first-class cricket match played in Australia was at the Northern Tasmania Cricket Association Ground between the Melbourne Cricket Club and the Launceston Cricket Club in 1851.
Australian rules football (commonly known locally as "football" or "footy") is very popular in Launceston, and is often played at York Park (Aurora Stadium). Holding 20,000 people�more than any other stadium in Tasmania�York Park was swampland before becoming Launceston's showgrounds in 1873. Hawthorn has played between two and five AFL matches each season since 2001, and the St Kilda Football Club played two games a year between 2003 and 2006. In 2007, the Tasmanian Government signed a A$16.4 million, five-year sponsorship deal with Hawthorn, under which the club will play four regular season games and one National Australia Bank Cup pre-season match at the venue each year. Throughout its history, York Park has hosted major pop concerts and other entertainments. Since 2001 it has been a venue for international sports events, and in 2005 was redeveloped at a cost of $23.6 million. Association football (commonly known in Launceston as "soccer") is also played and watched in Launceston [York Park]�the only place in Tasmania to have hosted national league soccer matches. A National Soccer League game was held at Aurora Stadium in 2002 between Perth Glory and Melbourne Knights. A-League's Melbourne Victory have held a pre-season cup game at the venue each year since 2006. The record crowd is 8,061.
Since 2004, the V8 Supercars (Tasmanian Challenge) has been annually held at the recently re-developed Symmons Plains Raceway. A number of other sports have notable presence in Launceston, including basketball (men's, women's and indoor) and hockey. In 2009 Launceston redeveloped the cities swimming facilities which now include a modern indoor multi-million dollar swimming centre at windmill hill, now named Launceston Aquatic.
