Adelaide Oval

Capacity: 55,317
Record Crowd: 62,543- Port Adelaide vs Sturt (October 2^nd, 1965)
Home Teams:

• Adelaide (AFL)
• Port Adelaide (AFL)
• Australia (Cricket)
• South Australia (Cricket)
• Adelaide Strikers (Cricket)

Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby league, rugby union, soccer, tennis among other sports as well as regularly being used to hold concerts. It has regularly been described as a “picturesque” and “character filled” Test cricket ground.

The stadium has been headquarters to the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) since 1871 and South Australian National Football League (SANFL) since 2014. The stadium is managed by the Adelaide Oval Stadium Management Authority (AOSMA). Its record crowd for cricket was 55,317 for the Second Ashes Test on 2 December 2017 and its record crowd for an Australian rules football match was 62,543 at the 1965 SANFL Grand Final between Port Adelaide and Sturt.

The oval dimensions were originally 190m x 125m, both unusually long and unusually narrow for an Australian cricket/football ground. The arrangement was highly favourable for batsmen who played square of the wicket, and heavily penalised bowlers who delivered the ball short or wide so that the batsman could play cut, hook or pull shots. 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 four or even occasionally a five.

The pitch runs North-South. Historically, Adelaide Oval’s integral pitch was generally very good for batting, and offering little assistance to bowlers until the last day of a match. Since the redevelopment in 2013, a drop-in pitch has been used at the venue.

With the 2011–2014 redevelopment completed, the oval dimensions changed to 183m x 134m, making it more suitable for Australian Rules Football, for which the playing field dimensions will be 167m x 124m.

The current scoreboard located on The Hill was first used in 1911 and still shows its original Edwardian architecture. The scoreboard is listed on the City of Adelaide Heritage Register, helping to maintain the charm of the ground. There is a bar located under the scoreboard making this area a popular vantage point for spectators.