Queensland Country Bank Stadium
When the very first event was held at the new Queensland Country Bank Stadium in February 2020 (Sir Elton John, no less!), it spoke volumes of the power of the North Queensland community when presenting a strong and unified vision.
Public funds are exceptionally difficult to secure, with each region in Australia every day pushing their case to decision-makers across the state and nation. But this is where, for some time now, our region has set a benchmark, and a $290M world-class stadium opening in the same city that will soon complete a $225M water pipeline demonstrates what strong advocacy can deliver.
Four years ago, our community decided that it was not going to be one or the other, and the power of unity across our region has been fundamental to getting to where we are today and where we are going tomorrow. By harnessing that collective intellect, influence and passion from business, community and media, the north drives a strong agenda that puts us in the best position to ensure visions become realities and projects leave legacies for generations.
Getting to this stage was not easy and this community has come through significant adversity to achieve what many said we could never do. Just as the Strand transformed our city 20 years ago, the Stadium will redefine and reinvigorate not just our CBD, but North Queensland more broadly.
The Stadium proudly stands as a symbol of what can be achieved when a community rallies together, and how vision and people power can convert pictures on a page to cold hard reality.
NRL Legend Johnathan Thurston, who played a pivotal role in the stadium campaign, highlighted the deep connection between the Cowboys and the community.
"The Cowboys have always been integral to North Queensland. When Townsville Enterprise asked me to support the campaign, it was a no-brainer," Thurston said.
"I said it back in 2015 when we won the premiership, and it’s still true today—North Queensland deserved this stadium. Without the leadership and collaboration of Townsville Enterprise, who knows where the Cowboys would be now."
"Today, the team plays in a world-class facility in front of 25,000 passionate fans, with a state-of-the-art high-performance centre. Townsville is now firmly established as the sporting hub of Northern Australia."