Newcastle International Sports Centre (Ausgrid Stadium) is the home ground of the Newcastle United Jets. It is owned by the New South Wales government and administered by the Hunter International Sports Centre Trust.
Work began on the stadium on 1 December 1967, and was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 10 April 1970. It was originally known as the International Sports Centre, and is still part of the ISC complex to this day.
In 1992, local tyre outlet Marathon Tyres became the naming rights sponsor for the stadium, and it was renamed Marathon Stadium. Towards the end of 2001, energy supplier EnergyAustralia took over naming rights, and thus the stadium became EnergyAustralia Stadium. In February 2011 it was announced that the stadium would be renamed to “Ausgrid Stadium” after EnergyAustralia was renamed “Ausgrid”.
The Eastern Grandstand was completed in April 2005 and contains two levels of seating for over 10,000 fans as well as a corporate suite level. The new Western Grandstand was built to replace the original stand which had a capacity of 5,000. The new Western Stand was completed in early 2011 and mirrors the Eastern Stand.
Behind each of the goals are several rows of seating, grass large hill and corporate boxes. The total capacity of the ground is currently around the 33,000-mark.
The record ground attendance at Ausgrid Stadium is 32,642 for a Newcastle Vs Manly Rugby League game in July 1995.
The record football attendance for the ground is 24,338 for the Newcastle Jets v Sydney FC match on 2 February 2007.
The ground is often referred to as Newcastle International Sports Centre or Newcastle Stadium by those who wish to mention stadiums by original names, such as non-commercial organisations like the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and those with other corporate interests such as FIFA or the Asian Football Confederation.
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