Townsville Sports Teams & Venues Guide 2024Updated

Townsville's sporting culture combines the North Queensland Cowboys NRL club (which services a vast catchment from Townsville to Cairns and westward into the Queensland outback) with the North Queensland Heat cricket team, the Townsville Fire Super Netball club, and the strong military sports culture of the Lavarack Barracks defence community. The 1300SMILES Stadium (now Queensland Country Bank Stadium) provides Townsville with one of regional Queensland's finest multi-purpose sporting venues.

North Queensland Cowboys (NRL) — the Cowboys are the NRL club that represents the vast North Queensland catchment from Cairns to Mount Isa and westward to the Northern Territory border, with the Queensland Country Bank Stadium (capacity 25,000) in Townsville providing the club's home base and the 2015 and 2017 NSWRL premierships providing the peaks of the club's competitive achievement. The Cowboys v Broncos Queensland derby and the annual State of Origin match often held in Townsville generate the city's most intense sporting occasions.

Townsville Heat and North Queensland cricket — the North Queensland Heat play Queensland Premier Cricket from Tony Ireland Stadium (Townsville) and Riverway Stadium, with the state-level cricket providing competitive cricket access for the North Queensland community. The Townsville domestic cricket program develops players from the vast North Queensland talent catchment that includes Cairns, Mackay, and Mount Isa.

Townsville Fire (Super Netball) — the Townsville Fire compete in the Super Netball competition from the Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre and Townsville Stadium, with the Fire's three Super Netball Championship titles (2016, 2017, 2018) making them one of the competition's most successful clubs and providing Townsville with a nationally elite women's team sports program.

Military sports and defence community — the Lavarack Barracks sports facilities and the defence community's strong participation in rugby union, rugby league, and triathlon provide Townsville with an active organised sport sector that significantly broadens the city's sporting culture beyond the professional team sports programs.

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