The Ballymore Story
The QRU set up headquarters at Ballymore in 1966 under a deed of grant from the state government.
The ground was officially opened on Sunday April 2, 1967, with a match between the grandfinalists from the previous year, Brothers and University. On the previous day, Saturday April 1, Wests played Teachers in the first A grade match played at Ballymore. The captain of Teachers was Jim Lucey and John Ryan was the captain of the victorious Wests.
The McLean Stand, as it later became known, was opened a year later on April 21, 1968 by then Governor Sir Alan Mansfield. The day was celebrated with a double header of Wests v GPS and Brothers v University.
The Eastern Stand was opened on June 21, 1992.
The ground exceeded capacity in 1993 when 26,000 squeezed in to watch the Wallabies play South Africa. A year later the first match under lights was played at the ground. Today the grandstand is known as the McLean Stand (named in 1980), and the Eastern stand is the QR stand.
In 2006 a new proposal was unveiled to turn Ballymore into a multi-sport facility for Queensland and the region.
Althought the QR Reds now play their Investec Super 14 matches at Suncorp Stadium, Ballymore is still used for hundreds of games during the year, from the Queensland Premier Rugby finals to the junior state championships and grand finals.
