Adelaide Oval

Adelaide Oval

Ground information
Location	Adelaide, South Australia
Coordinates	34°54′56″S 138°35′46″E
Establishment	1871
Capacity	38,791
Owner	South Australia Cricket Association
Tenants	Australian cricket team South Australia cricket team Adelaide Strikers (BBL) 2011- Adelaide Football Club (AFL) 2014- Port Adelaide Football Club (AFL) 2014-
End names
River End Cathedral End
International information
First Test	12 December 1884: Australia v England
Last Test	24–28 January 2012: Australia v India
First ODI	20 December 1975: Australia v West Indies
Last ODI	14 February 2012: India v Sri Lanka
Domestic team information
South Australia (1877 - present)
As of 5 March 2010 Source: CricketArchive

The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide. It's home to the South Australian Redbacks, the Adelaide Strikers and the South Australian Cricket Association.

The oval has a rich history which dates back to 1871, shortly after the formation of the SACA and is considered to be one of the most picturesque Test cricket grounds in Australia, if not the world.

The ground is mostly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but plays host to other sports such as Rugby League and Soccer.

The oval is managed by the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA). The oval currently has a seating capacity of 36,000 spectators. The maximum crowd at a cricket game was 50,962 during the Bodyline test in 1932 and the maximum crowd was 62,543, set at the 1965 SANFL Grand Final between the Port Adelaide and Sturt Football Clubs.

From March 2012, the oval will undergo a $550 million redevelopment which will bring football into the city, increase the stadium's capacity to 54,600 and become the home venue for the Adelaide and Port Adelaide Football Clubs in the Australian Football League.

History

Australia vs England during the third test in 1902

• The ground was established in 1871 after the formation of SACA.
• The first Test match was played at the Oval from 12–16 December 1884. England beat Australia by eight wickets. (Scorecard)
• The first football game lit by electric light was conducted on the evening of 1 July 1885.
• In 1894–95 Albert Trott collected 8/43 on debut against England, the best ever single-innings Test match figures at the ground.
• The picket fence was put up surrounding the Oval (then with a cycling track) in 1900.
• From 5–12 August 1911 the Australian Football Council Carnival was played at the ground, won by South Australia. The competing sides were SA, VFL, VFA, Western Australia, Tasmania and New South Wales.
• The Adelaide Oval scoreboard, designed by architect Kenneth Milne, began service on 3 November 1911. The clock was added in 1912 and the windvane in the 1930s.
• In 1931–32 Donald Bradman scored the highest score ever at the ground in Test Cricket, compiling 299* against South Africa. In the same game, Clarrie Grimmett collected fourteen wickets, the most ever taken in a Test match at the ground by a bowler.
• In 1932–33, the Bodyline affair reached its lowest point at the ground when Bill Woodfull and Bert Oldfield were struck, and on the third day mounted police patrolled to keep the 50,962 spectators in order (a record crowd for cricket at the ground). The total attendance for the match was 174,351.
• In 1946–47, Arthur Morris of Australia, and Denis Compton of England both made centuries in both innings of the Test.
• In 1947–48 Australia scored 674 against India, the highest team total at the ground in Test matches.
• Considered by some to be the best Test Match ever competed at the ground, Australia played the West Indies in the fourth test of the Frank Worrell Trophy, 1960–61. The match ended in a draw, with the West Indies unable to take the final wicket of the fourth innings, as the last batsmen Ken Mackay and Lindsay Kline held out for 109 minutes. West Indies bowler Lance Gibbs took the only ever Test cricket hat trick at the ground in Australia's first innings. (Scorecard)
• Ken Barrington's favourite ground was the Adelaide Oval, where he scored 104, 52, 52 not out, 63, and 132 not out in 1962-63 and 69, 51, 63, 60 and 102 in 1965-66, a total of 748 runs (93.50).
• A record attendance of 62,543 people was recorded for the 1965 SANFL Grand Final between Port Adelaide and Sturt.
• In 1975–76 the first One-Day International match was played at the ground between Australia and West Indies (40-over match), which Australia won by 5 wickets. (Scorecard)
• In 1978, the ground hosted the first concert by David Bowie in the Southern Hemisphere. It was also the first large scale outdoor concert he had ever played.
• In October 1982, vs Victoria, David Hookes hit a 43 minute, 34 ball century - in some respects the fastest hundred in history. (Statistics)

