Location | Gosford, Australia |
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Coordinates | 33°25′42″S 151°20′17″E / 33.42833°S 151.33806°ECoordinates: 33°25′42″S 151°20′17″E / 33.42833°S 151.33806°E |
Owner | Central Coast Council |
Operator | Ognis Pty Ltd. |
Capacity | 20,059 |
Record attendance | 20,060 - South Sydney vs Manly-Warringah, 2013 |
Field size | 133 x 82 m |
Surface | Grass |
Construction | |
Built | 1999 |
Opened | February 2000 |
Tenants | |
Central Coast Mariners (A-League) (2005–present) Northern Eagles (NRL) (2000 - 2002) Central Coast Rays (ARC) (2007) New South Wales Country Eagles (NRC) (2014-present) |
Central Coast Stadium, previously named Bluetongue Stadium due to sponsorship by Bluetongue Brewery, is a sports venue in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. The stadium is home to the Central Coast Mariners association football club which compete in the A-League. The stadium also hosts rugby league and rugby union fixtures on an ad hoc basis as well as other major social events.
The stadium was originally designed to be the home stadium for the North Sydney Bears rugby league football club.
The stadium is rectangular and is unusual in that seating is located on only three sides of the ground. The southern end is open giving filtered views of Brisbane Water through a row of palm trees. With an all seater capacity of 20,059 it was as of 2012[update] the second smallest stadium in the A-League. It is within walking distance of the Gosford CBD and Gosford railway station. The Central Coast Leagues Club and League Club Field are adjacent to the stadium, across Dane Drive.
In 1911, Erina Shire Council proposed to create a park on the shore of Brisbane Water. The park required much land to be reclaimed from marshland. It also required privately owned land to be purchased by council and a section of road to be demolished. Waterside Park was opened in 1915 and a cricket pitch was added during that year. Further reclamation of the foreshore extended the park during the Depression that gave work to the unemployed. By 1939 surplus railway land had been added and a Bowling Club and green as well as tennis courts had been constructed. In 1939 the Park was renamed Grahame Park, after the then mayor of Gosford, William Calman Grahame.