# Sport in Sydney

Sport is a significant aspect of the Sydney lifestyle. Activities range from the occasional international event, annual competitions, competitive leagues and individual recreational pursuits. Sydney is the home of Australia's biggest sports league, the National Rugby League, hosting 16 teams, and the base for a number of teams in national competitions including two Australian Football League and eight National Rugby League teams.
The Sydney City Council caters for sporting activities with a range of facilities. Across the city there are multiple stadiums, many kilometres of dedicated bikeways, ovals and other sports venues. Stadium Australia and the Sydney Cricket Ground, are two of the largest venues in the city.

## Sports by Popularity
### Rugby League

Rugby League is the most popular winter spectator sport in Sydney. The National Rugby League has eight teams based in the city as well as playing the NRL Grand Final in Sydney. The city was where the league was founded in 1908 as the New South Wales Rugby League, and the New South Wales rugby league team, which plays in the world's largest attended sporting competition, State of Origin, is based in Sydney. The average attendance ranges from 18,000 to 12,000 across the clubs in Sydney, whilst State of Origin and the Grand Final regularly attract 80,000 people.

### Rugby Union

Rugby Union was the dominant winter sport from the 1870s until the establishment of Rugby league. The Shute Shield is the local competition which was the highest tier of football until the 1990s when the professional Super Rugby competition began. The New South Wales Waratahs are the state's Super Rugby franchise.

## Stats and Teams

Rugby league is the most popular spectator sport in Sydney. In 2006, 565,898 people attended first class rugby league matches at Stadium Australia alone. Other popular spectator sports include cricket, soccer, Australian rules football, rugby union and basketball. The martial arts are also popular in Sydney, with the more traditional western combative disciplines and also because of the proximity to Asian countries where the arts are historically based. While participation rates are high it tends not to enjoy the profile of traditional Australia sports, though the olympic sports of boxing, judo and taekwondo are more well known. For the Asian arts there are many places to practice in Sydney.

### Teams in national competitions

| Club | League | Venue | Established | Premierships |
| Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | National Rugby League | Stadium Australia | 1935 | 8 |
| Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | National Rugby League | Endeavour Field | 1967 | 1 |
| Greater Western Sydney Giants | Australian Football League | Sydney Showground Stadium | 2012 | Nil |
| Greater Western Sydney Giants Netball | Super Netball | State Sports Centre, Sydney SuperDome | 2012 | Nil |
| Macarthur FC | A-League Men | Campbelltown Stadium | 2020 | Nil |
| Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | National Rugby League | Brookvale Oval | 1947 | 8 |
| New South Wales Blues (cricket) | Sheffield Shield/One Day Cup | Sydney Cricket Ground | 1856 | 46 (Sheffield Shield), 9 (One Day Cup), 1 (T20 Bash) |
| New South Wales Swifts | Super Netball | Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre, Sydney SuperDome | 2008 | 1 |
| New South Wales Waratahs | Super Rugby | Stadium Australia, Sydney Cricket Ground, Western Sydney Stadium | 1882 | 1 |
| New South Wales Pride | Hockey One | Sydney Olympic Park Hockey Centre | 2019 | 1 (Mens), 0 (Womens) |
| Parramatta Eels | National Rugby League | Western Sydney Stadium | 1947 | 4 |
| Penrith Panthers | National Rugby League | Penrith Stadium | 1967 | 4 |
| St George Illawarra Dragons | National Rugby League | Jubilee Oval, Wollongong Showground | 1999 | 1 |
| South Sydney Rabbitohs | National Rugby League | Stadium Australia | 1908 | 21 |
| Sydney Bears | Australian Ice Hockey League | Sydney Ice Arena | 1982 | 2 |
| Sydney Blue Sox | Australian Baseball League | Blacktown International Sportspark | 2009 | Nil |
| Sydney FC | A-Leagues | Sydney Football Stadium | 2005 | 2 (P'ships), 3 (C'ships), 2 (WL P'ships), 2 (WL C'ships) |
| Sydney Ice Dogs | Australian Ice Hockey League | Liverpool Catholic Club Ice Rink | 2002 | 2 |
| Sydney Kings | National Basketball League | Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre | 1988 | 3 |
| Sydney Roosters | National Rugby League | Sydney Football Stadium | 1908 | 13 |
| Sydney Sixers | Big Bash League | Sydney Cricket Ground | 2011 | 3 |
| Sydney Swans | Australian Football League | Sydney Cricket Ground, Stadium Australia | 1874 | 5 |
| Sydney Thunder | Big Bash League | Sydney Showground Stadium | 2011 | 1 (BBL), 1 (WBBL) |
| Sydney Uni Flames | Women's National Basketball League | Brydens Stadium | 1992 | 3 |
| Western Sydney Wanderers FC | A-Leagues | Western Sydney Stadium | 2012 | 1 (P'ship), Nil (C'ships) |
| Wests Tigers | National Rugby League | Campbelltown Stadium, Leichhardt Oval, Western Sydney Stadium | 2000 | 1 |

