Picture this You stand before Kayo Stadium. This isn’t just any stadium. It’s a sporting heart beating strong in the northern Brisbane suburb of Redcliffe. Kayo Stadium boasts a rich history. Its story began not in grand architectural designs but in reclaimed land. Back in the 1970s the Redcliffe City Council offered this land for sporting fields. The Redcliffe Dolphins rugby league club seized the opportunity. They applied for the largest area available. Their dream was to have a better home ground than their old home at the Redcliffe Showgrounds.
Kevin Tibbets the Redcliffe City Council engineer embraced the project wholeheartedly. He even travelled interstate to New South Wales to study different playing arenas. Building Kayo Stadium presented challenges. The remote location made normal services difficult to access. Expensive sewerage pumps were required due to the land’s incline towards Klingner Road. Power for the floodlights needed underground cabling. Even the run-through tunnel had a fascinating journey arriving from Western Australia. This was surprisingly cheaper than sourcing it from the Eastern states.
The showgrounds lighting was superior. The Redcliffe Rugby League Old Boys helped bridge this gap providing a $5000 loan later converted to a grant for suitable floodlights. They even built the perimeter fence for $2780. In return the club gave them a solid can-booth and liquor sales rights on commission. There was a lot of discussion about a licensed club. The existing club at the Showgrounds was still profitable. But within a year the new clubhouse opened thanks to the Mayor of Redcliffe and Federal Government funding. The government’s “Don’t Drink and Drive” campaign affected the bar’s success. The club struggled until 1992 when poker machines arrived. This finally secured the club’s finances.
In January 1979 the complex was almost named Don McLennan Oval. Mr McLennan preferred Dolphin Oval a name that perfectly reflected the team’s identity. The first game was against Norths the club that originally proposed Redcliffe’s admission into the BRL. The original lease ran until 1998 and was later extended before the Redcliffe Dolphins purchased the land. Kayo Stadium is more than a rugby league venue. It hosted Brisbane Roar A-League and W-League matches. During the 2021 NRL season due to COVID-19 outbreaks in Sydney and Melbourne NRL matches were played here. Even the New Zealand Warriors used Kayo Stadium as a temporary home base. In 2022 Kayo Stadium hosted the NRLW Grand Final the first one held outside Sydney.
Between 2015 and 2018 Kayo Stadium underwent a major redevelopment. A new western grandstand was added in 2016 followed by the eastern grandstand in 2018. This increased the seating to 7000. A new northern grandstand was added in 2020. State-of-the-art broadcast quality lighting towers were installed in 2023. The stadium continues to evolve. Its story is a testament to community spirit perseverance and the enduring passion for sport. Now you know more than the average tourist about Kayo Stadium. Enjoy the rest of your tour.