WIN Stadium
| WIN Stadium, Sea-Side Stadium | |
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| Former names | Wollongong Showground Steelers Stadium |
|---|---|
| Location | Wollongong, New South Wales |
| Coordinates | 34°25′40″S 150°54′9″E / 34.42778°S 150.90250°ECoordinates: 34°25′40″S 150°54′9″E / 34.42778°S 150.90250°E |
| Owner | Wollongong Sportsground Trust |
| Operator | Wollongong Sportsground Trust |
| Capacity | 23,000 |
| Record attendance | 19,608 - St. George Illawarra vs Cronulla-Sutherland, 2005 |
| Surface | Grass |
| Opened | 1911 |
| Tenants | |
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Illawarra Steelers (1982-) St. George Illawarra Dragons (NRL) (1999-) Wollongong Wolves (NSL) (2000-2004) Wollongong Wolves FC (NPL NSW) (2014-) |
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Wollongong Showground, known as WIN Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Wollongong, Australia. The stadium was officially opened in 1911. From 1982 until 1998 it played host to every home match for the Illawarra Steelers NRL team, and is still the team's home ground in the lower grade competitions. It is now used as one home ground of the St George Illawarra Dragons rugby league side and Wollongong Wolves of the National Premier Leagues NSW.
The stadium was originally used primarily for agricultural shows and hosted a greyhound track as well, the name of the venue prior to 1911 was the Wollongong Showground. It is considered to be officially opened in 1911, when the sport of rugby league began playing at the stadium.
When the Illawarra Steelers entered the NSWRFL premiership in 1982, they played their home games at the stadium. Six years after their inception into the competition, the Steelers along with the then Showground Trust converted the ground into a rectangle. In 1992 the southern stand was built. WIN Television purchased the naming rights to the stadium in 1997.
In April 2002, an $8 million upgrade to the stadium saw the opening of a new Northern Grandstand. The 6,000 seat grandstand also brought increased corporate entertainment facilities. WIN Corporation provided half of the funding for the upgrade.
In 2006, redevelopment was meant to begin on the stadium's western stand. The western grandstand was to be demolished and replaced by a new stand which was to hold 2500 general seats, 20 corporate boxes as well as media facilities and food and beverage outlets. The $37 million redevelopment was to see a four-star hotel integrated into the stadium which would have allowed fans to watch sporting events from the comfort of their hotel room. The WIN Stadium Trust believed that the redevelopment would provide significant job opportunities locally and bring in new revenue of approximately $2.1 million per year. However, in late 2006 the NSW State Government decided against funding the much needed upgrade. The financial viability of a $100 million proposal for the redevelopment of the western grandstand was questioned by State Cabinet.
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