## Venues
### Venues in national competitions

| Venue | Capacity | Main sports |
| Stadium Australia | 83,500 | Rugby league, rugby union, soccer |
| Sydney Cricket Ground | 47,000 | Cricket, Australian rules football |
| Sydney Football Stadium | 45,000 | Rugby league, rugby union, soccer |
| Sydney Showground Stadium | 25,000 | Australian rules football |
| Belmore Sports Ground | 25,000 | Rugby league, soccer |
| Brookvale Oval | 23,000 | Rugby league |
| Penrith Stadium | 22,500 | Rugby league |
| Jubilee Oval | 22,000 | Rugby league |
| Leichhardt Oval | 22,000 | Rugby league |
| Endeavour Field | 22,000 | Rugby league |
| Western Sydney Stadium | 30,000 | Rugby league, soccer |
| Campbelltown Stadium | 20,000 | Rugby league |
| Concord Oval | 20,000 | Rugby union |
| North Sydney Oval | 20,000 | Cricket, rugby league |
| Redfern Oval | 5,000 | Rugby league |
| Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre | 10,000 | Tennis |
| Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre | 4,020 | Equestrian |
| Dunc Gray Velodrome | 3,150 | Cycling |
| Australian Golf Club | | Golf |
| Canterbury Racecourse | | Horse racing |
| Randwick Racecourse | | Horse racing |
| Rosehill Racecourse | | Horse racing |
| Sydney Motorsport Park | | Motorsports |
| Warwick Farm Racecourse | | Horse racing |

### Sydney Olympic Park

Sydney Olympic Park is roughly in the geographical centre of Sydney. Created for the 2000 Summer Olympics, it is now a major sporting centre in the city.

#### Sydney SuperDome

Sydney SuperDome hosts miscellaneous events as Sydney's premier indoors facility. It has a maximum capacity of 21,000.

#### Stadium Australia

Stadium Australia, sponsored as Accor Stadium, is Sydney's largest stadium. Built for the 2000 Summer Olympics, it now hosts big events such as the NRL Grand Final, the rugby league State of Origin and rugby union and soccer internationals.
The venue is the home ground of NRL teams, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and the South Sydney Rabbitohs and serves as an occasional home ground for the Parramatta Eels. Stadium Australia also hosts a number of Sydney Swans home games and the occasional domestic cricket one-day match.

#### Other facilities

There are various other sporting and recreational facilities in the centre including another indoor arena, tennis centre, aquatic centre, athletics centre, hockey centre, archery centre, as well as the Sydney Showground. From 2009 until 2016, the area hosted a motor race in the form of the Sydney 500 on a street circuit within the former Olympic grounds.

### Moore Park
#### Sydney Football Stadium

Sydney Football Stadium (1988) was designed for the use of rugby league and is also used for rugby union and soccer. The Sydney Roosters, the NSW Waratahs and Sydney FC soccer team used it as their home ground. The Wests Tigers used the stadium part-time as a home ground. The ground hosted the 2005–06 A-League grand final won by Sydney FC. The ground also hosted rugby league grand finals from its construction until Stadium Australia was opened. It was demolished in 2019 to make way for the Sydney Football Stadium (2022).

#### Sydney Cricket Ground

The Sydney Cricket Ground is mainly used for cricket games and Aussie rules matches. It is home to the Sydney Swans and NSW Blues. The ground held over 1,000 rugby league first-grade matches in its history but since the opening of the Sydney Football Stadium it is now rarely used.