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Sydney Showground Stadium

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Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often a sports venue ), typically for a defined period of time. For properties such as multi-purpose arenas, performing arts venues, or sports fields, the term ranges from three to 20 years. Longer terms are more common for higher profile venues such as professional sports facilities.

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65-623: Sydney Showground Stadium (also known as ENGIE Stadium due to naming rights ) is a sports and events stadium located at the Sydney Showground in Sydney Olympic Park , a suburb of Sydney , New South Wales , Australia . It hosted the baseball events for the 2000 Summer Olympics . The Showground, including the stadium, is operated by the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW (RAS), under lease from

130-463: A title sponsor replaces the original name of the property with a corporate-sponsored one (as is the case with most sponsored sports venues), with no reference to the previous name. Stadium naming may have shifted in recent years to promoting corporate trade names, but in earlier decades is largely traced to the family names of company founders. The record for the highest amount paid for naming rights belongs to Crypto.com Arena . On November 17, 2021,

195-557: A 20-year, US$ 700 million sponsorship deal was reached between Anschutz Entertainment Group and Singapore-based Crypto.com to rename Los Angeles's Staples Center (the Staples office supply store chain was the previous naming rights holder to the arena, having held them since the venue's opening in 1999). The home of the NHL 's Los Angeles Kings and NBA 's Los Angeles Lakers became known as Crypto.com Arena on December 25, 2021. Prior to

260-409: A corporate-purchased name must always be referred to in all event-related media (including live broadcasts) by a generic name (e.g., General Motors Place was referred to as "Canada Hockey Place" during the 2010 Winter Olympics ). On the other hand, Toyota Stadium was referred to as "City of Toyota Stadium" during the 2019 Rugby World Cup to avoid confusion as a form of ambush marketing; the stadium

325-489: A cost of $ 4 million. The venue is the primary home ground for The Greater Western Sydney Giants . The club played its first game at the stadium on Saturday, 26 May 2012, Round 9 of the 2012 AFL season . In front of a crowd of 11,887 the Giants lost the match against Essendon by 66 points. The Giants' first win at the stadium occurred on 4 August that year, when they defeated Port Adelaide by 34 points. On 24 September 2016,

390-552: A name of the sponsor as their team or club name (see List of sports clubs named after a sponsor). In association football , leagues and cup competitions sometimes adopt the name of their sponsors. For example, England 's Premier League was known as the Barclays Premier League until 2016, and its FA Cup is officially the Emirates FA Cup. The Premier League announced in 2015 that it would not accept

455-666: A new stadium on the same site. As the Showground was originally built for both the Royal Easter Show and as a baseball venue, the field included a 450 metres (490 yards) long track that surrounded the playing field of the Stadium prior to its removal during the 2011–12 redevelopment. In the tradition of the Sydney Showground Speedway at Moore Park which ran speedway from 1926 until 1996, the track

520-603: A property in recognition of the financial support. This is not a financial transaction in the style of the private sector. For example, in honor of the more than $ 60 million donated over the years by one donor to the National Air and Space Museum properties, the directors of the Smithsonian Institution chose to name its satellite facility in Loudoun County, Virginia , after the donor, calling it

585-620: A title sponsorship beginning in the 2016–17 season. Since 2020, the French Professional Football Ligue adopted the name of Ligue 1 Uber Eats . In college football , most bowl games have modified their traditional names in favor of title sponsors, and in some cases have abandoned their traditional names. While most include their traditional name in some form (e.g. the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential ), some have moved to sponsor-only names (e.g.

650-603: Is Willis Tower in Chicago which was and often still is referred to as the "Sears Tower", even though the building was sold in 1994 (but retained its former name until 2003). Sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup , UEFA Euro , Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games prohibit the use of corporate-sponsored name on stadiums, construing the practice as a form of ambush marketing . Any stadium that uses

715-500: Is not named after Toyota Motor Corporation , but the name of the city in which the stadium is located (though the city was named after the company). The regular corporate signage of a site, including billboards and deck advertising, is usually covered up in these cases; in the FIFA case the signage is replaced solely with FIFA sponsors. However, with the near-universal use of LED ribbon boards, scoreboards, and sideline boardings since

