 | |
 Interactive map of Willows Sports Complex | |
| Former names | Stockland Stadium Malanda Stadium Dairy Farmers Stadium 1300SMILES Stadium |
|---|---|
| Location | Golf Links Drive,Kirwan, Queensland |
| Coordinates | 19°18′58″S146°42′43″E / 19.31611°S 146.71194°E /-19.31611; 146.71194 |
| Owner | Queensland Government |
| Operator | Major Sports Facilities Authority |
| Capacity | 26,500 |
| Record attendance | 30,302 – Cowboys vsBrisbane, 1999 |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1994 |
| Opened | 1994 |
| Demolished | September 2022 |
| Construction cost | A$11.03 million (2005–06 redevelopment) |
| Tenants | |
| North Queensland Cowboys (1995–2019) North Queensland Fury (2009–2011) | |
TheWillows Sports Complex was a grassfootball stadium situated inTownsville, Queensland, Australia. It was used predominantly as arugby league ground as the home ground of theNorth Queensland CowboysNational Rugby League club. The ground was also used forrugby union andsoccer. From 2009 to 2011,A-League football clubNorth Queensland Fury called it home.
Since inception as a rugby league ground, the ground had several sponsored naming rights:Stockland Stadium (1995–97),Malanda Stadium (1998)Dairy Farmers Stadium (1999–2013) and1300SMILES Stadium (2013-2019)[2]) . The last NRL match to be played at the stadium was on Thursday 29 August 2019 between the North Queensland Cowboys andCanterbury Bankstown Bulldogs.[3]
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Prior to 1995, the stadium site was occupied by the Willows Sporting Complex. It hosted trotting paceway nights, and was the main pacing venue for the Townsville District. With the admission of the North Queensland Cowboys to theAustralian Rugby League competition in 1995, the Willows site was transformed into a basic rugby league venue with a western grandstand as well as eastern side terraces. The northern and southern ends had sloped grass hills.
The Willows Sports Complex was renamed "Stockland Stadium" in 1995 through sponsorship linked with theNorth Queensland Cowboys. A contract was signed by the Stockland Trust Group for three years giving them the naming rights of the venue. The Joint Board of the old Willows Sports Complex (Townsville City Council andThuringowa City Council) sub-leased the facility to the Cowboys Rugby League Football Limited, who manage the venue on a day-to-day basis. The first stage of development was funded by a combination of borrowings by the Joint Board, theQueensland Government grants and a considerable amount of community and business donations.
The stadium was first used for any type of football for the North Queensland Cowboys first home game which attracted a crowd of 23,156, a good crowd byAustralian Rugby League (nowNational Rugby League) standards. Crowds continued to push the capacity of the stadium and in 1996 Stockland Stadium was renovated to include both northern and southern seating, where previously there had been only standing room.
Stockland Stadium had the honour of hosting the first-ever game of the onlySuper League season on 1 March 1997 when the Cowboys hosted new team theAdelaide Rams in front of 17,738 fans. After trailing 16–4 at half time the Cowboys eventually prevailed 24–16.[4]
Stockland ended their sponsorship after three years, which paved the way for long-term sponsor, Dairy Farmers Limited.
TheNorth Queensland Cowboys home stadium sponsorStockland finished up their sponsorship contract seeing out their three-year deal. A new sponsorship deal was signed with local milking organisation Dairy Farmers who owned the localNorth Queensland milking dairy in theTablelands. Season 1998 saw the stadium renamed with a new sponsorship deal "Malanda Stadium". Following the purchase of Malanda Milk byDairy Farmers, the ground was renamed "Dairy Farmers Stadium".
Many stages of redevelopment were taken on and gradually completed over the Cowboys growing success. The venue had changed from a disused Harness Racing facility to the current complex. The management and operation of the stadium was handed over toStadiums Queensland in December 2003 in the hope for more cash inflow and government spending.
In 2005 the eastern terraces were extended, a new replay screen invested, public address system installed, 30 more corporate boxes and upgraded catering facilities as part of the funding injection. The lighting facilities were upgraded for night time broadcasts. 2006 saw the eastern, northern and southern grandstands receiving even further upgrades with the fitting of extra seating and the eastern terrace was extended completely taking over the old eastern hill.
Two ofPapua New Guinea's2008 Rugby League World Cup Group A games were played at Dairy Farmers Stadium, one againstEngland and the other againstAustralia.
During the2011 NRL season a capacity crowd attendedDarren Lockyer's record-setting 350th NRL match at the ground.[5]
It was announced on 19 February 2013 that 1300SMILES had signed a five-year deal for naming rights, bringing Dairy Farmers' fifteen years to an end.[2] 1300SMILES is an Australian dentistry business headquartered in Townsville.
