McKellar Park (Canberra)

McKellar Park, formerly known as Belconnen Soccer Centre and McKellar Soccer Centre, is an association football stadium in the Canberra suburb of McKellar, in Australia. The playing surface is rectangular in shape and is used almost exclusively for association football matches. The venue is the home ground of National Premier Leagues Capital Football club Belconnen United FC and W-League club Canberra United FC.

McKellar Park
Former namesBelconnen Soccer Centre, McKellar Soccer Centre
LocationCorner William Slim and Owen Dixon Drives, McKellar, Canberra, ACT
Coordinates35°12′52″S 149°5′3″E
OwnerBelconnen Soccer Club Ltd.
Capacity3,500 (460 seated)
Record attendance2,512
SurfaceGrass
ScoreboardYes (small)
Construction
Opened23 November 2002
Construction cost$1.10m
Tenants
Belconnen United FC
Canberra United FC

Stadium Facilities

The main grandstand is named after Ken Carter, who has been involved in the Belconnen Soccer Club since its formation and contributed significantly to the club's development. The grandstand contains approximately 600 seats, concession area, change rooms, public toilets, storage, moderate corporate areas and press facilities. It has been designed for easy lateral expansion if the need arises.[1]

Primary Use

McKellar Park is primarily used by Canberra United FC for W-League regular season and finals matches during the summer months and Belconnen United FC in the National Premier Leagues Capital Football (The highest level of men's football in the ACT) in the winter months.

Events History

Opening & First Game

The venue was opened on 23 November 2002 by ACT Senator Margaret Reid. The first match played at the ground was a New South Wales Premier League match between Belconnen United FC and Bonnyrigg White Eagles which ended in a 2–2 draw.[1]

2003 OFC Women's Championship

5 – 13 April 2003, the 2003 OFC Women's Championship was hosted at McKellar Park. The ground hosted all ten matches that was concurrently used as the OFC Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament for the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup held in the US. Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Cook Islands contested the tournament at McKellar. Australia won the tournament by finishing top of the group with twelve points after beating New Zealand 2–0 in front of 2,200 fans.[2][3]

2012 W-League Grand Final

28 January 2012, McKellar Park hosted the W-League grand final for the 2011/12 W-League season after Canberra United earned the right to host the grand final by finishing league premiers and winning their semi-final. The match between Canberra United and Brisbane Roar was sold out with 2,512 fans packing the stadium to cheer on the Canberra girls to their first championship title. There was plenty of early action during the match with three goals scored in the first half, Canberra taking a 2–1 lead to the half time break. Michelle Heyman pounced in the fifty-fifth minute to give United a 3–1 lead before a penalty to the visitors eight minutes later set up a grand stage finish to the match. With no more goals scored after the penalty, United ran out 3–2 victors to be crowned W-League champions for the first time.[4]

2015 Asian Cup

McKellar Park was selected as one of three venues to be used as a training venue for the 2015 Asian Cup in the ACT along with host venue Canberra Stadium and the second training venue Deakin Stadium. The stadium received an upgrade to its lighting as part of the $650,000 ACT facility upgrade fund for the tournament.[5] Oman was the primary team that used McKellar Park for closed training sessions during the tournament while they were base in Canberra.[6]

2017 Young Socceroos

8 February 2017, The Australian U20 national team (Young Socceroos) played a practice match at McKellar Park against Belconnen United's NPL first team. The Young Socceroos' Canberra based manager, Ufuk Talay, arranged the match for a very young squad with most of the players selected being seventeen years old. One Canberra player, Marc Tokich, was selected for the team.[7]

A-League pre-season friendlies

Mckellar Park has a long standing of hosting pre-season matches primarily between Belconnen United and A-League opposition. The below table details these matches:

YearHome TeamAway TeamReference
2005Belconnen UnitedSydney FC[8]
2007Belconnen UnitedCentral Coast Mariners[9]
2008Belconnen UnitedCentral Coast Mariners[10][11]
2009Belconnen UnitedCentral Coast Mariners[12]
2010Belconnen UnitedCentral Coast Mariners[13]
2011Belconnen UnitedCentral Coast Mariners[14]
2012Canberra Rockets
(ACT PL Select XI)		Newcastle United Jets[15][16]
2013ACT NPL All-StarsNewcastle United Jets[17]
2015Belconnen UnitedSydney FC[18]

Records

Record attendance: 2,512 (Canberra United vs Brisbane Roar, 28 January 2012, W-League Grand Final)[19]

References
  1. "Belconnen Soccer Club McKellar Grandstand". www.projectcoord.com.au. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  2. "Oceania's Women's Championship 2003 (Australia)". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  3. Chandler, Kyle (31 May 2015). "Dummies Guide: Matildas World Cup History". www.thefootballsack.com.au. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  4. "Canberra Crowned W-League Champions". www.fourfourtwo.com.au. 28 January 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  5. Tuxworth, Jon (26 August 2014). "Canberra venues to benefit from upgrades to Asian Cup training venues". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  6. Gaskin, Lee (4 January 2015). "Canberra's Asian Cup venues in lockdown as kick-off looms for soccer tournament". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  7. Helmers, Caden (7 February 2017). "Ufuk Talay calls for more A-League in Canberra ahead of Young Socceroos clash". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  8. "Yorke's baggage problems". www.theworldgame.sbs.com.au. 29 June 2005. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  9. Flanagan, Eamonn (7 May 2007). "Capital Football: United Under Reid". www.fourfourtwo.com.au. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  10. "Mariners set sail for Canberra in late June". www.footballnsw.com. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  11. "Mariners edge past Belconnen". www.theworldgame.sbs.com.au. 26 June 2008. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  12. "Mariners put three past Belconnen". www.a-league.com.au. 10 July 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  13. Kalinic, Dejan (8 July 2010). "Mariners Score Two From Two". www.fourfourtwo.com.au. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  14. "2011 Central Coast Mariners Tour" (PDF). www.bluedevilsfc.com. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  15. Gaskin, Lee (9 July 2012). "Not-so-friendly side chosen for Canberra's Newcastle friendly". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  16. "Jets defeat Canberra Rockets 9-1". www.newcastlejets.com.au. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  17. Gaskin, Lee (21 August 2012). "Loss of Heskey 'disappointing'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  18. "Sydney FC Put Three Past Belconnen". www.sydneyfc.com. 19 August 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  19. "McKellar Park Profile". www.austadiums.com. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
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