Redfern Oval
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Redfern Oval is a football ground located in Redfern, Sydney, Australia. The South Sydney Rabbitohs Rugby League Football Club played at Redfern Oval between 1948 and 1987. The former National Rugby League ground has a main grandstand on the wing with seats on either side; a hill surrounds the rest of the ground with a few rows of seats near the fence. The total capacity of the ground is around the 20,000 mark. The magic of Redfern Oval is its closeness to the playing field. Visiting teams were often intimited by this fact. The presence of terrace housing and aboriginal community in and around the ground was special and uniquely South Sydney. Across the road from the ground is the current South Sydney Leagues Club. Truly Redfern Oval and its tradition can't be "bottled".
The future of Redfern Oval has recently become the subject of great debate in recent times. Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore was keen to open up the ground to the public, a disaster for the many local sports teams that still use the ground. On the other hand, a faction of South Sydney Rabbitohs members (mainly from the struggling Leagues Club) wanted the ground redeveloped to host NRL matches in a bid to boost the trade at the struggling Leagues Club, which is across the road from the Reg Cope Grandstand.
Currently $19 million is being spent by the City of Sydney Council to completely upgrade and renovate Redfern Oval which will allow the Rabbitohs to return to Redfern in 2008 with state-of-the-art training facilities for players and coaches.
The upgrade offers the Rabbitohs a professional standard playing surface and facilities to allow the oval to be used as their preferred training ground and for a limited number of pre-season and exhibition matches.
[edit] External links
- Redfern Oval at Austadiums