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780-458: Is a commercial company that since 1979 has sold unofficial naming rights to stars ( i.e. , the astronomical objects ). The naming services are limited to an entry in a book, and carry no scientific or official authenticity according to professional astronomers. In some places, and especially in the UK and United States, the naming or renaming of arenas or events is usually met with disapproval from

845-524: Is considering revising the target capacity to 35,000 seats. Following its redevelopment, the venue was known as Škoda Stadium from 2012 until 2013 in a deal with car manufacturer Škoda , then as Spotless Stadium from 2014 until 2018 in a deal with cleaning and catering company Spotless Group Holdings . From 2019 to 2024, it was known as Giants Stadium in a deal with its primary AFL tenant, the Greater Western Sydney Giants , making

910-627: Is mixed. Naming rights sold to new venues have largely been accepted, especially if the buyer is well-established and has strong local connections to the area, such as the cases of Rich Stadium (now Highmark BlueCross BlueShield Stadium ) in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park , Heinz Field (now Acrisure Stadium) in Pittsburgh , and Coors Field in Denver . Selling the naming rights to an already-existing venue has been notably less successful, as in

975-641: Is more widely believed to have begun in 1926 when William Wrigley , the chewing gum magnate and owner of the Chicago Cubs , named his team's stadium " Wrigley Field ". In 1953, Anheuser-Busch head and St. Louis Cardinals owner August Busch, Jr. proposed renaming Sportsman's Park , occupied by the Cardinals, " Budweiser Stadium". When this idea was rejected by Ford Frick , the Commissioner of Baseball at that time, Anheuser-Busch then proposed

1040-563: Is the brand used by said state agency in its marketing campaign for agricultural products produced in that state. Naming rights in United States may have been traced back to 1912 with the opening of Fenway Park in Boston . The stadium's owner had owned a realty company called "Fenway Realty" (itself, like the stadium, named for a nearby parkland ), so the promotional value of the naming may have likely been considered. Despite this, it

1105-540: The A-League 's Western Sydney Wanderers for 3 years starting with the 2016–17 A-League season. Events and festivals to have been held at the stadium include Soundwave , Big Day Out , Stereosonic and Big Exo Day . The stadium opened in 1998 as the Sydney Showground Main Arena. In conjunction with an expansion and upgrade in 2011–12, it was renamed Sydney Showground Stadium. The stadium

1170-591: The Gator Bowl was known for four playings as the TaxSlayer Bowl), a move that generally is treated with consternation from fans. Some newer bowl games have been named after title sponsors since inception—for example, the Blockbuster Bowl , original named after Blockbuster Video when it debuted in 1990, has gone through multiple sponsorship and naming changes; for its December 2023 playing, it

1235-603: The Kentucky Farm Bureau , an organization promoting the interests of Kentucky farmers that is best known to the non-farming public for its insurance business, acquired the naming rights to the University of Kentucky 's new baseball park in 2018. The Farm Bureau in turn donated those naming rights to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture , naming the venue Kentucky Proud Park . The sponsored name

1300-605: The MBTA 's State Street station by Citizens Bank lasted from 1997 to 2000. In Tampa , naming rights for both streetcar stations and rolling stock are available. In December 2016, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority approved a naming rights policy for its facilities and routes, but later rescinded the policy two months later over potential lawsuits for skipping sponsors. Examples outside of

1365-765: The New South Wales Government . The stadium hosts flagship events of the Sydney Royal Easter Show , such as the Grand Parade, equestrian competitions and rodeos. The stadium is also used for sport. It is the primary home ground of the Australian Football League 's Greater Western Sydney Giants and the home ground of the Big Bash League 's Sydney Thunder . It was also the primary home ground of

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1430-654: The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center . Walgreen Coast , a portion of the coast of Antarctica , was so named because the Walgreens pharmacy chain sponsored the Byrd Antarctic Expedition . Sydney Thunder T20 kit The Sydney Thunder is an Australian franchise professional cricket team, competing in Australia's domestic Twenty20 cricket competition, the Big Bash League . Along with

