History Parramatta Stadium

parramatta stadium eastern stand.

cumberland oval main sporting venue parramatta district mid 19th century until 1982. venue horse-racing, cricket , athletics rugby union 1879 , rugby league 1909. motorsports racing started in 1930 motorcycles, speedcars in 1936. among famous names used oval in respective sports english cricketer w. g. grace, , australia s triple formula 1 world champion jack brabham raced in midget cars @ cumberland speedway in 1940s.

the first stand @ cumberland oval built in 1850 , others followed @ various times final stand built in 1936. players local cricket club erected two-rail fence around oval during 1860s solid planked safety barrier needed motor cycle racing. dirt track 18 feet in width until expanded 30 feet speedcars. boundary fence , track remained in place after speedway racing ended in 1959. crashes resulted in 3 deaths , oval s curator @ time suffered broken leg being hit during race.

some of touring english cricket teams played @ cumberland oval @ time when parramatta way out in country . cricket club evolved central cumberland initial sydney grade competition in 1893/94. when nearby king s school moved north parramatta during 1970s resulted in turf pitches being removed , cricket club moving adjacent oval had been school s main sports ground. club known parramatta district cricket club still has old kings oval main ground.

the parramatta rugby union club plays @ granville rugby park.

cumberland oval use rugby league parramatta iona , endeavours clubs , western districts representative side. when parramatta district rugby league club (later known parramatta eels) admitted nswrl premiership in 1947 cumberland oval became club s home ground. first match played against newtown (now newtown jets) on 12 april 1947, before crowd of 6,000. largest crowd watch rugby league match @ cumberland oval 22,470 when eels took on south sydney rabbitohs on 26 april 1971. cumberland oval remained home ground of parramatta eels until 1981, playing last match there against manly-warringah sea eagles in august in front of seasons highest home attendance of 18,449 before going on win maiden nswrl premiership defeating newtown 20-11 in grand final @ sydney cricket ground. after losing 1976 grand final 13-10 manly, , 1977 grand final replay 22-0 st george (the original grand final drawn 9-9), 1981 first premiership success eels.

as parramatta eels secured first-ever premiership, defeating newtown jets in 1981 grand final, wildly jubilant scenes erupted in parramatta, leagues club overflowed eels fans celebrating thousands rallying @ nearby cumberland oval and, in frenzy of vandalism, burned oval s grandstand ground. while junior rugby league matches played on unfenced oval before site redeveloped. in november 1984 construction company civil & civic won contract design , build new stadium. in november 1985 stadium complete, rectangular playing area several meters below cumberland oval surface.

on 5 march 1986 parramatta stadium opened queen elizabeth ii. on 16 march first nswrl premiership match played @ ground 26,870 in attendance. parramatta s steve sharp scored ground s first try in eels 36 – 6 victory on st. george dragons. try dragons came when centre michael o connor fielded infield kick eels front rower paul mares , raced 91 metres score flying eric grothe failing stop him came across in cover.

on 20 may 1990, 1989–90 national soccer league grand final between western sydney based clubs sydney olympic , marconi stallions played @ venue. olympic win match 2–0 in highest soccer attendance @ parramatta stadium stands @ 26,353.

on 19 june 1992, parramatta eels versus great britain lions game on lions 1992 tour of australasia attracted crowd of 18,220, largest non-test match crowd of lions tour, parramatta winning 22–16. prior match, parramatta , great britain winger s lee oudenryn , martin offiah, regarded @ time fastest player in rugby league, faced off in tooheys blue label challenge race on 100m (try line try line). oudenryn caused many believed huge upset defeating offiah approximately half metre.

in december 2002, work began on converting formerly grassed hill areas (the brett kenny hill , peter sterling hill) seated terrace areas (holding 4,500 spectators). redevelopment reduced ground s capacity 21,500, down previous capacity of 27,000.

on 23 march 2013, third a-league sydney derby saw highest a-league attendance @ parramatta stadium, 19,585 turning out occasion, ended in 1–1 draw.

parramatta stadium announced on 9 october 2013, first time in history of stadium take on naming rights sponsor. pirtek, hydraulics company origins in western sydney, sponsors of stadium , stadium known officially pirtek stadium .