More shade, heat relief, event lighting and a new activation space – these are some of the benefits that the Queensland Country Bank Stadium team are enjoying following recent improvements in the Northern Terrace.
Queensland Country Bank Stadium’s Facilities Manager Matthew Glen said a project to install new, uplit shade structures has already proven a great addition to the game day atmosphere.
“We noticed the North Queensland afternoon sun was heating up the stainless-steel benchtops in our Northern Terrace catering outlet, which was not ideal for afternoon events,” Mr Glen said.
“This space also makes for a great event area, so we’ve worked with the Stadiums Queensland Assets and Facilities team to install new shade sails as a solution for sun protection.
"The design also provided the opportunity to add thematic lighting to help dress the venue for events and continue theming across the stadium,” he said.
“The projects took approximately four months to complete and have both really improved the space, making it more useable for afternoon events and more inviting for patrons at evening events.
“The new addition of the shade sails has meant that the area is properly shaded for staff and patrons, providing much needed relief from the afternoon sun and heat, while the thematic lighting has provided more options for our hirers to host engaging events.
“The new thematic lighting also has the ability to change colours to match existing thematic lighting around the stadium or operate independently to support separate events and has provided a general uplift to the aesthetics of the area which can be seen from both inside and outside of the stadium.”
Stadiums Queensland Design Manager Trent Watson said the shade sails are an Australian-first in the way they operate, and a first for retractable shades to be used as part of the thematic lighting display.
“The North Queensland environment presents a unique issue that required a unique, in fact Australian-first solution,” Mr Watson said.
“The new shade sails at Queensland Country Bank Stadium were designed so that multiple awnings can be manually opened and closed at once, halving the amount of work required to use them.
“The addition of the lighting along with the shade sails sets the space up to be one of the North Queensland’s favourite new spots to be during a stadium event!”
The new venue features were officially activated for the first time for the North Queensland Cowboys v Brisbane Broncos Derby match on 25 July 2026.
The shade sails were designed by Cox Architecture and Shadeform.