Bulldogs return to Belmore

 
Belmore Sports Ground hosted its first regular-season NRL game since 1998 on Monday night with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs returning to their traditional home.

The match was a sell-out with 16,764 fans packing the venue out to see the Bulldogs defeat the Melbourne Storm 20-4.

The Bulldogs are playing two matches at Belmore this year with the next game against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks on Sunday July 26.

The venue has received some improvements over the past few years to bring it back up to standard with particular attention given to the main grandstand. It has hosted one trial game per year since 2012 with Monday’s fixture the first competitive game since 1998.

The capacity of Belmore is around the 18,000 mark including some 9,000 seats in the main grandstand. Previously the capacity was as high as 25,000 with the recorded attendance set in 1993 when 27,804 fans attended a game between Canterbury and Parramatta.

There has been a push by some to return smaller NRL games to traditional suburban venues while reserving the larger stadiums for higher-drawing games. The solid attendance on hand at the return to Belmore supported this motion.

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