Eric Tweedale Stadium

Eric Tweedale Stadium (formerly Granville Park Stadium), for sponsorship reasons also known as Merrylands RSL Rugby Park, is a rectangular stadium in Granville Park in the western Sydney suburb of Merrylands, New South Wales. The stadium, which cost 11.3 million dollars, designed by ARCH (formerly dwp)^[1] was opened in November 2021 on the ground of a previous stadium which generally referred to as Granville Park. The total capacity for the ground is 5,000, of which 750 can be seated on the grandstand.

Eric Tweedale Stadium

Merrylands RSL Rugby Park
Location	Montrose Avenue, Merrylands, New South Wales
Coordinates	33°50′25″S 150°59′48″E
Owner	Cumberland Council
Capacity	5,000 (1,000 seated)
Surface	Grass
Construction
Opened	November 2021
Construction cost	11.3 million dollars
Tenants
Parramatta R.C. (Shute Shield) Greater Sydney Rams (NRC) (2015)

One of the first sports clubs to play at Granville Park was the Granville Royals Rugby Club in the late 1880s.^[2]

The land was owned by the City of Parramatta until May 2017 when the newly created Cumberland Council inherited the park, as a result of New South Wales council mergers.

The stadium is the home ground of the Parramatta Two Blues club, founded in 1879, which competes in Sydney's premier rugby union competition, the Shute Shield.^[3][4] The clubhouse has a large hall suitable for hosting functions as well as changing room facilities and amenities. The main field has lighting suitable for hosting night time sports events. In 2021, the ground was renamed after the Australian rugby international and Two Blues player Eric Tweedale on the occasion of his 100th birthday.^[5]

Granville Park is also one of the home grounds for the Greater Sydney Rams team that plays in the National Rugby Championship.^[6] The New South Wales Waratahs team plays occasional pre-season trial matches at the ground.^[7][8]

There are also sporting facilities for soccer,^[9] cricket, and basketball.^[10] A children's Splash Park was built in 2014,^[11] and the reserve also has barbeque and picnic facilities.

Over the course of the 2024 National Rugby League Women's season, the Parramatta Eels played 2 home games at Eric Tweedale Stadium. The first of which was against the Newcastle Knights on 24 August 2024, whom they lost against 36-16. The second home game they played at the venue was against the Gold Coast Titans on 8 September 2024.

References

• "Eric Tweedale Stadium and Sports Field", Cumberland City Council (per February 2022)

1. "Eric Tweedale Stadium / dwp". ArchDaily. 24 August 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
2. "Football". The Sydney Morning Herald. 25 May 1889. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
3. Nix, Alwyn (12 August 1995). "Kookas tipped to down Parra". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
4. Growden, Greg (29 March 2010). "The union and clubs must band together to save Two Blues from extinction". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
5. "Stadium to be named in honour of 'living legend' Eric Tweedale". 16 December 2020.
6. "Greater Sydney Rams are ramping up rugby in your backyard for 2015". Rams Rugby. 12 June 2015. Archived from the original on 13 June 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
7. Riordan, Joseph (29 January 2015). "Wycliff Palu spreading his rugby legacy in Western Sydney's growing Pacific Islander community". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 27 May 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
8. Cook, Paul (20 January 2015). "Tahs Ready". Rugby News. Archived from the original on 1 March 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
9. "History". Parramatta City FC. 2015. Archived from the original on 13 June 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
10. "Granville Park". Sportscourts. 2015. Archived from the original on 13 June 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
11. Metcalfe, Caryn (9 April 2014). "New splash park to open at Granville Park, Merrylands". Parramatta Advertiser. Archived from the original on 27 May 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2015.