Chappell stands packed for Australia v England December 2006

• In 1989–90 Dean Jones scored twin Test hundreds against Pakistan.
• South Australia compiled the highest fourth innings winning total in Sheffield Shield history, reaching 6/506 (set 506 to win) against Queensland in 1991–92.
• In 1992–93 the West Indies defeated Australia by one run in the fourth test of the Frank Worrell Trophy, when a bouncer by Courtney Walsh brushed Craig McDermott's glove to end a 40-run last-wicket partnership. It was the narrowest victory ever in Test cricket. Curtly Ambrose picked up ten wickets in the game. (Scorecard)
• Lights were constructed at the ground in 1997, allowing sport to be held at night. This was the subject of a lengthy dispute with the Adelaide City Council, due to environmental issues relating to the parklands area. The first towers erected were designed to retract into the ground; however one collapsed and they were replaced with permanent towers. The first cricket match under lights was a One Day International between South Africa and New Zealand on 6 December 1997. (Scorecard)
• In 1999, Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan was called for throwing by umpire Ross Emerson in a One Day International against England. The Sri Lankan team almost abandoned the match, but after instructions from the president of the Sri Lankan cricket board (relayed to captain Arjuna Ranatunga by mobile phone) the game resumed.
• In 2003, two matches of the Rugby World Cup were played at Adelaide Oval, with Australia thrashing Namibia 142-0 and a thriller of an encounter between Ireland and Argentina which Ireland edged by a single point.
• In December 2003 the highest day-score was compiled at the Adelaide Oval, by Australia against India, with the home side finishing at 5/400 at stumps.
• In November 2005 Brian Lara broke Allan Border's world record for the most Test runs before eventually being dismissed for 226.
• During the 2006/2007 Ashes series, many temporary stands were erected to cope with the demand for tickets. Stands were put between the Chappell stands and on the top of the hills. Australia beat England by 6 wickets on a remarkable last day. (Scorecard)
• In late 2010, the Western Grandstand with a seating capacity of 14,000, was completed.

View of Adelaide's city skyline from Montefiore Hill over the Oval before the new western stands were built

Major sporting events

Statue of Donald Bradman outside the Oval

Adelaide Oval hosts the following major sporting events:

• International cricket — Test and One Day International. The Adelaide Oval hosts some of the many exciting events in the cricketing calendar — including the annual Australia Day One Day International on 26 January (replacing a traditional Australia Day test) and every 4 years, one of the 5 Ashes test matches against England. The tests are now normally held in early December and is a clash between Australia and the international touring team of that particular season. In 2011, The Adelaide Oval held its first Twenty20 International between Australia and England, a match which England won by 1 wicket.
• Domestic cricket — Adelaide Oval is the home ground of the West End Southern Redbacks, the South Australian state cricket team. They play in three competitions: Sheffield Shield (first-class), Ryobi One Day Cup (one-day) and KFC Twenty20 Big Bash. The 2005/06 ING Cup (now known as the Ryobi One Day Cup) final was played at Adelaide Oval between SA and NSW.

A view of the new Western Stands during Day 3 of the second 2010-11 Ashes Series Test match.

• Australian rules football — Adelaide Oval hosts SANFL matches, including many of the finals. Traditional fixtures include a "Grand Final rematch" between last year's Grand Finalists on the afternoon of ANZAC Day, which is well attended due to the venue's close proximity to the Torrens Parade Ground, the end of the ANZAC Day Parade in Adelaide, and the Finals in the first 3 weeks of the SANFL Finals Series, with only the Grand Final being played at AAMI Stadium. Australian Football League matches are played at AAMI Stadium, although this will change in 2014 when AFL games will be shifted to a redeveloped and expanded Adelaide Oval. The first AFL game that took place at the venue was Port Adelaide v Melbourne in Round 24 of the 2011 AFL Season, with Port Adelaide winning by 8 points.
• Rugby sevens — Starting in 2007, Adelaide Oval has hosted the Australia Sevens event in the IRB Sevens World Series.

West stand during the 2010-11 Ashes Series

• Soccer — Adelaide United FC have played a number of A-League home games against Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory FC. Adelaide Oval was the site of an international friendly match between the Socceroos and New Zealand on 5 June 2011.
• Rugby League - In 1991 NSWRL came to the Adelaide Oval when the St. George Dragons played the Balmain Tigers on a cold and wet Friday night under temporary lights in the first of five games that the Dragons would play at the oval over the next five years. That game set a rugby league record crowd for the ground when 28,884 people attended. In 1997 Adelaide got its own side in the much vaunted (but short lived) Super League competition with the Adelaide Rams. Their first home game attracted their record crowd when 27,435 saw the Rams beat the Hunter Mariners 10-8, however, they left the ground in 1998 and went to Hindmarsh Stadium. In 2010 and 2011 the Canterbury Bulldogs played the Melbourne Storm at Adelaide Oval and will do so again in 2012.

