Marrara Stadium Marrara Oval | |
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 View of the grandstand at Marrara Oval in March 2016 | |
 Interactive map of TIO Stadium | |
| Former names | Football Park |
|---|---|
| Location | Marrara,Northern Territory |
| Coordinates | 12°23′57″S130°53′14″E / 12.39917°S 130.88722°E /-12.39917; 130.88722 |
| Owner | Government of the Northern Territory |
| Operator | AFL Northern Territory |
| Capacity | 12,215[1] |
| Field size | 175 m × 135 m (574 ft × 443 ft)[2] |
| Surface | Grass |
| Opened | 1991 |
| Tenants | |
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 Interactive map of Marrara Oval | |
| Ground information | |
| End names | |
| McMillans Road End Airport End | |
| International information | |
| First Test | 18–20 July 2003: Australia v Bangladesh |
| Last Test | 1–3 July 2004: Australia v Sri Lanka |
| First ODI | 6 August 2003: Australia v Bangladesh |
| Last ODI | 6 September 2008: Australia v Bangladesh |
| First T20I | 10 August 2025: Australia v South Africa |
| Last T20I | 12 August 2025: Australia v South Africa |
| As of 28 May 2020 Source:Cricinfo | |
Marrara Oval, currently known asTIO Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is amulti-purpose stadium in the suburb ofMarrara,Darwin,Northern Territory, Australia. With a seating capacity of 12,215, the ground is the largest stadium in the Northern Territory, and primarily hostsAustralian rules football,cricket, andrugby league.
Marrara Oval was opened in 1991. The ground has a record attendance of 17,500, set in 2003 for an Australian rules football game featuring theIndigenous All-Stars. Marrara Oval has hosted at least oneAustralian Football League (AFL) game in every season since 2004 and at least oneNational Rugby League (NRL) game in every season since 2012. The ground has also hosted bothTest,One Day International (ODI) and T20I cricket fixtures, most recently in 2025.
Marrara Oval was officially opened to the public on 30 June 1991 as the new home of theNorthern Territory Football League (NTFL), and was conservatively estimated as costing $8 million.[3] The first game played under lights at Marrara was a match betweenNightcliff andSouthern Districts on 9 December 1994. Transport and Works MinisterDaryl Manzie officially handed over the lights to the NTFL that day. Installing the lights cost $1.2 million.[4] The light towers were constructed by Darwin firm Norbuilt.[5]
In February 1992, Marrara Oval hosted its first match sanctioned by theAustralian Football League (AFL), a preseasonFoster's Cup fixture betweenCollingwood andWest Coast attended by 11,000 people. Further preseason fixtures were hosted at the ground over the next decade, including severalIndigenous All-Stars games and a historic match between Essendon Bombers and West Coast Eagles in the AFL 2000 pre-season where Essendon went on to win the Ansett Cup. A 2003 match between the Indigenous All-Stars and Carlton attracted a crowd of 17,500 people, setting a new ground record.[6] The first regular-season AFL match played at Marrara Oval came in round 20 of the2004 season, when theWestern Bulldogs hostedPort Adelaide.[7]
Between 2004 and 2008 a single Western Bulldogs "home" game was played at the ground each season. In 2010,Melbourne also began to play an annual "home" fixture in Darwin. The Western Bulldogs onsold their 2011 fixture toRichmond, but returned for the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Port Adelaide also had a three-year deal with the Northern Territory government and Marrara Oval, in which they would be the "away" team for games at TIO Stadium each year between 2009 and 2012. Since 2014, only one AFL game has been played at Marrara Oval each year. From 2020,Gold Coast will play two home games a year at Marrara Oval, replacing Melbourne.
Marrara Oval has been a secondary home ground of theAdelaide Crows women's team since 2017. In April 2016, the Adelaide Crows launched a successful bid to enter a team in the inauguralAFL Women's season. The bid was constructed in partnership with AFLNT, with the club to share resources and facilities between its Adelaide base and AFLNT's Darwin location. It included a commitment to host some home games in Darwin.[8]
In 2020, Marrara Oval hosted the annualDreamtime at the 'G match betweenEssendon andRichmond as it was not possible for the match to be played at theMelbourne Cricket Ground due to the city of Melbourne, and ultimately the state of Victoria, being locked down during the ongoingCOVID-19 pandemic.[9]
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Marrara Oval has hosted top-level international cricket on several occasions. It is sometimes known asDarwin Cricket Ground during these matches. In July 2003, the ground hosted the firstTest ofa series betweenAustralia andBangladesh. AOne Day International (ODI) game between the same teams was played the following month. In July 2004, a second Test was played, the first ofa series between Australia andSri Lanka. After that, top-level international cricket did not return to Marrara Oval until mid-2008, when the ground hosteda three-ODI series between Australia and Bangladesh.[11] In 2025, the stadium hosted its first ever T20Is, between Australia and South Africa
Two Test,[12] one ODI[13] and one T20I[14] centuries have been scored at the venue.
