Henson Park

Infobox_Stadium
stadium_name = Henson Park
nickname = King George V Grandstand


location = Marrickville, New South Wales
broke_ground = 1936
opened = 1937
closed = Open
demolished = N/A
owner = Marrickville Council
operator = Marrickville Council
surface =
construction_cost =
architect =
former_names =
tenants =
Newtown Jets (1937 - present)


seating_capacity =
30,000 [ [http://www.austadiums.com/stadiums/stadiums.php?id=144 www.austadiums.com] ]

Henson Park is a rugby league football ground in Marrickville, New South Wales, Australia.

History

It is the home ground of the Newtown Jets rugby league club.

Apart from football, the ground has had a long association with cycling. It was the principal cycling venue during the 1938 British Empire Games, the forerunner to the Commonwealth Games. During the games, crowds regularly exceeded 40,000.

However, the velodrome surrounding the playing field was removed during the late 1970s and replaced by a grass running track used for local school athletics carnivals.

Facilities

Henson Park has changed little since it was first opened.

* On the western side is the King George V Memorial Grandstand, which accommodates about 1000 people. During the 1980s, when the high-profile adman John Singleton was club's chief benefactor, attempts were made to take the traditionally working-class Bluebags up-market. The upper section, named the Jet Set Lounge, at one stage was enclosed with glass and waiters served members and their guests food and drinks.

* From the north west to the south-east side of the ground runs a grass hill.

* From the south east to the west, there is a bitumen bank where cars can park. About 200 cars can fit and it has always been popular to watch matches from your car seat.

* There is also a brick scoreboard with a kiosk in the north-east corner and a media/corporate centre also with a kiosk to the northern side of the King George V Memorial Grandstand.

Newtown Jets

* Since 1937, the ground has been primarily known as the home of the Newtown Rugby League Football Club ("The Bluebags"), today known as the Newtown Jets. The Jets played in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership, a forerunner to the National Rugby League, until 1983 when they were dropped from the competition for financial reasons.

* When the club was re-established as a senior club in 1991 it returned to play at the ground.

* The club plays NSWRL Premier League home games at the ground.

Other sports

Henson Park is also used occasionally for competition matches in soccer and Australian rules football. It hosts several matches per season in the Sydney AFL competition, including the finals and hosted games from the 2008 AFL National Under 18 Championships.

Attendances

* The highest attendance for Henson Park was recorded during the 1938 British Empire Games in which around 40,000 fans attended the cycling.

* For a Newtown Jets match it is 21,588. For a Rugby League match, the ground record is 30,500 for a Grand Final rematch between St George and Western Suburbs in 1959.

References

External links

* [http://rl1908.com/Rugby-League-News/manfred.htm The Singleton era]