History
Carrara Oval was used by the Nerang Rugby Union club between 1983 and 1985. Some first class cricket was also played at the ground with matches
Carrara became the first ground outside Brisbane to host a first-class game when it staged the match between the state and an England XI in 1990-91 (the match famous for David Gower and John Morris’s Tiger Moth fly-by). The West Indies took on Queensland at Carrara in 1992 in a one day game.
First Redevelopment and the Brisbane Bears
With the 1986 announcement that the Bears would enter the AFL, Christopher Skase spent more than a million dollars preparing the oval for the clubs first games. Later the AFL website reported
“Nothing was easy. Even the goal posts were a problem as horrified workers unloaded a truck only to find what they had been sent were much too short. So, the would-be goalposts were used as behind posts and club officials borrowed four towering rugby posts from Albert Shire Council to use as goal posts.”
In addition, the brand new $250,000 scoreboard was useless during the first game as the glare of the sun prevented anyone from being able to see it.
Despite the AFl’s concerns, the league had expressed a desire for the team to move to Brisbane as soon as possible – the Bears signed a 30 year lease with Albert Shire Council in 1989. Skase would install floodlighting at a cost of 6 million – this was never paid back before he fled the country.
In 1993, Brisbane moved to the redeveloped Gabba in Brisbane.
Second Redevelopment and the Gold Coast Suns
TBA
References
- 2013.06.09 – Great Ashes moment No.31: David Gower almost sent home after joyride in plane over Carrara Oval
- 2013.07.13 – Carrara: a ton of memories