Brisbane Cricket Ground

Brisbane Cricket Ground<tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">The Gabba</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"> Day 2 of the First Test of the 2006-07 Ashes Series at The Brisbane Cricket Ground ("The Gabba") </td></tr>
Location	Woolloongabba, Brisbane, Queensland
Opened	1896 <tr><td>Closed</td><td>Open</td></tr><tr><td>Demolished</td><td>NA (redeveloped 1993-2005)</td></tr>
Owner	Queensland Government <tr><td>Operator</td><td>Major Sports Facilities Authority</td></tr><tr><td>Surface</td><td>Grass</td></tr><tr><td>Construction cost</td><td>$128,000,000 (redevelopment)</td></tr><tr><th style="background: #efefef;" colspan="2">Former names</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2">N/A</td></tr>
Tenants
Queensland Bulls, Brisbane Lions
Seats
42,200

The Brisbane Cricket Ground is a major sports arena in the Queensland capital of Brisbane. It is located in the suburb of Woolloongabba, and is hence known colloquially as The Gabba.

The land on which the ground sits was first set aside for use as a cricket ground in 1895. The first cricket match was held on the site on 19 December 1896 between Parliament and The Press. The Gabba was not used for interstate or international cricket until 1931. The first Sheffield Shield match scheduled for The Gabba was to be played between 31 January 1931 and 4 February 1931, however it was washed out without the captains even bothering to toss a coin. The first cricket Test match at The Gabba was played Australia and South Africa between 27 November and 3 December 1931.

Over the years the Gabba has hosted athletics, AFL, baseball, concerts, cricket, cycling, rugby league, rugby union, soccer and pony and greyhound races.

Between 1993 and 2005 The Gabba was redeveloped in six stages at a cost of $128,000,000. The dimensions of the playing field are now 170.6 metres (east-west) by 149.9 metres (north-south). The seating capacity of the ground is now 42,200. In its appearance the Gabba now almost resembles a mini Melbourne Cricket Ground complete with light towers and a gigantic modern grandstand ringing the ground providing an intimidating atmosphere for visiting teams.

Sports played at The Gabba

Cricket

Queensland versus South Australia in a
Sheffield Shield cricket match at the 'Gabba
(photo taken during the mid-1980s)

From October to March the Gabba is used for cricket and is home to the Queensland Cricket Association, Queensland Cricketers' Club and the Queensland Bulls cricket team. The venue usually hosts the first Test match of the season each November, in addition to a number of international one-day matches usually held in January.

Test cricket was first played at the ground in November 1931, the first Test of the series between Australia and South Africa. In December 1960, Test cricket's first-ever Tied Test took place at the ground when Richie Benaud's Australian team tied with Frank Worrell's West Indian side. Queensland clinched its first-ever Sheffield Shield title with victory over South Australia in the final at the ground in March 1995.

A record crowd for any cricket match of 39,874 flocked to the Gabba on January 15, 2006 to see Australia play South Africa in the second game of the triangular VB Series.

The Gabba was the first Australian venue to host an International twenty-twenty cricket match.

A grandstand at the Brisbane Cricket Ground ("The Gabba") in 1907

Australian Rules Football

Since 1993 the Gabba has been the home ground for the Brisbane Bears (to 1996) and (from 1997) Brisbane Lions AFL teams. The record crowd for a football match is 37,224 between the Brisbane Lions and Collingwood.

Football has a long association with the ground. AFL Queensland (originally known as the Queensland Football League) played matches at the Gabba from 1905 to 1914 and 1959 to 1971. AFLQ matches resumed in 1993 as curtain-raiser events to AFL games, along with occasional AFLQ Grand Finals. Interstate games, including the 1961 national carnival have also been played there, as was a demonstration game during the 1982 Commonwealth Games. In 1991 the Gabba was host to Queensland's only victory over a Victorian side.

Association football (soccer)

During the 1950s and 1960s The Gabba hosted football matches for English first division clubs including Blackpool FC, Everton FC and Manchester United. The Chinese and South African national teams also played at the ground. During the 2000 Olympic Games The Gabba hosted football pool games.

Rugby league

From 1932 to 1959 The Gabba was used to host rugby league games, including interstate and international matches. Rugby league still holds the ground attendance records for this venue, after 47,096 people attended the Great Britain versus Australia Test on 3 July 1954. Rugby League and association football are now regularly played at Suncorp Stadium, which has a rectangular pitch and over 50,000 seating capacity.

Rugby union

The Gabba has hosted six rugby union Test matches.

In 1907 Australia lost to New Zealand 14-5.

In 1914 Australia lost to New Zealand 17-0.

In 1950 Australia lost to the British and Irish Lions 19-6.

In 1951 Australia lost to New Zealand 16-6.

In 2001 Australia lost to the British and Irish Lions 29-13, in front of a crowd of 37,460.

In 2002 Australia beat South Africa 38-27.

Facts

Day 2 of the First Test of the 2006-07 Ashes series — Australia versus England — at the
Brisbane Cricket Ground ("The Gabba")

• Sir Donald Bradman holds the record for the highest individual test innings of 226 against South Africa in 1931.

• The ground where Australia and the West Indies fought out the first ever tied test match.

• Brett Lee is the only cricketer to hit a 6 out of the (redeveloped) ground, achieving the feat in a match on November 15, 2005.

• The ground attendance record is 47,096 for a rugby league Test match between Australia and Great Britain in 1954.

References

References used in this article include:

• History of the Gabba
• Overview of Information about the Gabba
• Brisbane Lions information

External links

• Brisbane Cricket Ground - Queensland Government Legislation Act, 1993 (.pdf file)
• Brisbane Cricket Ground - Statistical Overview (Test Cricket) - HowSTAT! Grounds Statistics
• Brisbane Cricket Ground Redevelopment, Brisbane, QLD
• Pura Cup - 2005-2006 season) - Cricket online website - (venues include the Brisbane Cricket Ground)
• Brisbane Cricket Ground at Austadiums
• Woolloongabba Busway Station map - includes showing some of the surrounding area
• Satellite photo of The Gabba
• The Brisbane Lions - an Overview
• Brisbane Lions information

Coordinates: 27°29′09″S, 153°02′17″E

Categories

Find

Find