Beaton Park Stadium
| The Snake Pit | |
| Location | Gwynneville, New South Wales |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 2,000+ |
| Tenants | |
| Illawarra Hawks (NBL) (1979–1998) | |
Beaton Park Stadium is an Australian basketball centre in Gwynneville, New South Wales. It was the home of National Basketball League side Illawarra Hawks between 1979 until 1998.
Beaton Park, also known as the Illawarra Basketball Stadium, is the home to local basketball in Wollongong. It was nicknamed "The Snake Pit" during its time with the Illawarra/Wollongong Hawks. During Hawks games, seating capacity with extra seats at one end of the court was approximately 2,000. Legend also grew around the NBL during the 1980s that during Hawks home games, the Illawarra Steelers rugby league team would sit behind the visiting bench in a bid to intimidate them.
The Hawks remained at the venue until the opening of the 6,000 seat Wollongong Entertainment Centre in 1998, though they continue to play pre-season games at the venue as well as use it as a training facility.
During its time as an NBL venue, Beaton Park was home to such players as Gordie McLeod, Ray Borner, Glen Saville, Butch Hays, Melvin Thomas, Norman Taylor and Chuck Harmison.