The University's ovals, fields and open grounds are available to clubs, schools, churches and community organisations for matches, carnivals, cultural days and outdoor gatherings.
Grounds bookings are handled separately from indoor venues because they turn on things a room does not: the condition of the turf, the season, the weather, and how many people will be on the site at once.
Physical Facilities Management, through its Parks and Gardens section, decides whether a ground can carry a fixture. A field that has just been top-dressed or has taken heavy rain will be closed, and no booking overrides that.
Grounds are booked by the session or the day. Capacity figures are for spectators and participants together.
Sports precinct, Waigani Campus
3000 participants and spectators
The University's principal turf ground, marked for rugby league, rugby union and soccer, and used for inter-faculty finals, club fixtures and school carnivals.
Behind the student residences, Waigani Campus
800 participants and spectators
A second, unmarked field for training runs, school athletics carnivals and touch competitions, hired at a lower rate than the Main Oval.
Central campus, beside the Michael Somare Library
1200 standing, open air
Open lawn beside the University Forum, used for cultural days, community expositions, awareness days and market-style events with marquees.
Taurama Campus
600 participants and spectators
The open field serving the Taurama campus, available to nearby schools, church groups and health-sector teams for matches and community days.
Rates are indicative and confirmed on quotation. Schools, churches, registered NGOs and affiliated clubs are charged the concession rate. Events using marquees, staging, generators or vehicles on the turf attract a reinstatement charge and a refundable bond.
Request a ground at least three weeks out, and a full season at the start of the semester. Grounds close for maintenance and after heavy rain.
Email Physical Facilities Management with the ground, the date, the sport or activity, and the number of participants and spectators you expect.
Say whether you will bring marquees, staging, generators or vehicles onto the grass.
Parks and Gardens checks the condition of the surface and the maintenance schedule, and confirms whether the ground can carry your event on that date.
The quotation covers hire, marking, cleaning, security and any reinstatement. Events over 500 people pay a refundable bond and provide a crowd management plan.
A week out, confirm your gate times, the vehicles coming in and the contact person who will be on site throughout.
Leave the ground clear of rubbish and equipment the same day. Parks and Gardens inspects the surface, and the bond is released once it is signed off.
Marquees, staging, seating, generators, PA and first aid are arranged by the hirer or quoted separately.
Grounds and fields are managed by Physical Facilities Management, whose Parks and Gardens section maintains the playing surfaces.
Physical Facilities Management — Parks and Gardens
Capacities, rates and availability on this page are indicative and were last reviewed by the web team. The booking office confirms all details in writing when it issues a quotation.