The $31.5 million National Rugby Training Centre (NRTC) has been officially opened heralding a new dawn at Ballymore as Queensland’s first home of women’s rectangular sport.
The NRTC will become the new national headquarters for Women’s XV Rugby housing the Buildcorp Wallaroos team, as well as a new training base for the Queensland Reds Super Rugby and Super W squads, the Reds 7s and Buildcorp Reds Academy plus elite pathway programs.
The world-class facility includes a rebuilt McLean Stand with a 3010-spectator capacity, aquatic recovery centre and sauna with separate facilities for men and women, and an 800m2 high-performance gym.
It also features a 77-person capacity auditorium, 120-seat players’ lounge and function spaces available for public hire, plus multiple change rooms and administration and football offices that will serve as the home for the Queensland Rugby Union (QRU) and Rugby Australia’s women’s and referee programs.
The rebuilt McLean Stand brings Ballymore’s capacity to 8000, with the stadium set to host Wallaroos Test Matches, Queensland Premier Rugby finals, Japan Rugby League One Grand Finalists the Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights and the Brisbane Roar Women’s A-League home games in 2023/24.
On time and on budget, the works were funded by the Queensland Government ($15 million), Australian Government ($15 million) and Queensland Rugby Foundation ($1.5 million) and built by the QRU’s leading contractors Buildcorp, with more than 1100 construction jobs supported during the build.
“These works signal the rebirth of Ballymore and make it the home of women’s rectangular sport in Australia,” said Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.
“To have the Wallaroos and the Brisbane Roar women call Ballymore home is a tremendous vote of confidence in the venue which holds a special place in the hearts of Queensland sports lovers.
“We expect to see an exciting line-up of international teams choose Ballymore as their venue of choice, especially in the lead-up to the 2027 Rugby World Cup and the 2029 Women’s Rugby World Cup.”
“The 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games will transform Brisbane into one of the world’s new sporting hubs. The Albanese Government is proud to support this new world-class centre here in Ballymore, which will cater for local athletes and fans before and after the games,” said Assistant Minister for Regional Development and Education, Senator Anthony Chisholm.
“With increased spectator capacity, a new training base and other facilities, the NRTC will provide more opportunities for Queenslanders to participate in sports right here in Ballymore.
“This new centre has already provided a boost to the Brisbane economy by supporting over 1,000 jobs during construction. I look forward to cheering on the Wallaroos and Reds in this magnificent facility for the first time.”
“Ballymore has been earmarked as the hockey venue for Brisbane 2032 so it’s terrific to see such an impressive redevelopment completed nine years out from the Games,” said Queensland Minister for Tourism and Sport Stirling Hinchliffe.
“There are future plans to upgrade the ageing Eastern Stand which will bring the ground closer to that 12-15,000-seat capacity needed for the Olympics, so planning is well advanced on making Ballymore Games-ready well ahead of schedule.
“The modern corporate facilities in the McLean Stand will make it a pleasure to watch all the games and events that will come the way of Ballymore, including rugby internationals, Premier Rugby finals and national community and school sport carnivals.”
“It’s an exciting day for Ballymore as we open the NRTC and new McLean Stand,” said QRU CEO David Hanham.
“The NRTC will be a world-class high-performance facility that will leave a lasting legacy for Queensland Rugby men’s and women’s pathway programs through to the Wallabies and Wallaroos.
“The vision for Ballymore is to become a multi-sport precinct that will be Queensland’s first home for women’s rectangular sport.
“Ballymore will also be a great community venue that will create a family-fun festival atmosphere where you will want to arrive early and stay late.
“Our vision for Ballymore supports a golden runway of major Rugby and international sporting events leading into the 2032 Brisbane Olympics including the 2025 British and Irish Lions Tour, as well as the 2027 Men’s and 2029 Women’s Rugby World Cups.”
“Ballymore is synonymous with the history of Rugby in south-east Queensland, hosting its first Test match against the All Blacks in 1968. It is now synonymous with the future of the game, as the new home of the Reds and our national women’s team, the Buildcorp Wallaroos,” said Rugby Australia Chairman Hamish McLennan.
“Women’s Rugby represents a major opportunity and significant focus for Rugby Australia – we have invested an additional $2 million in Women’s VXs Rugby in 2023 and we will continue to increase our investment in the women’s game in the coming years.
“The establishment of a new headquarters for the Wallaroos program at Ballymore is another indication of our commitment to Women’s Rugby, and we look forward to bringing Test Rugby back to Ballymore.
“On behalf of Australian Rugby, I would like to thank the Australian and Queensland Governments for their commitment to the future of Rugby, and for making the National Rugby Training Centre at Ballymore a reality.”
“Congratulations to Queensland Rugby Union on leaving a strong legacy for Ballymore and Australia’s rugby community,” said Buildcorp’s Managing Director Tony Sukkar AM.
“Our team is proud to have contributed as a partner on-site, on field and in the community.
“Throughout the construction process, the project team worked together to discover optimal methods for delivering the state-of-the-art BlightRayner designed facility while fostering innovation and creating long-term value.
“We are also delighted to have played a role in the growth of the game by forging valuable partnerships with Queensland Rugby Union through supporting the Buildcorp Reds Academy and Buildcorp Emerging Reds Cup.
“Buildcorp’s experience in delivering high performance sporting infrastructure across the east coast of Australia has been honed over 30 projects in our 33 years of business.
“We thank Queensland Rugby Union for trusting our team’s specialist expertise to deliver this vision for the game that we love and cannot wait to cheer on some of our favourite rugby teams from the renewed McLean Stand.”
As part of the QRU’s masterplan designed by leading architects BlightRayner, the Ballymore site will become the 2032 Olympic venue for hockey and see the construction of a centre of excellence for Sport Climbing and Bouldering, plus a swim school to help build the next generation of Olympic athletes in multiple sports.
It will also include three new buildings with a total area of 5000m2 reserved for sports administration, sports recreation, allied health and sports medicine, as well as transport and sustainability solutions to form a central part of Brisbane’s Olympic Green Corridor.