16 sports have been played at one time or another at the oval: archery, athletics, baseball, cycling, gridion, highland games, hockey, lacrosse, lawn tennis, rugby league, rugby union, quoits and soccer.

Concerts

Adelaide Oval has hosted major concerts during its time, with some of the most famous acts including Fleetwood Mac (1977 & 2004), David Bowie (1978 & 1983), KISS (1980), Madonna & Paul McCartney (1993), Michael Jackson (1996), Billy Joel & Elton John (1998), P!nk (2002), Pearl Jam (2009), AC/DC and Wolfmother (2010) and Foo Fighters (2011).

Oval layout

The oval dimensions are 190m x 125m, which is both unusually long and unusually narrow for an Australian cricket ground. The arrangement is highly favourable for batsmen who play square of the wicket, and heavily penalises bowlers who deliver the ball wide so that the batsman can exploit the short boundaries square of the wicket. Before the far ends in front of and behind the wicket were roped off, making the playing area shorter, it was not uncommon for batsmen to hit an all-run five. The pitch itself is generally very good for batting, and offers little assistance to bowlers until the last day of a match.

• The playing area is surrounded by a white picket fence and advertising billboards.
• The Hill was created in 1898 with earth from the banks of the River Torrens.
• The scoreboard was first used in 1911 and still shows its original Edwardian architecture.
• There were three western stands from around the start of the 20th century, all of which were demolished in 2009:
  • George Giffen stand (1882)
  • Sir Edwin Smith stand (1922)
  • Mostyn Evan stand (1920s)
• Two grandstands, named the Chappell Stands, after the South Australian cricketing brothers Ian Chappell, Greg Chappell and Trevor Chappell were completed in 2003.
• The Sir Donald Bradman stand was built in 1990 to replace the John Creswell stand and now provides up to date facilities for spectators.
• The scoreboard and the George Giffen Stand are listed on the City of Adelaide Heritage Register, helping to maintain the charm of the ground.
• All stands built at the ground prior to the redevelopment will be demolished to make way for the new stands. The George Giffen Stand has already been demolished and been replaced by the new western grandstands (see below).

The scoreboard and a Video Replay Screen

A northward view towards the scoreboard

A westward view towards the now demolished George Giffen stand

An eastward view towards the Chappell stands

A southward view towards the Bradman stand

Aerial view from North Adelaide prior to demolition of western stands

The new western stand - December 2010

During the second Ashes test

View of part of the west stand, looking south

The scoreboard and hill

Looking north-east

Looking south-east

During the England vs SA match

The new West Stand, looking north

Looking North

Looking South

Inside the new West Stand

Ground redevelopment

Western stand redevelopment

In August 2008 the South Australian Cricket Association announced that it had approved plans to redevelop the ground, involving expanding its capacity to 40,000. Development plans showed a reconfiguration of the playing surface and a remodelled western stand. The redevelopment would make the ground a viable option for hosting Australian Football League games as well as international soccer and rugby. The state and federal Governments each pledged $25m to the project, leaving the SACA to raise at least $45m. The SACA planned for the new stand to be ready in time for the 2010–11 Ashes series.

It was announced on 27 February 2009 that the A$95 million re-development would commence on 10 March 2010.^{[citation needed]} In March, the western stands were torn down.^{[citation needed]}

Western stand construction at the Adelaide Oval on 10 July 2010

2010 state election proposals

In the lead up to the 2010 South Australian state election, the opposition Liberal Party announced that, if elected, it would provide Adelaide with a new stadium with a roof capable of closing.^{[citation needed]} The incumbent Labor party subsequently announced it would fund an upgrade and redevelopment of the whole of the Adelaide Oval, rather than just the Western Grand Stand.^{[citation needed]} The redeveloped stadium, (which will not have a closing roof), is intended to seat 50,000 people, with 77% of them under cover. The redevelopment is proposed to be completed some time in 2014 or 2015. In an arrangement negotiated between the incumbent Labor Party and the SACA on 2 December 2009, it was originally planned to cost $450 million.

