Newcastle - The Sporting Planet Travel Guide to sports teams, stadiums, events and facilities around the world

NEWCASTLE
CITY OVERVIEW Stay in Newcastle Save Up To 70% On Your Hotel Stay with Travelocity	Although historically renowned for its steel production and industrial landscape, Newcastle has more recently had to turn to other sources of employment generation since BHP decided to wind down its operations there. Newcastle is increasingly turning to tourism to drive its economy based on it having one of the nicest geographical aspects in Australia. The historic City Centre, which is centred on Hunter Street and is within walking distance of Newcastle Beach, has several gems which hark back to Newcastle's important Colonial past, such as Fort Scratchley on Nobbys Road; the Anglican Cathedral on Church Street; and Customs House on Watt Street. Clearly, however, it is the beach culture that Novacastrians proudly claim is the best in the country, with Merewether Beach and Bar Beach being the focus for many surfers in Newcastle. There are also nearby tourist attractions that make the nearby Hunter Valley one of the most visited regions in Australia. About 40km north of Newcastle is Port Stephens, with Nelson Bay and Salamander Bay being the most popular of the resort towns on the Port. As well, between 30 to 60km inland are the Hunter Valley vineyards, which produces some of the best wine in Australia. Most of the vineyards are open for winetasting on most weekends.
GETTING THERE Fly to Sydney From USA Within Australia and NZ From UK and Europe	Although there is a domestic airlines airport just outside Newcastle in Belmont, the best way to get to Newcastle from Sydney other than in a car is CityRail's Inter City train service between Central Station in Sydney and Newcastle Station in Newcastle. Newcastle's public transport system is largely bus-based, with most services provided by State Transit. There are also rail services from Newcastle to the surrounding suburbs and towns, including Broadmeadow, Hamilton, Maitland and Scone.
NRL NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS ENERGY AUSTRALIA STADIUM Ticket information through Newcastle Knights	The Newcastle Knights are currently one of the glamour teams in the competition. The Knights entered the competition in 1988 but a team from Newcastle actually played as far back as 1908 where they had two years in the inaugural Sydney Rugby League competition. Since 1988 the Knights have become one of the competition's powerhouse teams, having won 2 Grand Finals (1997 and 2001) and having made the semi finals another 5 times. The more recent success has been behind one of the modern great rugby league players – half-back Andrew Johns.
NSL NEWCASTLE UNITED ENERGY AUSTRALIA STADIUM Tickets available at Stadium	Newcastle United (formerly the Newcastle Breakers) have been perennial strugglers in the NSL – to the extent that they had not made the playoffs until the 2001-2002 season. By finishing second after the regular season, United finally delivered on the promise that have always shown. Their status within the new national competition is yet to be decided.
NBL HUNTER PIRATES NEWCASTLE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE Ticket information through Hunter Pirates	The Hunter Pirates joined the New Zealand Breakers as new teams in the NBL in 2003. However, Newcastle have a historical significance in the NBL, having been one of the original teams when a national competition started up in 1979. The Newcastle Falcons did not experience that much success in the years before they folded at the end of the 1998/1999 season but the reinvented Pirates are promising to make a much better account of themselves.
ANL HUNTER JAEGERS NEWCASTLE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE Ticket and Event information through www.netball.asn.au	The Hunter Jaegers are the new team in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy, having replaced the Sydney Sandpipers in the eight team comp.
ENERGY AUSTRALIA STADIUM	Formerly the Newcastle International Sports Centre and Marathon Stadium, Energy Australia Stadium has been the home of the Knights since 1988, although it was actually opened in 1970. The Stadium also now hosts Newcastle United in the summer. It has a current capacity of approximately 28,000. The major grandstand is the domain of season ticket holders, with the rest of the ground being grassed-hill seating. It can be a squashy and noisy experience for away fans, as Newcastle has one of the highest home attendance averages in the League. The Stadium is located off Turton Road in Broadmeadow, which is some 4km west of downtown Newcastle. The Stadium is located close to Broadmeadow railway station on the Sydney-Newcastle Railway Line. From Broadmeadow Station, walk west along Lambton Road until you hit Turton Road, where you turn right to walk up to the stadium - it is just under a 1km walk. Another option is to catch Newcastle Buses Routes 230, 317 or 322 from Newcastle Station in Newcastle that go via Lambton Road - get off at Cameron Street, which is some 100m south of the intersection with Turton Road or catch Route 231 which goes along Turton Street - get off at Monash Street right across from the entrance to the Stadium.
NEWCASTLE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE	Newcastle Entertainment Centre is once again a participant in the National Basketball League, having previously hosted the Newcastle Falcons for several years. The Centre was opened in 1992 and has a capacity of just over 6,000. The Stadium is located just to the north-west of Broadmeadow Station on Brown Road. From the Station, walk north along Brown Road until you reach the Stadium. As well the Bus routes that go via Lambton Road (230, 317 and 322) from central Newcastle also get you close the the Centre - just get off at Broadmeadow Station.
HORSE RACING BROADMEADOW RACECOURSE Tickets available at course	The Newcastle Jockey Club’s Broadmeadow Racecourse is located at the corner of Darling and Chatham Streets, Broadmeadow. Broadmeadow hosts several major races during the year, including the Cameron Handicap and the Newcastle Cup in Autumn. Normal race meets are held every second Saturday. Broadmeadow is located just under 1km from the entrance to the race track. From the station, walk south along Lambton Road until you get to the intersection of Telford and Chatham and walk south along Chatham until you reach the race track entrance. The other option is to catch Newcastle Buses Route 224 from Newcastle Station that goes along Glebe Street – get off near Chatham Street and walk north along it to the Race track entrance.