Floods impact sport and recreation facilities in southern Queensland and northern NSW
Extraordinary levels of rainfall in northern NSW and southern Queensland over recent days, with flooding impacting public safety, are also having an effect on fitness, recreation and sport facilities.
Venues such as Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium, rugby union’s Ballymore and the Queensland State Tennis Centre have all reported being inundated by flood waters while functional fitness brand Fitstop posted an image of its Fitstop Jindalee under at least a metre of water.
As the heavy rainfall continues, dangerous conditions have been created across the region with rising flood waters impacting low-lying areas.
In Brisbane, the flood emergency forced Super Rugby Pacific’s Queensland Reds to train at a local high school gym after Ballymore Oval was inundated.
However, not all squad members were able to attend the session with some Reds players dealing with flooded homes themselves.
Suncorp Stadium, from where, in the middle of last month, the A-League’s Brisbane Roar had to relocate after its playing surface became water-logged Suncorp Stadium was also underwater with officials uncertain as to whether this weekend’s Super Rugby clash between Fijian Drua and the Rebels.
Among other venues impacted, last night’s NRL trial match between the Titans and Warriors, scheduled for Redcliffe's Moreton Daily Stadium, was called off while the boxing debut of Nikita Tszyu that is set to headline a fight night at Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on Wednesday is also in severe doubt with the indoor venue another to have been impacted by the floods.
Community clubs impacted
Community sporting clubs in the region have also been impacted, with the plight of the Mitchelton Football Club in Everton Park being widely reported.
Flood waters from Kedron Brook inundated the club’s Teralba Park base ruining infrastructure and lifting and rolling up its new synthetic pitch.
Pictures show the surface in an unplayable state, with Club President Gary Green telling the ABC that the flood waters went “through our clubhouse (and) over all of our fields, including the synthetic pitch that we've got here, which looks more like a mountain track at the moment than a pitch.”
A state of emergency has been issued with more than 20,000 homes in south east Queenland damaged as a result of an unprecedented ‘rain bomb’ that has hit the region over the weekend.
Images: Floods impacting Ballymore (top, credit: Queensland Rugby) and Fitstop Jindalee (middle, credit: Fitstop) and flood waters rolled Mitchelton Football Club's new synthetic pitch (below, credit: Mitchelton Football Club).
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