1495-662: The Sydney Sixers , the Thunder is the successor of the New South Wales Blues which played in the now-defunct KFC Twenty20 Big Bash . The team's home ground is Sydney Showground Stadium . Along with the Sydney Sixers , the Sydney Thunder is the successor of the New South Wales Blues which played in the now-defunct KFC Twenty20 Big Bash . The NSW Cricket board unanimously decided on lime green as

1560-857: The Sydney Storm in the Australian Baseball League for the 1998 and 1999 championship. During the Olympics, it was known as the Sydney Baseball Stadium and was the main baseball venue. The gold medal game played in front of 14,107 saw the USA , managed by Tommy Lasorda , a former two time World Series winning manager with the Los Angeles Dodgers , defeated defending champions Cuba 4–0 to win their first ever Olympic gold medal in baseball. Since

1625-718: The Winston Cup Series featured sponsor names (including the Daytona 500 , which was given a presenting sponsor as the Daytona 500 by STP ), with little or no reference to the original names. As of the 2010s, very few exceptions remain in NASCAR (such as the Daytona 500, which no longer uses the presenting sponsor), and typically races without sponsor names only lack them because a suitable sponsor could not be secured in enough time. IndyCar follows suit, with most races (except

1690-844: The district of London in which it is located. While the highest prices have traditionally been paid for stadium rights, many companies and individuals have found that selling their naming rights can be an important consideration in funding their business. Since the early 2000s, many new categories have opened up, such as the selling of the rights to name a new monkey species for $ 650,000. Naming rights to public transit stations have been sold in Las Vegas and Philadelphia ( NRG station , Jefferson Station , and Penn Medicine station ). Such sales have been contemplated in New York and Boston , and ruled out in San Francisco. A sponsorship for

1755-498: The 2024–25 BBL season. The opening Sydney Derby of the fifth season (2015–16) of BBL attracted record audience, with more than 1.5 million people tuning in for this match between the Sydney Thunder and the Sydney Sixers . On 28 December 2015, Sydney Thunder defeated Adelaide Strikers at the stadium in front of 21,500 spectators. The stadium hosted several games of the 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup . The stadium hosted

1820-500: The BBL squad. The Thunder were the most watched sports team in Australia during 2015-16 with an average TV audience of 1.2m. Watson was elected to captain the side in 2016. Watson captained the Thunder for three seasons, failing to qualify for the finals in each of them. In 2019, Callum Ferguson was named as the new Thunder captain, subsequently qualifying for the finals during his two seasons in charge. Chris Green and Jason Sangha shared

1885-538: The Bulldogs defeated St. George Illawarra Dragons 23-22 in front of 17,975, and a 2003 Qualifying Final where the New Zealand Warriors defeated the Bulldogs 48-22. The Western Sydney Wanderers played most of their homes games at the stadium during the 2016–17 A-League season while Parramatta Stadium was rebuilt. Home games against Sydney FC , Melbourne Victory and Perth Glory were played at

1950-861: The Crypto.com Arena deal, the record belonged to Toronto's Scotiabank Arena (formerly the Air Canada Centre, which opened in 1999), which garnered a deal of CA$ 800 million (US$ 517 million) over 20 years starting in 2018. The New Meadowlands Stadium, shared home of the New York Giants and New York Jets in East Rutherford, New Jersey , US, was expected to eclipse both deals, with experts estimating it would value US$ 25–30 million annually. It ultimately fell short of that benchmark, with MetLife Stadium earning $ 17 million annually from its naming rights deal with MetLife . Occasionally,

2015-487: The Evraz steel company – mistakenly believing that the company's North American division was based there. However, the main motivation for accelerating the name change was the perceived need to disassociate with the steel company, largely owned by Russian oligarchs, following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine . A nonprofit organization has the option to recognize a major gift from a donor by bestowing naming rights to

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2080-540: The November 2004 elections that essentially stipulated the name must revert to Candlestick Park once the contract with Monster expired in 2008. The initiative proved largely ceremonial, however, and it was overturned by the passage of Proposition C in 2009 in response to desperate economic times. The naming rights to the park were never resold and the stadium was closed and demolished in 2014. Sports stadiums with naming rights deals are most common in but not limited to

