{{Short description|Sports venue in Gold Coast, Australia}} {{Use Australian English|date=June 2020}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}} {{Infobox venue | name = Salk Oval | former_names = | logo_image = | image = Salk Oval 2026 1 cropped.jpg | caption = | address = Sarawak Ave | city = Palm Beach, Queensland | coordinates = {{coord|-28.134901937111135|153.47350515395348|type:landmark_region:AU-QLD|display=inline,title}} | broke_ground = {{Start date and age|1958}} | opened = {{Start date and age|1961}} | owner = Gold Coast City Council | operator = | tenants = Palm Beach Currumbin Football Club<br/>Palm Beach Currumbin Cricket Club | seating_capacity = | record_attendance = 4,000 (Surfers Paradise vs PBC, 4 September 1965) | dimensions = | scoreboard = }} '''Salk Oval''' is an Australian rules football and cricket venue in the Gold Coast suburb of Palm Beach, Queensland. Since 2025, it has been known as '''Stalagmite Oval''' under naming rights with the Stalagmite Property Group.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Browne |first1=Andrew |title=Which teams will make it to the grand final? |url=https://play.afl/queensland/news/which-teams-will-make-it-grand-final |publisher=Play AFL |access-date=15 March 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260315075429/https://play.afl/queensland/news/which-teams-will-make-it-grand-final |archive-date=15 March 2026 |date=12 September 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=2026 QAFL fixture |url=https://play.afl/sites/default/files/2026-01/QAFL.pdf |publisher=Play AFL |access-date=15 March 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260216042758/https://play.afl/sites/default/files/2026-01/QAFL.pdf |archive-date=16 February 2026 |date=19 January 2026}}</ref>
It is the home of the Palm Beach Currumbin Football Club in the Queensland Australian Football League (QAFL) and the Palm Beach Currumbin Cricket Club.
==History== Salk Oval was opened when the Palm Beach Currumbin Football Club (originally known as Central) was formed in 1961 for the new Gold Coast Australian Football League (GCAFL).<ref name="sp1961">{{cite web |title=1961 |url=https://football.southportsharks.com.au/histories/1961/ |publisher=Southport Sharks |access-date=15 March 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260309092433/https://football.southportsharks.com.au/histories/1961/ |archive-date=9 March 2026}}</ref> Club president Bert Willis, who was from South Australia, insisted that the playing field located between Thrower Drive and the railway line had to be the size and shape for "proper football".<ref name="pbcjafc">{{cite web |title=Club History |url=https://pbcjafc.com.au/pages/club-history |publisher=Palm Beach Currumbin Junior Australian Football Club |access-date=15 March 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250809185622/https://pbcjafc.com.au/pages/club-history |archive-date=9 August 2025}}</ref>
For unknown reasons, the ground was named after American physician Jonas Salk, who developed one of the first successful polio vaccines.<ref name="pbcjafc"/>
The first football match at Salk Oval was held on 9 July 1961, which saw Central defeat {{VFL Sou}} by 25 points.<ref name="sp1961"/><ref name="pbcjafc"/> Several GCAFL grand finals were played at the ground until the 1980s, including the 1965 grand final, when a crowd of 4,000 people watched Palm Beach Currumbin defeat {{QAFL SP}} by 20 points.<ref name="sp1965">{{cite web |title=1965 |url=https://football.southportsharks.com.au/histories/1965-magpies/ |publisher=Southport Sharks |access-date=15 March 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260222032328/https://football.southportsharks.com.au/histories/1965-magpies/ |archive-date=22 February 2026}}</ref>
On 12 December 1978, a World Series Cricket (WSC) match was played at Salk Oval between the West Indies XI and the Cavaliers XI.<ref>{{cite web |title=Council Meeting |url=https://librarycatalogue.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/client/en_AU/search/asset/70600/0 |publisher=City of Gold Coast |access-date=15 March 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260315090648/https://librarycatalogue.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/client/en_AU/search/asset/70600/0 |archive-date=15 March 2026 |page=5 |date=26 October 1978}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=WSC Caval. vs WSC WI, at Currumbin |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/wsc-west-indies-tour-of-australia-1978-79-316188/wsc-cavaliers-vs-wsc-west-indies-322861/full-scorecard |publisher=ESPNcricinfo |access-date=15 March 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260315063012/https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/wsc-west-indies-tour-of-australia-1978-79-316188/wsc-cavaliers-vs-wsc-west-indies-322861/full-scorecard |archive-date=15 March 2026 |date=12 December 1978}}</ref>
In 2015, the ground hosted a North East Australian Football League (NEAFL) match for the first time, with {{NEAFL SP}} defeating {{NEAFL BL}} by eight points.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Heaton |first1=Bryce |title=NEAFL Lions v Suns match report |url=https://www.lions.com.au/news/414454/neafl-lions-v-suns-match-report |publisher=Brisbane Lions |access-date=15 March 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220329072841/https://www.lions.com.au/news/414454/neafl-lions-v-suns-match-report |archive-date=29 March 2022 |date=4 April 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Cheadle |first1=Josh |title=NEAFL Lions go down in thriller |url=https://www.lions.com.au/news/93012/neafl-match-report-rd1 |publisher=Brisbane Lions |access-date=15 March 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260315051929/https://www.lions.com.au/news/93012/neafl-match-report-rd1 |archive-date=15 March 2026 |date=11 April 2015}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{QAFL}} {{NEAFL}}
Category:Cricket grounds in Queensland Category:Sports venues on the Gold Coast, Queensland Category:North East Australian Football League grounds Category:Sports venues completed in 1961 Category:1961 establishments in Australia