Joint redevelopment by SACA and SANFL

The Adelaide Oval Stadium Management Authority (AOSMA), a joint venture of SACA and SANFL, was registered as a company on 23 Dec 2009 following the re-announcement of the plan. The AOSMA has eight directors, four associated with SACA (Ian McLachlan-Chair, John Harnden, Creagh O’Connor & John Bannon) and four with SANFL (Leigh Whicker-CEO, Rod Payze, Philip Gallagher & Jamie Coppins)

However, in early-mid 2010, prior to the election, it became clear that $450m would be inadequate. After the election (on 7 April 2010), SA Premier Mike Rann capped the State Government's commitment, saying: "It's $450 million - and not a penny more", and set a deadline for the parties to agree. In May, Treasurer Kevin Foley announced that "the Government's final offer to the SANFL and SACA for the redevelopment" was $535 million, and the deadline was extended to August 2010. Simultaneously, the SACA and the SANFL were in the process of negotiating an agreement that would enable Australian Rules Football (AFL) to use the Adelaide Oval during the AFL season as their home ground. In September 2010, an agreement between Port Adelaide, SACA, the SANFL and the AFL had still not been achieved.^{[citation needed]}

The redevelopment is also planned to include a $20 million pedestrian bridge across the River Torrens to link the Adelaide railway station precinct with the Adelaide Oval precinct.^{[citation needed]} there was debate on whether the Adelaide Crows will move from Football Park (AAMI Stadium) to Adelaide Oval, or continue to use AAMI Stadium as their home ground. If they do move to Adelaide Oval, it is expected that AAMI will withdraw their sponsorship, and the land around Football Park will be rezoned to allow the SANFL (the owners of Football Park) to profit from the rezoning.^{[citation needed]} Fans of the Adelaide Crows have rallied in support of the club to stay at Football Park. It was announced 2 months prior to the SACA vote that the Adelaide Crows will move to Adelaide Oval and use it as their home ground, as does Port Adelaide. Once the upgrade on the oval has been completed, The Port Adelaide and Adelaide Football clubs will move immediately to Adelaide oval. Once the move has been completed from Football Park to Adelaide Oval, AAMI will withdraw their sponsorship of Football Park, The stands at Football Park will be demolished, but the Adelaide Football Club Administrative offices, CrowsMania (Adelaide Football Clubs merchandise store), the Oval itself and the surrounding area will stay.^{[citation needed]}.In Early 2011, the AFL, SANFL, SACA, the SA Government and the Australian Government reached an agreement to upgrade Adelaide Oval. The SACA and the SANFL proposed, if SACA members vote yes on the upgrade in early May, that the whole Stadium will undergo redevelopment, except for the Northern Mound, the Moreton Bay Fig trees and the scoreboard, which will stay as it is because of it being under heritage listing. The stadium's capacity is meant to exceed 50,000, and it will have 2 T.V. screens, which will both be bigger than the ones at the MCG, which, at the moment, are the biggest in the country. If SACA members do vote yes, (75% of SACA need to vote yes for the deal to go ahead) then the SANFL and AFL will have control over the stadium for 7 months of the year, and SACA will have control for 5 months of the year.

SACA members could choose to vote online on 28 April 2011, of whether they want the upgrade to go ahead, or they could go to the Adelaide Showgrounds on 2 May 2011, to vote. At 6pm, 28 April 2011, It was announced that 60% of SACA members that voted online voted yes, 15% short of the Majority vote needed for the upgrade to go ahead. At 10.15pm, on 2 May 2011, at the Adelaide Showgrounds, it was announced that the votes had been counted and finalized. The results were, 80.37% of total votes cast were in favour of Adelaide Oval being redeveloped, meaning that the upgrade will go ahead. Other small complications are still ahead, but should be easily passed. The upgrade will recommence in April, 2012, and is expected to be finished by late-March, 2014, if there isn't any more delays. The whole Oval will be upgraded except for the already rebuilt Western grandstand (SACA and SANFL members only stand), the Northern Mound, the Historic Scoreboard and the Morton Bay Fig Trees. The Northern Mound, the Morton bay Fig Trees and the Scoreboard are all listed under the Heritage act and will never be demolished unless they are damaged beyond repair.

See also

• List of Test cricket grounds
• List of international cricket centuries at the Adelaide Oval

External links

• Adelaide Oval Official Website