Stadium Name: | Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium |
Fullname: | Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium |
Location: | Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre, Nassau, Bahamas |
Built: | 1981 |
Opened: | 1981 |
Renovated: | 2005 for the CAC Championship 2014 for the IAAF World Relays |
Expanded: | February 23, 2012 |
Owner: | Bahamas Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Culture |
Surface: | Grass |
Tenants: | Bahamas national football team College of the Bahamas Bahamas Bowl (2014–present) |
Seating Capacity: | 15,023 (expandable to 23,000) |
Thomas Robinson Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Nassau, Bahamas. The largest stadium in the country, it is currently used mostly for soccer matches. The stadium currently has a capacity of 15,000 people, but has the ability to be expanded to hold 23,000 people.[1] The stadium is also the home of the NCAA Division I College Football (American football) bowl game the Bahamas Bowl.
The stadium is named after Thomas A. "Tom" Robinson, a former track and field star who represented The Bahamas at several Olympic Games.[2] [3]
On 22 August 2011, Bahamas national football team was withdrawn by FIFA, from the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Some days later, Bahamas Football Association current president Anton Sealey said the reason was the incomplete construction of the Thomas Robinson Stadium project in Nassau.
The Bahamas Bowl is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sanctioned Division I college American football bowl game first played in December 2014 at Thomas Robinson Stadium. The American Athletic Conference gave Conference USA its spot in the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl and C-USA allowed BYU to take its spot in the Miami Beach Bowl for 2014.
C-USA purchased the Bahamas Bowl and will play in the bowl four times between 2014 and 2019 and possibly all six years.[4]
The inaugural game was held on December 24, 2014, and featured the Central Michigan Chippewas (7-5) vs. the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (7-5).[5]
In 2014, Thomas Robinson Stadium served as the host of the inaugural IAAF World Relays, a relay athletics meet organized by the IAAF. A new Mondo track was installed for the competition.[6] The Stadium also hosted the 2015 and 2017 IAAF World Relays, and will host the 2024 World Athletics Relays.