2145-543: The Olympics, no other baseball game has been played at the venue. Other Olympic events hosted were the riding and running portion of the modern pentathlon competitions. In 2001, the Canterbury Bulldogs of the NRL moved some of their home games to the stadium, playing there until 2005 when they moved to full-time ANZ Stadium . During this period, the ground hosted two finals matches, a 2001 Qualifying Final where

2210-660: The Stars in the Finals the Melbourne Stars . The final was played at Melbourne Cricket Ground on 24 January 2016 and resulted in the Thunder defeating the Melbourne Stars by 3 wickets. Michael Hussey announced his retirement from domestic cricket during BBL05, at the conclusion of the tournament he was announced the club's Director of Cricket, responsible for managing recruitment, contracts, facilities and scouting for

2275-546: The Sydney Thunder for the 2024–25 Big Bash League season as of 23 June 2024. When the league began in 2011, Cricket Australia decided they would place two teams in Sydney. With the core group of players for both sides coming from the New South Wales cricket team , this rivalry automatically becomes widely anticipated in the city. In the first four seasons of the league the Thunder lost all seven Sydney derby games to

2340-438: The Thunder announced the team would leave Stadium Australia and play all home games at Sydney Showground Stadium until the 2024–25 BBL season. The 2015–16 Big Bash League season marked the first year in which the Thunder finished in the top half of the table, finishing 4th overall. Having won the first three games of the season and boasting a squad including Michael Hussey , Shane Watson , Usman Khawaja and Jacques Kallis ,

2405-566: The Thunder soon became the favourites to win the tournament. However, the Thunder lost their following four games and were in danger of missing the finals. In their final game of the 2015–16 Big Bash League season , the Thunder defeated the Sixers for only the second time in their history to book a finals berth. The Thunder faced the Adelaide Strikers at Adelaide Oval in the first semi final, winning convincingly. The Thunder then faced

2470-627: The United States include Madrid Metro where the metro line Line 2 and the station Sol was renamed from 2013 to 2016 after the mobile phone operator Vodafone , and Monumento Station in the Manila Light Rail Transit System in the Philippines , which was renamed Yamaha Monumento Station on February 14, 2018, after renovations. Naming rights in the realm of sports is common for both stadiums and sports competitions and series. In addition, some sports teams adopt

2535-582: The United States. "Named" stadiums can be found in countries including Australia, Japan, China, Finland, Canada, Israel and Germany, where 8 of the 10 largest football stadiums have their naming rights sold to corporate sponsors. The practice is widening in the United Kingdom; for instance the current stadium of Bolton Wanderers is the Toughsheet Community Stadium (after 17 years as Reebok Stadium, 4 as Macron Stadium and 5 as

2600-542: The University of Bolton stadium) and Arsenal Football Club 's stadium (opened for the 2006/2007 season) is the Emirates Stadium , their previous ground being Arsenal Stadium . In cricket, the most famous example is The Oval , home of Surrey County Cricket Club . It has had several sponsors over the years, and is currently known as "The Kia Oval", having originally been known as the "Kennington Oval", after

2665-493: The attempt to rename Candlestick Park in San Francisco to 3Com Park. The general public (and some media outlets) continued to call the facility what it had been known as for over three decades – i.e. Candlestick Park. After the agreement with 3Com expired, the rights were resold to Monster Cable , and the stadium was renamed Monster Park . San Francisco voters responded by passing an initiative (Proposition H) in

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2730-412: The buyer gets a marketing property to promote products and services, promote customer retention and/or increase market share. There are several forms of corporate sponsored names. For example, a presenting sponsor attaches the name of the corporation or brand at the end (or, sometimes, beginning) of a generic, usually traditional, name (e.g. Mall of America Field at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome ); or,

2795-613: The captaincy role for the COVID-19 affected 2021-22 season as the Thunder were knocked out in their first finals game after finishing 3rd on the ladder. In a league game on 16 December 2022 against the Adelaide Strikers, the Thunder were dismissed for 15 in 5.5 overs, breaking the record for both the shortest completed innings and the lowest score in one in all men's professional T20 matches. The MoneyGram Thunder Nation Cup gives cricket players from seven cultural backgrounds

