Eureka Stadium
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| Former names | Northern Oval #1 and AUSTAR Arena |
|---|---|
| Location | Midland Highway, Wendouree. Ballarat, Victoria, Australia |
| Owner | City of Ballarat |
| Operator | City of Ballarat |
| Capacity | 11000 (after Stage 1 development) including 5026 (Seated) |
| Field size | 159.5m x 128.8m |
| Surface | Grass |
| Scoreboard | Video-electronic (from June 2017) |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1990 |
| Built | 1990 |
| Opened | 1991 |
| Renovated | 2016-17 |
| Construction cost | $15.2 million (Stage 1) |
| Architect | Peddle Thorp (Melbourne) |
| Project manager | Atelier Projects |
| Main contractors | AW Nicholson Constructions |
| Tenants | |
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North Ballarat Football Club (VFL), North Ballarat Rebels (TAC Cup) North Ballarat Cricket Club (Ballarat Cricket Association) (1993-) North Ballarat City Football Club (BFL) North Ballarat Eagles (VWFL) North Ballarat Netball Club |
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Eureka Stadium (formerly known as Northern Oval #1) is an oval shaped sports stadium located in the Ballarat Showgrounds at Wendouree, an outer suburb of Ballarat in Australia.
The first oval was established in 1990 on a site formerly occupied by the Ballarat Showgrounds Harness Racing track (1952-1966) when the North Ballarat Football Club and North Ballarat Cricket Club relocated from their original club facilities (located on the eastern side of the former harness racing track). The 1990-built oval was over 170 metres long and 140 metres wide and rotated on an East to West axis. It included a new pavilion (The North Ballarat Sports Club) which was built on private land to the northern flank of the oval.
Since 1990, the main oval has been used for many events whilst primarily being used as an Australian rules football and cricket venue. It annually hosts the Ballarat Gift (Athletics Carnival) and is used by the Ballarat Agricultural and Pastoral Society during the annual Ballarat Agricultural Show. The facility today is the home of the North Ballarat Football Club of the Victorian Football League, the North Ballarat Rebels of the TAC Cup, and the North Ballarat City of the Ballarat Football and Netball League.
Until 2016 spectator conditions and capacity were limited by the lack of elevated vantage points bordering the main playing arena. The entire oval was re-constructed in 2015/16 in preparation for the first stage of major development as an AFL football venue from 2017. In April 2017 the Ballarat City Council acquired the North Ballarat Sports Club pavilion and freehold title in order to centralise ownership, management and control of the entire precinct under one management body.
Australian Football League club North Melbourne established a partnership with the North Ballarat Football Club in 2006 and played AFL pre-season matches at the ground between 2010 and 2014 with strong and growing support. In June 2015 the North Melbourne Football Club withdrew from the Ballarat region having committed to play a percentage of their AFL 'home and away seasonal games' in Hobart (Tasmania) until 2021. Immediately the Western Bulldogs AFL club announced their support to playing at least two AFL 'home games' in Ballarat (though not affiliated with North Ballarat Football Club as North Melbourne had been) from 2017 with the option to extend the contract from 2022.
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