Thebarton Oval

Thebarton Oval
Thebby
Location	Ashley Street, Torrensville, South Australia 5031
Coordinates	34°55′2″S 138°33′53″E
Opened	1922
Owner	City of West Torrens
Operator	City of West Torrens
Surface	Grass
Capacity	15,000
Field dimensions	Football: 160m x 130m
Tenants
West Torrens Eagles (SANFL) (1922-1989) South Australian Gridiron Association (1989-1996) South Australian Rugby League (1992-1995) South Australian Baseball Team (2003-2008) Woodville-West Torrens Eagles (SANFL) (2006-present) South Australian Amateur Football League (SAAFL) (2008-present) Gridiron Association of South Australia (GASA) (2010-present)

Thebarton Oval was formerly the home ground of SANFL club West Torrens who played their last game at the ground in on 2 September 1989 ending a run of 68 seasons at Thebby Oval. The ground had subsequently deteriorated through lack of usage and maintenance, however, with the Woodville-West Torrens Football Club using the oval as their pre-season base as well as playing one or two games per season, there have been efforts to upgrade the ground in the past few years including upgrading the areas surrounding the ground, replaced the perimeter fencing and installing new seating in the stands.

The Eagles want to upgrade the six light towers at the oval in a bid to be able to play SANFL night games at the venue for the first time since the mid-1980s. The lights have been in place since the 1950s and along with Norwood Oval, Thebarton was a regular host of the SANFL night series including hosting most of the night Grand Finals until Football Park's lights were first used in 1984. Indeed Thebarton hosted the last ever SANFL Night Grand Final held at a suburban ground when the 1983 SANFL Escort Cup Grand Final was played between West Torrens and South Adelaide. The Eagles won their last SANFL championship by defeating the Graham Cornes coached Panthers 7.15 (57) to 5.7 (37).

The ground consists of concrete terracing all around the oval with a mound extending the entire outer wing as well as two grandstands on the north-east wing with seating for up to 3,500 people. The grounds current football dimensions are 160m x 130m.

Thebarton Oval is owned by the City of West Torrens which has leased out the ground to a series of tenants since 1991. The current major tenant is the South Australian Amateur Football League (SAAFL), who use the venue as an administrative and training base, as well as a venue for some matches during the season. The SANFL Umpires department is also based at Thebarton, with umpires training there during the SANFL Season.

Thebarton has been home over the years to a number of other sports including speedway, soccer, gridiron, baseball and rugby league.

The record crowd at Thebarton was set on May 26, 1962 when 20,832 fans turned up to see West Torrens take on SANFL rivals Norwood.

External links

• Thebarton Oval at austadiums.com

Gridiron South Australia (Gridiron SA)

• [1] at Gridiron Association of South Australia