against
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and the other against
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 ...
. 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 ...
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 profe ...
'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 was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...
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 ageing 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, currently known as Queensland Country Bank Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a Rugby League stadium located in Railway Estate, a suburb of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It is the home ground of the North Queensl ...
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, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
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 was used for a drive-through coronavirus assessment clinic. On 25 January 2022, Queensland Premier
Annastacia Palaszczuk Annastacia Palaszczuk ( , born 25 July 1969) is an Australian politician who served as the 39th premier of Queensland from 2015 to 2023. She held office as the leader of the Queensland branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 2012 unt ...
announced a $30 million investment to turn the stadium into a state-of-the-art Queensland Police hub. The stadium was demolished in 2023, after work commenced in September 2022.


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, rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League, Queensland Rugby ...
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 Aus ...
Test match against
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
in 2000, an Australian XIII match in 2005, the
Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...
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 city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, the annual
Rugby League Four Nations The Rugby League Four Nations was a rugby league football tournament run in partnership between Australia national rugby league team, Australia, England national rugby league team, England, New Zealand national rugby league team, New Zealand, a ...
, 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 () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
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 football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
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 Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
in the
Rugby Union World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the world champions of the sport. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, ...
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 based in Brisbane 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 ...
played a
Super 14 Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...
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 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...
Rugby World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...
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 city 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) premiership, Australia's elite rugby league competition. Since 2008, the ...
.


Football (Soccer)

*
Australia national under-23 soccer team Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It has a total area of , making it the sixth-largest country in ...
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, 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 ...
, 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 games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
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, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
performed at Dairy Farmers Stadium on 4 December 2007, as part of his "Knight under the stars" tour. *
Nitro Circus ''Nitro Circus'' was 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 became a medi ...
tour


References


External links


Official website
* {{Super Rugby stadiums Northern Fury FC Rugby league stadiums in Australia Rugby union stadiums in Australia A-League Men stadiums 1994 establishments in Australia Sports venues completed in 1994 Sports venues in Townsville Queensland Reds Soccer venues in Townsville Sports complexes in Australia