A redeveloped stadium was featured as part of Australia's2022 FIFA World Cup bid. The planning for the bid identified several issues with the existing stadium, particularly sub standard facilities, congestion and limited transport access. Stadiums Queensland identified that some form of redevelopment or replacement was necessary regardless of the failed World Cup bid. In 2011, the Cowboys in conjunction with Stadiums Queensland developed a $185 million plan to replace the ageing Dairy Farmers Stadium. The proposed ground would be located at the Saunders Street QR National site close to the Townsville CBD, as part of an urban renewal plan. The existing QR National rail yards are to be relocated in accordance with the Townsville Port Authority Master Plan 2010–2040.[6]
In 2016 a replacement was funded by the Queensland State Government and the Federal Government, the resultingNorth Queensland Stadium began construction in 2017, with the opening in February 2020, with the first event being anElton John concert, and the North Queensland Cowboys rugby league team hosting its first game in Round 1 of the 2020 NRL Season against Queensland rivals the Brisbane Broncos.
As at early 2020 the future of the stadium is still unclear with prior reports suggesting it could be used for a new school or redeveloped for housing.[7]
Throughout theCOVID-19 pandemic in Queensland, the carpark at the stadium was used for adrive-through coronavirus assessment clinic.[8][9]
On 25 January 2022, Queensland PremierAnnastacia Palaszczuk announced a $30 million investment to turn the stadium into a state-of-the-art Queensland Police hub.[10][11]
The stadium was demolished in 2023, after work commenced in September 2022.[12][13]
| Crowd | Date | Event | Sport |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30,302 | 29 April 1999 | North Queensland Cowboys v.Brisbane Broncos | Rugby league |
| 30,250 | 8 August 1998 | North Queensland Cowboys v. Brisbane Broncos | Rugby league |
| 30,122 | 5 April 1997 | North Queensland Cowboys v. Brisbane Broncos | Rugby league |
1300SMILES Stadium was predominantly used as arugby league ground, having been the home ground of the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League competition, and the North Queensland Young Guns in theQueensland Cup competition. The stadium also hosted anAustralian Test match againstPapua New Guinea in 2000, an Australian XIII match in 2005, theSuper League World 9's tournament in 1997 and charity fixtures with State of Origin Legend matches and Australia Legends v New Zealand Legends. It also hosted England vs Papua New Guinea in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.
With 2012 being anOlympic year and the games being held inLondon, the annualRugby League Four Nations, usually held at the end of the NRL season, was not scheduled as a result. This has resulted in an end-of-year test between Australia andNew Zealand being scheduled to be held at the Dairy Farmers Stadium on 13 October for its first international match since the 2008 World Cup.
List of rugby league test matches played at the stadium.[14]
| Test# | Date | Result | Attendance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 October 2000 |  Australia def. Papua New Guinea 82–0 | 21,000 | |
| 2 | 25 October 2008 |  England def. Papua New Guinea 32–22 | 10,780 | 2008Rugby League World CupGroup A |
| 3 | 8 November 2008 | Australia def. Papua New Guinea 46–6 | 16,239 | 2008Rugby League World CupGroup A |
| 4 | 13 October 2012 | Australia def. New Zealand 18–10 | 26,497 | |
| 5 | 28 October 2017 |  Fiji def. United States 58–12 | 5,103 | 2017Rugby League World CupGroup D |
| 6 | 5 November 2017 |  Italy def. United States 46–0 | 7,732 | 2017Rugby League World CupGroup D |
| 7 | Fiji def. Wales 72–6 | 2017Rugby League World CupInter-group match |
The stadium was first used for first classrugby union when the touring British and Irish Lions team played a Queensland President's XV team in 2001. In 2003 a number of matches, which involvedJapan in theRugby Union World Cup were played at the ground, averaging a crowd of 19,249.[15] On 12 May 2006 theQueensland Reds played aSuper 14 match at Dairy Farmers Stadium in front of a crowd of 10,580.[16] In June 2007 the stadium hosted Australia A and Japan in the IRB Pacific Nations Cup.
The Willows Sports Complex hosted three Pool B games from the2003Rugby World Cup which was held in Australia.
| Date | Competition | Home team | Away team | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 October 2003 | 2003Rugby World Cup Pool B |  Scotland | 33 |  Japan | 11 | 19,170 |
| 18 October 2003 | 2003Rugby World Cup Pool B |  France | 51 | Japan | 29 | 21,309 |
| 23 October 2003 | 2003Rugby World Cup Pool B | Fiji | 41 | Japan | 13 | 17,269 |
TheNorth Queensland CowboysNRL Touch Premiershiptouch football sides (men's and women's) have played their home games out of 1300SMILES since the premierships inaugural season in 2018. The first games were played on Saturday, 19 May 2018, with both the men's and women's sides taking on theGold Coast Titans.
