Marrara Oval
Encyclopedia
Marrara Stadium is a sports ground in Darwin, Northern Territory
, Australia
. The ground was built in 1991 and Australian rules football
and Cricket
are primarily played at the venue. This includes Northern Territory Football League
matches, pre-season Australian Football League
matches, and also one AFL Premiership match each year - a 'home' game for the Western Bulldogs
(although in 2009 there were two games). The record crowd of 17,500 was set in 2002 for an AFL pre-season practice match between the Aboriginal All-Stars
and Carlton Football Club
which the All-Stars won.
The stadium hosted two cricket
Tests
in 2003 with Australia
against Bangladesh and 2004 against Sri Lanka, as well as a total of four one day internationals against Bangladesh in 2003 and 2008. The current total capacity is around 15,000 including 5,000 seats.
In 2007 the Western Bulldogs played the Fremantle Dockers
, in the Dockers' first home and away season game at the ground. Port Adelaide Power
has also played five games at TIO against the Western Bulldogs, in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2009. Port Adelaide also has had a three-year deal with the Northern Territory government and Marrara Stadium, that stats that Port would play two home and away games at TIO Stadium each year for three years starting in 2009.
TIO Stadium has hosted AC/DC
for their "Ballbreaker" tour in November 1996, when 13,000 fans and 170 tonnes of equipment packed the ground.
Sir Elton John
performed for the first time in the Northern Territory, at TIO Stadium on the 17 May 2008 as part of the his Australian Tour.
Marrara Stadium will play host to its first ever NRL
match when the Sydney Roosters
and North Queensland Cowboys
clash in Round 9 of the 2012 NRL season
. It will also be the first NRL match played in the Top End in 21 years.
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The ground was built in 1991 and Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
and Cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
are primarily played at the venue. This includes Northern Territory Football League
Northern Territory Football League
The Northern Territory Football League is an 8 team Australian rules football semi-professional league operating in Darwin in the Northern Territory.The premier grade is the largest Australian rules football league in the Northern Territory...
matches, pre-season Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
matches, and also one AFL Premiership match each year - a 'home' game for the Western Bulldogs
Western Bulldogs
The Western Bulldogs are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based at the Whitten Oval in West Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne...
(although in 2009 there were two games). The record crowd of 17,500 was set in 2002 for an AFL pre-season practice match between the Aboriginal All-Stars
Aboriginal All-Stars
The Indigenous All-Stars are an Australian rules football team composed purely of Indigenous Australians....
and Carlton Football Club
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
which the All-Stars won.
The stadium hosted two cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
Tests
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
in 2003 with Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
against Bangladesh and 2004 against Sri Lanka, as well as a total of four one day internationals against Bangladesh in 2003 and 2008. The current total capacity is around 15,000 including 5,000 seats.
In 2007 the Western Bulldogs played the Fremantle Dockers
Fremantle Football Club
The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed The Dockers, is an Australian rules football team which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in the port city of Fremantle at the mouth of the Swan River in Western Australia...
, in the Dockers' first home and away season game at the ground. Port Adelaide Power
Port Adelaide Football Club
The Port Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, which plays in the Australian Football League and the South Australian National Football League...
has also played five games at TIO against the Western Bulldogs, in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2009. Port Adelaide also has had a three-year deal with the Northern Territory government and Marrara Stadium, that stats that Port would play two home and away games at TIO Stadium each year for three years starting in 2009.
TIO Stadium has hosted AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
for their "Ballbreaker" tour in November 1996, when 13,000 fans and 170 tonnes of equipment packed the ground.
Sir Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
performed for the first time in the Northern Territory, at TIO Stadium on the 17 May 2008 as part of the his Australian Tour.
Marrara Stadium will play host to its first ever NRL
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
match when the Sydney Roosters
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
and North Queensland Cowboys
North Queensland Cowboys
The North Queensland Cowboys are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, Queensland. They compete in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership...
clash in Round 9 of the 2012 NRL season
2012 NRL season
The 2012 NRL season will be the 106th season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the fifteenth run by the National Rugby League. The NRL will be contested by sixteen teams for the sixth consecutive year...
. It will also be the first NRL match played in the Top End in 21 years.