Wollongong City Council has welcomed an announcement by Hockey Australia that Wollongong will host a three test match series between the Australian and Chinese hockey teams.

The series is set to take place from 24 - 27 March and will see top athletes visit the city.

Wollongong City Lord Mayor Councillor Gordon Bradbery OAM said that the series will bring attention to the city and boosts the sport in the area. “What a fantastic opportunity for Wollongong to host this test match series between Australia’s own Kookaburras and the Chinese team,” Cr Bradbery said.

“Council has been working hard to attract events to the city through its Brand Wollongong events program. We’ve already seen success with events like the IMB Garden Cinema and the NSW Cycling championships.”

Hockey NSW will also partner with the Kookaburras to run several local ‘Hookin2Hockey’ clinics which will introduce school aged children to the game of hockey. 

Cr Bradbery said the event would take place at the Unanderra Stadium which recently benefited from a pitch upgrade. “Unanderra Stadium is the perfect place for an event of this calibre, even more so following Council’s recent upgrade of the pitch.

“We thank Hockey Australia for choosing to host this event in Wollongong city. It’s a big win for a regional centre and we look forward to working with Hockey Australia to ensure the success of the series.”

The test match series will be live streamed through the Hockey Australia website.