2860-686: The chance to experience the fun and excitement of Twenty20 cricket, whilst representing their community. The winning team from each community cricket round will represent their country in the MoneyGram Thunder Nation Cup Semi Finals, with the two winners of the semi-finals playing off in a Grand Final prior to a Sydney Thunder match at Spotless Stadium. The Thunder Bus travels around schools and cricket club in Sydney and Regional NSW, it has an interactive quiz and inflatable nets. The Thunder Bus directly engaged with 100,000 children aged between 5- 12 during this period and

2925-414: The club the only one in the league to play in a self-branded venue; the Giants name was stylised in all caps as GIANTS Stadium, consistent with the manner in which the club self-styles its name in all media. In March 2024, the venue became known as Engie Stadium under a three-year naming rights deal with energy company Engie . In May 2024, the original stadium lighting system was replaced with LED lights at

2990-500: The competition, finishing last in each of its first three seasons and second last in its fourth season. From 2011 to 2014, the Thunder's home ground was Stadium Australia in Sydney Olympic Park. The team played its final two games of the 2014-15 Big Bash League season at Sydney Showground Stadium after it was unable to use Stadium Australia due to the 2015 AFC Asian Cup association football tournament. In June 2015,

3055-406: The field, directly adjacent the main structure. A single video screen is located at the north-eastern end. When it was installed, the screen was the largest at a stadium in the southern hemisphere, The stands are: Opened 1998: Opened 2012: Players Teams Last updated: 24 April 2024 Naming rights The distinctive characteristic for this type of naming rights is that

3120-409: The general public. Some people see it as an example of a selling out , especially when they see no obvious benefit to themselves. They often refuse to use a new name, preferring instead to use a non-branded name, especially in colloquial situations. Rebranding can also lead to confusion. In such cases, there may be a lengthy period during which the property is known by both names. A common example

3185-498: The ground hosted its first ever AFL finals game with the Giants losing to the Western Bulldogs by six points in a close preliminary final . The Sydney Thunder played two games at the stadium during the 2014–15 Big Bash League season when ANZ Stadium was unavailable due to the 2015 AFC Asian Cup . In June 2015, the Sydney Thunder announced a 10-year agreement to play all home games at Sydney Showground Stadium until

3250-410: The mid-2000s in most major league sites where only known sponsors have advertising displayed, "neutralizing" an arena has become a much easier process than in the past. Regina, Saskatchewan 's REAL District was formerly named " Evraz Place"; when discussing its 2022 rebranding, its owner Regina Exhibition Association Limited stated that it had sometimes received shipments and communications meant for

3315-505: The naming rights after selling the team) was able to use the same name for the Cardinals' new stadium which opened on April 4, 2006. Foxboro Stadium , the home of the New England Patriots between 1971 and 2001, was an early example of a team selling naming rights to a company that did not own it, naming the stadium Schaefer Stadium after the beer company from its opening until 1983. The public reaction to this practice

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3380-425: The nearby ANZ Stadium . The Wanderers played their first home game at the ground on 23 October 2016 against the Newcastle Jets . The Showground became the new home of Australia's events in the men's and women's versions of the World Rugby Sevens Series effective with the 2018–19 seasons. This change was made because the Sydney Football Stadium , previously host to both events, is to be demolished to make way for

3445-436: The old Showground. The speedway was officially opened by 15 time World Champion Ivan Mauger of New Zealand , and the "King of the Royale" (the old Showground Speedway), four time Australian Solo Champion Jim Airey . In its present configuration, the stadium is a playing field running north east to south west. The south western half is surrounded by a single grandstand structure. Additional stands are located on either side of

3510-452: The program ; examples include The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour , Texaco Star Theatre and The Philco Television Playhouse . This form of sponsorship fell out of favor in the late 1950s, although later examples include Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom , which originally aired from 1963 to 1988. One of the last surviving examples is the now irregularly-airing Hallmark Hall of Fame , on the air since 1951. The International Star Registry

3575-474: The purchaser of a stadium's naming rights may choose to donate those rights to an outside organization, typically one to which it is closely related. Probably the most notable example of this is Friends Arena , a major stadium in Stockholm . The facility was originally known as Swedbank Arena, but in 2012 that company donated those rights to the Friends Foundation, an organization heavily sponsored by Swedbank that seeks to combat school bullying . More recently,

