Blacktown International Sportspark

Blacktown International Sportspark
Location Sydney, Australia
Operator Blacktown Venue Management Ltd
Opened 1999

Blacktown International Sportspark (formally known as Blacktown Olympic Park) is a multi-sports venue located in Rooty Hill, a suburb in Sydney, Australia. The venue includes two cricket grounds, which have also been used for Australian rules football, an athletics track and field, three baseball diamonds, two soccer fields, four softball diamonds, administration centers and park land.

It was constructed for the 2000 Sydney Olympics to host softball and baseball events.[1] The facilities have since been used as a training and administrative base for the Greater Western Sydney Giants from 2010 to 2012, and for the Western Sydney Wanderers FC since 2012. Since 2010 the Sydney Blue Sox of the Australian Baseball League have used the main baseball stadium as their home field.

Facilities

Australian Rules Football/Cricket Centre Developments

Construction of the Australian Rules Football/Cricket centre which features two ovals for Australian Rules Football & Cricket, stadium, function facilities and Indoor Practice Centre for Cricket commenced in 2008. The official opening of the centre was held in on 22nd August 2009 with the Mayor of Blacktown City, Councillor Charlie Lowles joined by Chief Executive Officers from AFL NSW/ACT and Cricket NSW.

Greater Western Sydney Giants

Greater Western Sydney Giants (GWS) had a presence at Blacktown from 2010 to 2014 at which time the AFL moved the senior team to Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush in Sydney's inner west. This move was supported by the NSW Government which spent $45[2] million to upgrade the Sydney Showground Stadium at Sydney Olympic Park providing a new home for the Western Sydney AFL team.

Proposed developments

As part of Australia's unsuccessful 2018–2022 FIFA World Cup bid, the athletics track at the western end of the park was proposed to be developed into a soccer stadium named Blacktown Stadium. The stadium would have had 41,000-seat, a figure which would be downgraded to 26,000 post-tournament.[3]

In 2014, Western Sydney Wanderers proposed to build a centre of excellence, consisting of a training base, offices and a youth academy at Blacktown International Sportspark. As part of the multimillion-dollar elite training base and academy, purpose-built grass playing fields, administration facilities, medical rooms and offices on the southern side of the precinct would be built.[4]

The three-day match between Cricket Australia XI and New Zealanders in October 2015 was abandoned after concerns over the pitch, New Zealand apparently refusing to bat because of the dangerous state of the wicket. In that match, Ryan Carters (209) and Aaron Finch (288 not out) scored 503 for the opening wicket and the match score remained as Cricket Australia XI 503/1 (dec). The stand easily eclipsed the previous Australian record of 456 set by openers Ernie Mayne and Bill Ponsford for Victoria state in 1923–24.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 2000 Summer Olympics official report. Archived 9 November 2000 at the Wayback Machine. Volume 1. p. 370.
  2. ↑ "NSW to retain NRL grand final". Brisbane Times. 2010-06-08. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  3. ↑ Blacktown Stadium – Sydney
  4. ↑ "Western Sydney Wanderers set to confirm $18 million centre of excellence in Blacktown". smh.com.au. Retrieved 9 December 2014.

Coordinates: 33°46′17″S 150°51′13″E / 33.77139°S 150.85361°E / -33.77139; 150.85361

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