Blacktown Olympic Park set to host 2010 Nab Cup game

Blacktown Olympic Park, the home base of 　the first AFL club for Greater Western Sydney set to join the AFL competition in 2012, will host its first senior AFL match next year as part of the 2010 NAB Cup.

Blacktown Olympic Park will host the Round 1 NAB Cup game between the Sydney Swans and Carlton on Saturday, February 20. The match will be broadcast nationally on Network Ten.

"This will be the first time the home of Team GWS will host elite level football. This is a terrific way to bring the elite AFL competition to the greater West of Sydney," said Dale Holmes, General Manager, AFL NSW/ACT.

"Hosting the NAB Cup at the Blacktown Olympic Park provides us with the opportunity to really showcase the venue at the highest level. The facility can accommodate up to 10,000 patrons and plans are now underway to deliver not only a great sporting event.

" Last years sell out crowd between Sydney Swans and Western Bulldogs at Rouse Hill gives us confidence that we will attract a good crowd first up at Blacktown Olympic Park – we will ensure that the event is attractive to young families with a range of entertainment for all ages," said Holmes.

The NAB Cup competition will open the AFL season on Friday February 12 with four round one matches to be played on each of the opening two weekends, leading up to the grand final to be played on Saturday March 13.　

"It is great to have another first class facility in Sydney which will allow us to play NAB Cup matches in the Greater Sydney Region, said Andrew Ireland, CEO, Sydney Swans,

"Without a facility like this our club would have had to again play many of the NAB series matches away from home which is far from ideal.

"The opportunity for all our Sydney members and supporters to see our team take on Carlton at this time of the year is a real bonus and makes for an exciting start to the football season in 2010."

The NAB Cup fixture also features matches across the country with games to be played in Canberra and Launceston outside the traditional capital cities, while NAB Regional Challenge matches will be taken to venues that don’t normally host AFL football. As part of the NAB Challenge, a match will be played in Yea in country Victoria to support those areas devastated by this year’s bushfires.

National Australia Bank’s General Manager of Community and Corporate Responsibility, Tim O’Leary, said NAB was delighted that the NAB Cup and NAB Challenge would again extend to reach many Australian communities.

"We are particularly pleased to see a match scheduled for Yea. This will no doubt be important to all levels of the local football community after the devastating bushfires that struck country Victoria in early 2009," Mr O’Leary said.

"The ability to take the AFL to thousands of people around the country who don’t often get a chance to experience the footy is one of the three features of the competition most significant to NAB.

"The second is innovation; testing new rules, new arrangements and new approaches to the game. And thirdly, realising potential; young players testing themselves at the elite level. We believe these unique attributes make the NAB Cup an important part of the competition," he said.

The NAB Cup fixture also features matches across the country with games to be played in Canberra and Launceston outside the traditional capital cities, while NAB Regional Challenge matches will be taken to venues that don’t normally host AFL football. As part of the NAB Challenge, a match will be played in Yea in country Victoria to support those areas devastated by this year’s bushfires.