| Address | Sarawak Ave |
|---|---|
| City | Palm Beach, Queensland |
| Coordinates | 28.134901937111135°S 153.47350515395348°E |
| Broke ground | 1958 (age 68) |
| Opened | 1961 (age 65) |
| Owner | Gold Coast City Council |
| Tenants | Palm Beach Currumbin Football Club Palm Beach Currumbin Cricket Club |
| Record attendance | 4,000 (Surfers Paradise vs PBC, 4 September 1965) |
Salk Oval is an Australian rules football and cricket venue in the Gold Coast suburb of Palm Beach, Queensland. Since 2025, it has been known as Stalagmite Oval under naming rights with the Stalagmite Property Group.[1][2]
It is the home of the Palm Beach Currumbin Football Club in the Queensland Australian Football League (QAFL) and the Palm Beach Currumbin Cricket Club.
History
Salk Oval was opened when the Palm Beach Currumbin Football Club (originally known as Central) was formed in 1961 for the new Gold Coast Australian Football League (GCAFL).[3] Club president Bert Willis, who was from South Australia, insisted that the playing field located between Thrower Drive and the railway line had to be the size and shape for "proper football".[4]
For unknown reasons, the ground was named after American physician Jonas Salk, who developed one of the first successful polio vaccines.[4]
The first football match at Salk Oval was held on 9 July 1961, which saw Central defeat by 25 points.[3][4] Several GCAFL grand finals were played at the ground until the 1980s, including the 1965 grand final, when a crowd of 4,000 people watched Palm Beach Currumbin defeat by 20 points.[5]
On 12 December 1978, a World Series Cricket (WSC) match was played at Salk Oval between the West Indies XI and the Cavaliers XI.[6][7]
In 2015, the ground hosted a North East Australian Football League (NEAFL) match for the first time, with defeating by eight points.[8][9]
References
- ^ Browne, Andrew (12 September 2025). "Which teams will make it to the grand final?". Play AFL. Archived 15 March 2026 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
- ^ "2026 QAFL fixture". Play AFL. 19 January 2026. Archived 16 February 2026 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
- ^ "1961". Southport Sharks. Archived 9 March 2026 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
- ^ "Club History". Palm Beach Currumbin Junior Australian Football Club. Archived 9 August 2025 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
- ^ "1965". Southport Sharks. Archived 22 February 2026 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
- ^ "Council Meeting". City of Gold Coast. 26 October 1978. p. 5. Archived 15 March 2026 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
- ^ "WSC Caval. vs WSC WI, at Currumbin". ESPNcricinfo. 12 December 1978. Archived 15 March 2026 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
- ^ Heaton, Bryce (4 April 2015). "NEAFL Lions v Suns match report". Brisbane Lions. Archived 29 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
- ^ Cheadle, Josh (11 April 2015). "NEAFL Lions go down in thriller". Brisbane Lions. Archived 15 March 2026 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 March 2026.