3640-478: The son of Phil Crump who won the Australian title at the old Showground in 1975. Jason Crump would go on to win his second Aussie title in 2007, winning three of the five rounds (Sydney, Newcastle Showgrounds , and Borderline Speedway in Mount Gambier ), while finishing second in Mildura ( Olympic Park Speedway ) and the Gillman Speedway in Adelaide . The track, which was tight and narrow (a criticism in common with its predecessor) and almost square in shape,

3705-419: The team's colour, though other colours were considered, and rejected as being too close to other Sydney sports teams. Cricket Australia did not allow Cricket NSW to use the sky blue colour traditionally associated with New South Wales sports teams. The team made its debut in the 2011-12 Big Bash League season – the inaugural season of the Big Bash League. The team performed poorly in its first few years in

3770-573: The title "Busch Stadium" after one of the company's founders. The name was readily approved, and Anheuser-Busch subsequently released a new product called "Busch Bavarian Beer" (now known as Busch Beer ). The name would later be shifted to the Busch Memorial Stadium in 1966 , shortened in the 1970s to "Busch Stadium" and remained the stadium's name until it closed in 2005. By that time, Major League Baseball 's policy had changed – with Coors Field in Denver and Miller Park in Milwaukee going up in that span – and Anheuser-Busch (who retained

3835-447: The very traditional Indianapolis 500 ) embracing title sponsorship. Sports media coverage (such as ESPN news reports) typically refer to races by the town in which the home race track is held, avoiding the use of sponsored names in news coverage. Television and radio series, especially in the early days of each medium in the early-mid 20th century, frequently sold the naming rights to their programs to sponsors, most of whom bankrolled

3900-541: Was also used for Speedcar racing , also with little success. When the Speedcars raced at the Showground, a temporary fence was put in place on the inside of the track to protect the grass surface from any out of control cars. The first speedway meeting at the new Showground was held on 1 May 1999 and included an unofficial Solo "Test" between Australia and the United States , won easily by Australia. The program also featured Sidecars , as well as demonstration runs by restored vintage Speedcars and Modifieds which had raced at

3965-504: Was constructed as part of the development of the new Sydney Showground, it was built to replace the aging Showground at Moore Park and to provide a venue for the 2000 Summer Olympics . A $ 65 million upgrade of the stadium to accommodate the GWS Giants was announced on 9 June 2010. Jointly funded by the NSW Government, the AFL and the RAS, the upgrade included two new stands which increased seating capacity from 13,000 to 25,000 (the stadium seated 13,000 but its full pre-redevelopment capacity

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4030-565: Was known as the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Team names and even whole leagues have occasionally been sold to corporate sponsors as well (examples include the New York Red Bulls in the former case, the NET10 Wireless Arena Football League for the latter), but this is generally rare in the United States and more common in other parts of the world. During the 1980s, sanctioned auto races in NASCAR and IndyCar began to abandon their traditional names in favor of exclusive sponsor names. The trend expanded rapidly in NASCAR such that in 1991, all 29 races in

4095-417: Was listed as 21,500), upgraded hospitality facilities, improved audio and sound systems and new media facilities. The playing surface was also reconfigured. The upgrade was officially opened on 23 May 2012. The RAS is seeking funding from the New South Wales Government to expand the stadium as part of a major upgrade of the Showground precinct. It has targeted a total post-extension capacity of 30,000 seats but

4160-454: Was seen by over 1 Million people. Sydney Thunder, like every other team, had a salary cap of $ 1 million for the first season of the Big Bash League , but in that season they spent almost half of the salary cap on the explosive opening combination of Chris Gayle and David Warner . Gayle was pursued by Perth Scorchers but he rejected an offer of $ 250,000 to stay with the New South Wales team. The current administration and support staff of

4225-416: Was used as a Speedway venue, mostly for motorcycle racing, though with limited success. In 2007 and 2008 the Stadium hosted a round of the Australian Solo Championships , just as the old Showground had done on 21 separate occasions between 1935 and 1980. The 2007 championship round, which was the opening round of a five-round series, was won by Australia's reigning Speedway World Champion Jason Crump ,

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