Pembroke Park

Pembroke Park is not a single stadium but a precinct on the edge of Sorell, Tasmania. The site sits at 11 Arthur Street, on land that held the Sorell Racecourse in the 1880s before the oval was destroyed by the bushfires of 1967. A new complex rose from that destruction in 1984, built by the local Junior Sports Committee.

What distinguishes the ground is the 2022 addition of the South East Stadium. An indoor arena costing $10.2 million, it stands inside the outdoor precinct. The outdoor fields, which hold a capacity of 1,000, serve the Southern Football League (SFL) club, the Eagles, who moved to the site in 1992 after a long stint at the Memorial Oval. The ground also hosts the cricket association, the netball league, and the local BMX track.

The original racecourse is gone, replaced by the sports fields. Events fill the calendar: the SFL Grand Finals, a relay for life in August 2024, and truck racing on the Queen's Birthday weekend. The facility is owned and managed by the Sorell Council, funded by state and federal grants, but it feels like a local project.