Marrara Oval facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Marrara Oval

View of the grandstand at Marrara Oval in March 2016
Former names	Football Park
Location	Marrara, Northern Territory
Coordinates	12°23′57″S 130°53′14″E / 12.39917°S 130.88722°E / -12.39917; 130.88722
Owner	Government of the Northern Territory
Operator	AFL Northern Territory
Capacity	12,500
Surface	Grass
Opened	1991
Tenants
NT Thunder (QAFL/NEAFL) (2008–2019) Parramatta Eels (NRL) (2014–present) Gold Coast Suns (AFL) (2020–) Adelaide Football Club (AFLW) (2017–2019) Western Bulldogs (AFL) (2004–2010, 2012–2013) Melbourne Football Club (AFL) (2010–2019) 2017 Rugby League World Cup Richmond Football Club (AFL) (2011) Sydney Roosters (NRL) (2012) Gold Coast Titans (NRL) (2013)
Ground information
End names
McMillans Road End Airport End
International information
First Test	18–20 July 2003:  Australia v  Bangladesh
Last Test	1–3 July 2004:  Australia v  Sri Lanka
First ODI	6 August 2003:  Australia v  Bangladesh
Last ODI	6 September 2008:  Australia v  Bangladesh
As of 28 May 2020 Source: Cricinfo

Marrara Oval, also known as TIO Stadium, is a big sports ground in Darwin. Darwin is the capital city of Australia's Northern Territory. This stadium is a main place for Australian rules football, cricket, and rugby league games. It used to be called Football Park.

Marrara Oval opened in 1991. It can hold up to 12,500 people. This makes it the biggest stadium in the Northern Territory. The largest crowd ever at the stadium was 17,500 people. This happened in 2003 for an Indigenous All-Stars football game. Marrara Oval has hosted at least one Australian Football League (AFL) game every year since 2004. It has also hosted at least one National Rugby League (NRL) game every year since 2012. The stadium has even held international Test and One Day International (ODI) cricket matches. The most recent international cricket game was in 2008.

Stadium History

Australian Rules Football

Marrara Oval officially opened on June 30, 1991. It became the new home for the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL). Building the stadium cost about $8 million. The first game played under lights at Marrara was on December 9, 1994. This game was between the Nightcliff and Southern Districts football clubs. The lights cost $1.2 million to install.

In February 1992, Marrara Oval hosted its first game approved by the Australian Football League (AFL). This was a preseason game between Collingwood and West Coast. About 11,000 people came to watch. More preseason games were played here over the next ten years. This included several Indigenous All-Stars games. A game in 2003 between the Indigenous All-Stars and Carlton drew a crowd of 17,500. This set a new record for the stadium. The first regular AFL season game was in 2004. The Western Bulldogs played against Port Adelaide.

From 2004 to 2008, the Western Bulldogs played one "home" game at the stadium each year. In 2010, the Melbourne Football Club also started playing one "home" game in Darwin each year. The Western Bulldogs sold their 2011 game to Richmond. But they returned to play in 2012 and 2013. Port Adelaide also had a deal to play as the "away" team at TIO Stadium from 2009 to 2012. Since 2014, only one AFL game has been played at Marrara Oval each year. From 2020, the Gold Coast Suns will play one home game here each year. They took over from Melbourne.

Marrara Oval has also been a second home ground for the Adelaide Crows women's team since 2017. In 2016, the Adelaide Crows decided to create a team for the new AFL Women's league. They partnered with AFLNT. This meant the team would share resources between Adelaide and Darwin. They also promised to play some home games in Darwin.

In 2020, Marrara Oval hosted the special Dreamtime at the 'G match. This game is usually played in Melbourne. But it was moved to Darwin because of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns in Melbourne. Essendon played against Richmond in this important game.

AFL Game Records

Here are some interesting records from AFL games at Marrara Oval:

• Highest team score: 23 goals and 9 behinds (147 points) by Port Adelaide against Western Bulldogs in 2004.
• Largest winning margin: 93 points by Western Bulldogs against Port Adelaide in 2009.
• Lowest team score: 4 goals and 10 behinds (34 points). This happened twice:

* Gold Coast against Western Bulldogs in 2012. * Melbourne against Fremantle in 2014.

• Most goals kicked by one player: 17 goals by Brad Johnson for the Western Bulldogs.
• Most goals in a single game: 5 goals. This has happened five times by different players:

* Brendan Fevola (Carlton) in 2005. * Brad Johnson (Western Bulldogs) in 2007. * Brad Miller (Melbourne) in 2010. * Paul Stewart (Port Adelaide) in 2012. * Jack Darling (West Coast) in 2015.

• Most disposals (getting the ball) in a game: 41 by Kane Cornes (Port Adelaide) in 2008.

Cricket

Marrara Oval has hosted important international cricket games. In July 2003, it held the first Test match between Australia and Bangladesh. A One Day International (ODI) game between these teams followed a month later.

In July 2004, another Test match was played. This was the first game in a series between Australia and Sri Lanka. After this, international cricket did not return until 2008. In 2008, Australia and Bangladesh played a series of three ODI games at the stadium.

International Cricket Centuries

Two Test centuries (100 runs or more) and one ODI century have been scored at Marrara Oval.

• Test Centuries:
  • Darren Lehmann scored 110 runs for Australia against Bangladesh on July 18, 2003.
  • Steve Waugh scored 100 not out for Australia against Bangladesh on July 18, 2003.

• ODI Centuries:
  • Ricky Ponting scored 101 runs for Australia against Bangladesh on August 6, 2003.

Rugby League

Marrara Oval has also hosted professional rugby league games. In 2012, the Sydney Roosters played against the North Queensland Cowboys. Over 10,000 fans watched this game. This was the first professional rugby league game in Darwin since 1995.

The second game was in 2013. The Penrith Panthers beat the Gold Coast Titans 40–18. About 8,050 people attended this game. The Panthers had played games in Darwin before in the 1990s.

In 2014, the Parramatta Eels, an NRL club from Sydney, announced they would play four games at Marrara. The first of these was on August 9, 2014. The Eels beat the Canberra Raiders 18–10. Nearly 9,500 fans were there.

In 2017, Marrara Oval hosted a quarter-final match for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. Australia played against Samoa. Australia won 46–0. This game had a crowd of 13,473 people. This is the biggest rugby league crowd the stadium has ever seen. It is also the fourth largest crowd for any event at the stadium.

Other Events

TIO Stadium has also hosted big music concerts.

• The famous rock band AC/DC performed here in November 1996. About 13,000 fans came to their "Ballbreaker" tour.
• Sir Elton John performed in the Northern Territory for the first time at TIO Stadium. This was on May 17, 2008, as part of his Australian Tour.

Top Attendance Records

Here are the top 10 biggest crowds for sports events at Marrara Oval: