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 Interactive map of Central Coast Stadium | |
| Location | 14 Dane Dr & Central Coast Highway 2250 Gosford Central Coast New South Wales Australia |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°25′42″S151°20′17″E / 33.42833°S 151.33806°E /-33.42833; 151.33806 |
| Public transit |  Gosford |
| Owner | Central Coast Council |
| Operator | VenuesLive |
| Capacity | 20,059[1] |
| Record attendance | 21,379 –Central Coast Mariners vsMelbourne Victory, 25 May2024 A-League Men Grand Final |
| 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) New Zealand Warriors (NRL) (2020–2021) Sydney Roosters (NRL) (one pre-season game per year, one home game per year, 2015-present) Sydney Roosters Women (NRLW) (two home game per year, 2025-present) South Sydney Rabbitohs (NRL) (one home game per year, 2025-present) | |
| Website | |
| polytecstadium | |
| Ground information | |
| International information | |
| Only women's Test | 12 January 1985: Australia v England |
| As of 7 September 2020 Source:CricketArchive | |
Central Coast Stadium is a sports venue inGosford on theCentral Coast ofNew South Wales, Australia. From the establishment of the first venue at the site in 1915 it was known asWaterside Park, being renamedGrahame Park after significant expansion in 1939. Since then it has had several names incorporating that name, but as of 2025[update] it is calledPolytec Stadium undernaming rights. The stadium is home to theCentral Coast MarinersAssociation football club which competes in theA-League. The stadium also hostsrugby league andrugby 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 theNorth Sydney Bears rugby league football club.
In 1911, Erina Shire Council proposed to create a park on the shore ofBrisbane Water. The park required much land to be reclaimed from marshland. It also required privately owned land to be purchased by the council and a section of road to be demolished. Waterside Park was opened in 1915 and acricket pitch was added during that year. Further reclamation of the foreshore extended the park duringthe 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 ofGosford,William Calman Grahame.[2]
A full stadium was then touted and later built in the late 1990s, planned to be ready in 1999 for NRL club theNorth Sydney Bears, before construction problems including large spells of inclement weather delayed completion. Three grandstands with a combined capacity of 20,000 were built byAbigroup.[3] The stadium finally opened in early 2000 as NorthPower Stadium at Grahame Park, theNorthern EaglesNational Rugby League team (a merging of the aforementioned Bears and theManly Warringah Sea Eagles) taking residence there until their dissolving after the 2002 season.[citation needed]
In 2003, with no major sporting team in residence, the stadium played host to three group matches in the2003 Rugby World Cup. ThePacific Islanders rugby union team played one match at the stadium on their 2004 tour.[citation needed]
The stadium gained its second full-time tenant in 2005 with the formation of theCentral Coast Mariners, a team in the newly formed nationalA-League football competition. It became the first full-time national sporting competition to have a team play at the stadium. Further use of the stadium in 2006 follows from it being the home ground to theCentral Coast Wavesrugby union team, which joined theShute Shield in 2006.[citation needed]
The stadium continues to host NRL competition matches from time to time, as well as a some pre-season trials. TheCentral Coast Rays, the Central Coasts'Australian Rugby Championship team, played out of the stadium during the only season of the competition in 2007. The stadium continued as a home to the Mariners A-League side as of 2007[update], and hosted NRL matches throughout the 2008 Centenary Year. In 2014, theNSW Country Eagles hosted aNational Rugby Championship match at Central Coast.[citation needed]
In recent years theSydney Roosters have hosted one NRL game per season at Central Coast Stadium; other clubs such as theSouth Sydney Rabbitohs,Wests Tigers,Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles andCanterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs have also taken games to the Central Coast.[4] In 2004, Central Coast Stadium played host to twoNorth Queensland Cowboys matches, the first of which resulted in a historic 20–20 draw with wooden spooners South Sydney, the first such result sincegolden point was introduced in 2003.[5]
A photo taken at the stadium appeared in a Season 5 episode of the U.S. TV seriesThe Office.[6] As described byreddit user kiasam111,[7] new boss Charles (Idris Elba) walks out of his office to find Andy (Ed Helms) looking at what appears to be a screen-saver with a series of photos of football. A photo appears of two players, taken from anA-League game between Central Coast Mariners andPerth Glory, played at Bluetongue Stadium on 31 December 2008.[8] The players in the photo (taken by Corey Davis of Getty Images)[9] areMarc Anthony (Perth) andMatthew Osman (Central Coast).
In the2020, and the first four months of the2021 NRL seasons, the ground was used as a temporary home ground for theNew Zealand Warriors, due to border restrictions between Australia and New Zealand which prevented the club from travelling freely between the two countries during theCOVID-19 pandemic.[10]
VenuesLive took over the management of the ground from the Central Coast Council on 1 July 2022,[11] and Industree Group acquired naming right on 14 November 2022.[12]
There have been several name changes since the Stadium was built, primarily reactions relating to sponsorship:
The stadium is rectangular and unusual in that seating is located on only three sides of the ground. The southern end is open giving filtered views ofBrisbane 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 theA-League. It is within walking distance of the Gosford CBD andGosford railway station. The Central Coast Leagues Club and League Club Field are adjacent to the stadium, across Dane Drive.[citation needed]
Gosford railway station is nearby. The station is served by theCentral Coast & Newcastle Line and a small number of long-distance services.
There is a nest ofeastern ospreys, avulnerable species of bird, nesting in one of the light towers. The breeding pair produced chicks every year from 2016 until July 2023,[16] when a video of the osprey family was posted on Facebook.[17] The parents were named Rosie and Hutch by patrons of the stadium.[18]
Record crowds for different sports:
| Sport | Date | Match | Crowd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Association football | 25 May 2024 | Central Coast Mariners def.Melbourne Victory | 21,379 |
| Rugby league | 16 August 2013 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs def. Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 22–102013 NRL season, Round 23 | 20,060 |
| 1 July 2017 |  Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks def. Sydney Roosters 44–122017 NRL season, Round 17 | 20,060 | |
| Rugby union | 27 October 2003 |  Japan def. by United States 26–392003Rugby World Cup Pool B match | 19,653 |
The stadium has hosted one rugby league international.[19]
| Date | Result | Attendance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 November 2008 |  Scotland def. Fiji 18–16 | 9,720 | 2008Rugby League World CupGroup B |
The stadium hosted three games of the2003 Rugby World Cup which was held in Australia.
| Date | Competition | Home team | Away team | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 October 2003 | 2003Rugby World Cup Pool A |  Ireland | 45 |  Romania | 17 | 19,123 |
| 14 October 2003 | 2003Rugby World Cup Pool A |  Argentina | 67 |  Namibia | 14 | 17,887 |
| 27 October 2003 | 2003Rugby World Cup Pool B | Japan | 26 | United States | 39 | 19,653 |
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| History | |
| Home stadiums |
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| Training grounds | |
| Players | |
| Rivalries | |
