Unley Oval

Unley Oval

Unley
Former names	House Brothers Oval (2008–10) Commander Centre Oval (2011–12) Envestra Park (2013–14) Peter Motley Oval (2015-2021) Wigan Oval (2022-2023)
Location	Oxford Terrace, Unley, South Australia
Coordinates	34°57′0″S138°36′42″E
Operator	City of Unley
Capacity	10,000
Record attendance	24,000 – Sturt vsNorwood,9 June 1924
Field size	Football:160m x 115m
Surface	Grass
Tenants
Sturt Football Club(SANFL) (1901–1986, 1997–present), Forestville hockey club (SAHA) (1923–1964)
Ground information
International information
Only women's Test	19 January 1979: AustraliavNew Zealand
As of 7 September 2020 Source:CricketArchive

Unley Ovalis a multi-use, community ownedstadiuminUnley,an inner southern suburb ofAdelaide,South Australia.It is a popular community recreation oval and greenspace and is used for lower-gradeSouth Australian Grade Cricket Leaguematches and is the home ground for theSturt Football Clubin theSouth Australian National Football League(SANFL). It was gifted to the community by Edmund Isaac Stephen Trimmer who in 1881 gave Unley Oval for the use by the people of Unley.

Overview

The stadium has a capacity of 15,000 people, with seating for up to 2,000. Its record crowd is 24,000 (estimated) attending a SANFL match between Sturt andNorwoodon 9 June 1924 – at the time the highest for any suburban oval in Adelaide.The highest verified attendance was 22,015 for a league game againstPort Adelaideduring the 1968 season.This would stand as the record SANFL attendance at a suburban ground until 22,738 sawPort Adelaideplay Norwood at Port's home groundAlberton Ovalin 1977.

Unley Oval was the venue of one first-class match betweenSouth Australiaand Lord Hawke's XI in 1903; until 2013,it was the only first class match that South Australia had ever hosted away fromAdelaide Ovaluntil selectedSheffield Shieldgames were played atGlenelg Ovalfrom 2014.The match itself was remarkable: South Australia won by 97 runs afterfollowing on,and two different bowlers (George Thompsonand Henry Hay) took nine-wicket innings hauls.

Dimensions

The dimensions of the playing surface for football are 160m × 115m. The oval is egg-shaped, such that the northern end is more narrow and has shallower pockets than the southern end. Unley Oval has two main grandstands located on the western side of the ground; the newer of the two stands, "TheJack OateyStand ", is open to the public and seats 1,500, and the Members Stand which seats 500 people.

As the ground is community facility, it is open to all users, without the perimeter fencing of most SANFL football club owned grounds, which heavily limit public access and use. Sturt Football Club erects temporary fencing on match days in order to charge admission fees which are reimburse council for half the ground preparation costs and contribute to council expenditure on the Oval's football related infrastructure.

Name

Unley Oval has had several temporary sponsor names during the football season including "Envestra Park", "House Brothers Oval" (from 2008 to 2010), and "Commander Centre Oval" (in 2011 and 2012), under various sponsorship deals.In 2015 Unley Oval was renamedPeter Motley Ovalin honour of former Sturt champion and club #1 ticket holderPeter Motley.In late 2021, another sponsorship deal was takenchanging the name to Wigan Oval until late 2023 when it was changed to Thomas Farms Oval.

External links

• Unley Ovalat Austadiums