Canberra Stadium
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Canberra Stadium, originally known as Bruce Stadium, is a stadium primarily used for football in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Bruce is the Canberra suburb where the stadium is located, and in turn Bruce was named after Stanley Bruce, Australian Prime Minister 1923-1929.
Constructed in 1977 for the Pacific Games, it also was the venue for the 4th IAAF World Cup in Athletics. At the latter meet, the fastest 400m for women was recorded by East German Marita Koch - a time that still stands today.
The stadium has played host to several local sporting teams such as the Canberra Arrows/Cosmos (soccer) and the shortlived Canberra Bushrangers (baseball). In 1990 the athletics track was removed, and the ground then became the home of the Canberra Raiders (rugby league) and, in 1996, the ACT Brumbies (rugby union Super 12).
Further renovations occurred in 1997 in preparation for staging soccer matches as part of the Sydney 2000 Olympics. The final cost of these renovations was more than seven times what was originally anticipated by the territory government of the time, and the subsequent controversy ended the career of then Chief Minister Kate Carnell. Matches from the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup were also hosted at the stadium.
Capacity is a nominal all-seated 25,000, the largest crowd being 28,753 for the 2004 Super 12 Final. The main grandstand is named after Raiders and Australian League legend Mal Meninga, and a statue of an another Raiders and Australian stalwart Laurie Daley adorns the main grandstand entrance.
External links
- Official site (http://www.canberrastadium.com)