Pre-Maitland Sportsground the showground was used for sporting events.
About 1930 demand for sporting facilities began to increase and because the show ground now also had motorbike racing and greyhound racing a search began to find and fund a sportsground for Maitland.
Mercury files show first mention of this was on the Wednesday, September 28, 1932, when the Maitland United Rugby League Club called a public meeting at the Town Hall for the following Monday evening to discuss the project.
The following Monday the Mercury backed the project and urged a large attendance at the meeting.
At the well-attended meeting it was decided to select a committee to find a suitable site and ask the mayor to convene a public meeting to discuss the project.
Even before any site was selected, a letter to the editor in March 1933 showed some dispute between Rugby League and Amateur Athletics over the use of the sportsground.
Full article available at Maitland Mercury, Feb. 15, 2014.
