Hyatt Regency
Coolum, Queensland, Australia
Hyatt Regency, Coolum, Australia — opened 1980s, 2 rugby league games hosted, home of None -- a one-off promotional venue, not any club's home ground.
Sourcing caveat: The detail that the pitch was a converted golf driving range comes from fan-forum recollections rather than a contemporary press source, and could not be independently corroborated, though it is consistent with everything else known about the fixture.
Ground facts
| Opened | 1980s (Built by Japanese developer Daikyo in the 1980s at a cost of A$250 million as the Hyatt Regency Coolum resort, featuring a championship golf course, tennis complex and spa; acquired by Clive Palmer in 2011 and renamed Palmer Coolum Resort, later adding a "Palmersaurus" dinosaur park. Its accommodation side was reported as derelict/abandoned as of a 2021 news report, though the golf facilities (including a floodlit driving range) were still listed as available -- no more recent source confirms current status.) |
| Home club | None -- a one-off promotional venue, not any club's home ground |
| Games hosted (rugby league, on record) | 2 |
| Top recorded crowd | 5,600 |
| Years used | 1995 |
| Location | Coolum, Queensland |
Name history
- Hyatt Regency Coolum — 1980s-2011
- Palmer Coolum Resort — 2011-present
Rugby league history
This luxury Sunshine Coast golf resort hosted rugby league on exactly one day, 8 February 1995, as part of the Tooheys Challenge Cup's preliminary round: the Brisbane Broncos beat Sydney City 12-0, and Illawarra beat Canberra 14-2, in a promotional doubleheader played, according to fan recollections, on a golf driving range temporarily converted into a football pitch. Both matches drew an identical recorded attendance of 5,600, consistent with a single shared gate for the doubleheader. The competition -- the final edition of the NSWRL/ARL's Tooheys Challenge Cup knockout -- deliberately took some early rounds to non-traditional regional and resort venues as it cut the field toward its Grand Final, won that year by Brisbane over Cronulla-Sutherland at Lavington Sports Ground, Albury. The resort's own subsequent history (a Queen Elizabeth II visit during the 2002 CHOGM, hosting the Australian PGA Championship 2002-2012, and a troubled post-2011 ownership under Clive Palmer) is unrelated to its rugby league connection but a colourful footnote to the venue's story.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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