| No. | Score | Player | Team | Balls | Innings | Opposing team | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 110 | Darren Lehmann | Australia | 221 | 2 | Bangladesh | 18 July 2003 | Won |
| 2 | 100* | Steve Waugh | 133 |
| No. | Score | Player | Team | Balls | Innings | Opposing team | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 101 | Ricky Ponting | Australia | 118 | 1 | Bangladesh | 6 August 2003 | Won |
| No. | Score | Player | Team | Balls | Innings | Opposing team | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 121 | Dewald Brevis | South Africa | 56 | 1 | Australia | 12 August 2025 | Won |
Four Test five-wicket hauls have been taken at the venue.[15]
| No. | Figures | Player | Team | Opposing team | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5/65 | Stuart MacGill | Australia | Bangladesh | 18 July 2003 | Australia won |
| 2 | 5/31 | Chaminda Vaas | Sri Lanka | Australia | 1 July 2004 | Sri Lanka lost |
| 3 | 5/37 | Glenn McGrath | Australia | Sri Lanka | Australia won | |
| 4 | 7/39 | Michael Kasprowicz | Australia | Sri Lanka | Australia won |
In theNational Rugby League (NRL), theSydney Roosters played host against theNorth Queensland Cowboys in Round 7 of the2012 NRL season in front of 10,008 fans. This was the first time Darwin hosted a professional Rugby League game since 1995.[16] The second game at Marrara came in Round 17 of the2013 NRL season when thePenrith Panthers (who had previously played games in Darwin during the 1990s) defeated theGold Coast Titans 40–18 in front of 8,050 for what was a Titans home game.
In 2014, theParramatta Eels, a Sydney-basedNational Rugby League (NRL) club, announced they would be playing four games at Marrara over the following four years. The first game came on 9 August (Round 22) during the2014 NRL season when the Eels defeated theCanberra Raiders 18–10 in front of 9,527 fans.
In 2017 Marrara Oval hosted a quarter-final of the2017 Rugby League World Cup betweenAustralia andSamoa, Australia winning 46–0. It drew a crowd of 13,473, which is the highest rugby league crowd the stadium has ever gotten and the fourth highest overall.[17]
On 18 November 2024, it was announced that Parramatta's 12-year long partnership with theNorthern Territory Government, which say the club play one home game a year in Darwin, would conclude in the2025 NRL season, with Parramatta's last game a 12–50 defeat to theCanberra Raiders in round 6 in front of a crowd of 9556.[18]
In May 2025, it was announced that theDolphins would play one home game a year at the ground for the next 3 years.[19]
TIO Stadium has hostedAC/DC for their "Ballbreaker" tour in November 1996, when 13,000 fans and 170 tonnes of equipment packed the ground.Sir Elton John performed for the first time in the Northern Territory, at TIO Stadium on 17 May 2008 as part of his Australian Tour.[20][21]
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Last updated: 17 May 2024[22]
| No. | Date | Teams | Sport | Competition | Crowd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 February 2003 | Indigenous All-Stars vs.Carlton | Australian rules football | n/a | 17,500 |
| 2 | 12 February 1994 | Indigenous All-Stars vs.Collingwood | Australian rules football | n/a | 15,000 |
| 3 | 12 August 2006 | Western Bulldogs vs.Port Adelaide | Australian rules football | AFL | 14,100 |
| 4 | 17 November 2017 | Australia vs.Samoa | Rugby league | 2017 RLWC | 13,473 |
| 5 | 14 August 2004 | Western Bulldogs vs.Port Adelaide | Australian rules football | AFL | 13,271 |
| 6 | 11 February 2007 | Indigenous All-Stars vs.Essendon | Australian rules football | n/a | 13,119 |
| 7 | 18 June 2005 | Western Bulldogs vs.Carlton | Australian rules football | AFL | 13,037 |
| 8 | 16 May 2024 | Gold Coast vs.Geelong | Australian rules football | AFL | 12,112 |
| 9 | 15 July 2017 | Melbourne vs.Adelaide | Australian rules football | AFL | 12,104 |
| 10 | 23 April 2021 | Parramatta Eels vs.Brisbane Broncos | Rugby League | NRL | 12,056 |
Last updated on 17 May 2024
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