Adelaide Oval

The Adelaide Oval is an AFL and SANFL stadium that presently hosts the home games of Adelaide and Port Adelaide clubs and the SANFL grand final and other finals. The venue also hosts Test, one day and T20 cricket as well as hosting soccer, cycling, rugby league, rugby union, baseball and gridiron amongst others. The venue has also hosted concerts, religious gatherings, a royal tour motorcade, a Christmas parade and even an indigenous corroboree.
==Construction and early years==
The oval was created for cricket in 1871 by the newly formed South Australian Cricket association, and started being used for football in 1877 upon the formation of the South Australian Football Association. The first stand was built at the ground in 1882 - the Member's Stand later also known as the George Giffen Stand which would stay for decades. Also in 1882 South Adelaide started playing it's home games at the venue, and cycling started being held on a velodrome around the oval. In 1884 the first international cricket test match was played between Australia and England. In 1889 the first ever SAFA grand final was played at the Adelaide Oval.
It took until 1900 before a fence was erected around the oval, putting the velodrome at a disadvantage and it would be removed later. A year earlier extra dirt out of the River Torrens was used to create a hill at the northern end of the venue. Moreton Bay fig trees were planted to create protection from the sun during the summer months. In 1911 a cricket scoreboard was added to the south east of the hill.
In the 1920's three more stands were added with two on either side of the Giffen Stand - the Sir Edwin Smith Stand and the Mostyn Evans stand. Towards the southern end of the ground the John Creswell Stand was also built. This would remain as the configuration for many decades.
==The SANFL departs==
The biggest crowd in the history of the venue for a sports event was set in 1965, when Sturt faced Port Adelaide in that year's SANFL grand final. The next notable addition to the Adelaide Oval wasn't until 1967, when the Victor Richardson Gates were created in honour of the former Test cricketer and grandfather of the Chappell brothers. Victor would pass away just two years later.
In 1973 the SANFL departed the Adelaide Oval. After the grand final they adopted Football Park, even though South Adelaide continued to play their home games there. It started a gulf between the charm of the venue and the modern facilities at the new ground - and between the two sports.
In 1990 the first major change to the venue was made in nearly 70 years, when the Creswell stand was demolished to make way for the new Sir Donald Bradman Stand. In 1994 South Adelaide played their last home game at the Adelaide Oval, moving to Noarlunga in 1995 - further distancing itself from the game. However grand finals in the South Australian Amateur Football League were played there.
==Improvements and football returns==
In 1997 lights were installed - despite concerns from the Adelaide City Council. This allowed for night time sessions for one day cricket. Increasing crowd sizes led to the building of the Chappell Stands on the eastern side of the ground, forcing the moving of the Richardson Gates further north. This however would not be enough as temporary stands were needed for the 2006 Ashes Series. This led to the SACA developing plans to increase the capacity of the venue to 40,000. This required the support of the South Australian government - and consequently the AFL, the SANFL and the Australian government in Canberra - to get off the ground.
All the existing stands were demolished progressively. The new layout involved the Riverbank stand at the southern end, the stand to the east that was divided into sections named after Gavin Wanganeen, Jack Oatey, Max Basheer, Fos Williams and Mark Ricciuto, and the triple stand to the west named after Sir Edwin Smith, Sir Donald Bradman and the Chappells. The Bradman Pavillion is in the position of the Giffen stand and retains the foundations. This section was completed first. The Hill, the Moreton Bay fig trees and the scoreboard - all heritage listed - remained untouched.
This led in 2014 to the permanent return of football to the venue and the closure of Football Park. The first AFL game played at the Adelaide Oval was a Showdown between Adelaide and Port Adelaide. The SANFL grand final also returned and the first AFL final was played as well with Port Adelaide defeating Richmond.
==Other uses==
The Adelaide Oval is the home ground for the South Australian cricket team in the Sheffield Shield and one day cricket, and for the Adelaide Strikers in the BBL. It was also the short lived home ground for rugby league team the Adelaide Rams as well as hosting other NRL games including a State of Origin game in 2020. Soccer team Adelaide United have played home games at the venue, along with a number of other matches. International rugby union has also been played at the Adelaide Oval. Cycling took place on the old velodrome before it was removed some time after 1903. Baseball's Claxton Shield was hosted here in the early days from 1934 to 1951, and a single exibition gridiron game was put on during Worl War 2. Other sports that have been played at the Adelaide Oval are hockey, lacrosse, motorcycle racing, Scottish highland games and even quoits.
Outside of sport, the venue has also hosted many concerts, including for Adele in 2017 - an event that attracted 70,000; the present record for the Adelaide Oval. Other acts that have played there include Queen with Adam Lambert, U2, Phil Collins, Ed Sheeran, Midnight Oil, Guns'N'Roses, AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, the Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam, Fleetwood Mac, Pink, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Elton John & Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Simon & Garfunkel, Kiss, Rod Stewart, Peter Frampton and the Little River band.
The Adelaide Oval also hosted a motorcade for a royal visit by the Duke and Ducchess of York in 1927. It hosted a Corroboree back in 1885 attracting abouot 20,000 people and has also hosted religious gatherings. In 2020, the Christmas parade that was usually held on the main street in Adelaide was held at the Adelaide Oval instead due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Category:Venues