Aurora Stadium’s
Northern Stand
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introduction Aurora Stadium is a world-class sporting and entertainment venue located in the heart of Launceston in northern Tasmania. It has been home to a spectacular array of local and interstate events and artists including, Sir Elton John, Jimmy Barnes, the Crusty Demons, A-League Soccer, New Year’s Eve Countdown and Super X. Formerly known as York Park, Aurora Stadium has cemented its profile as the home of AFL in Tasmania and is the Hawthorn Football Club’s home away from home. Aurora Stadium is the largest sporting facility in Tasmania and the redevelopment of the new ‘Northern Stand’ will increase overall seating capacity of the Stadium to 14,000 and total venue capacity to 21,000.
The Fire and Relocation of the Historic Stand The redevelopment project had been planned for some years, but the need was hastened after a fire destroyed three of the eight bays of the historic Northern Stand in 2008. The historic stand and club rooms of the Mowbray Cricket Club was disassembled and relocated to Invermay Park Cricket/Football Oval, which is located next to Aurora Stadium in March 2009. With its relocation, the historic Northern Stand now includes facilities for the North Launceston Junior Football Club, Mowbray Cricket Club, Old Launcestonians Football Club, and the Northern Tasmania Football Umpires Association, maximising usage of Invermay Park by local clubs.
The New Northern Stand design The new Northern Stand at Aurora Stadium has a 2,125 seat capacity and includes public toilets, corporate and media facilities, new AFL standard change rooms and new umpires change rooms. Designed by Philp Lighton Architects the tiered grandstand is located on the north-western area of the venue with stunning views consistent with other existing stands within the Stadium. Environmentally sustainable design initiatives were an integral part of the design for the new stand and the project team investigated energy sources to minimise CO2 gas emissions, renewable energy and new technologies to achieve performance, cost and payback benefits.
Some of the environmentally sustainable elements included in the design are: •
Solar energy for heating and cooling
• Water efficient fixtures and harvesting rainwater for re-use to minimise water usage • Stormwater run off control, minimising the impact of the building on surrounding land and improving public access around and within the facility • Use of non-toxic materials, reduced construction waste and use of local products where possible • Recycling, waste rubbish and litter collection initiatives
The New Northern Stand construction The $9.9 million redevelopment underwent construction from March 2009 until July 2011. Local contractor Innis Tasmania was employed to construct the new stand with the project employing the equivalent of 60 full time employees throughout this period of time. The New Northern Stand, officially opened on Sunday 7 August 2011 has allowed Aurora Stadium to increase seating capacity at the venue to secure larger national and international events and to address current and future demand for seating and corporate space for Hawthorn Football Club AFL matches at the Stadium. The impressive new stand was funded by the Australian Government contributing $5.5 million, the Tasmanian Government contributing $2 million and Launceston City Council $2.4 million as well as contributions from the Hawthorn Football Club ($300,000) and the Australian Football League ($200,000).
History of York Park York Park, now known as Aurora Stadium, has always been central to sporting and cultural life in Launceston and the northern region, but it is only since 1999, that it has firmly established itself as the home of AFL football in Tasmania. To see an exceptional, but nonetheless essentially regional facility, transform to AFL standard and sentiment needs a number of driving factors to come together. The place has to have potential, a dream and dreamers, a plan, support and a dash of good luck. To read more about the York Park story, click here.
Contact Us For more information: Aurora Stadium Invermay Road, Launceston TAS 7250 P/ 03 6323 3383 E/ aurorastadium@launceston.tas.gov.au W/ www.aurorastadiumlaunceston.com.au
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