Elizabeth Oval
| Elizabeth | |
| Former names |
Elizabeth Oval (1959-2001) NAP Oval (2002-05)[1] Hamra Homes Oval (2006-10) |
|---|---|
| Location |
Goodman Road, Elizabeth, South Australia |
| Coordinates | 34°43′20″S 138°39′48″E / 34.72222°S 138.66333°ECoordinates: 34°43′20″S 138°39′48″E / 34.72222°S 138.66333°E |
| Owner | City of Playford |
| Operator | Central District Football Club |
| Capacity | 18,000 |
| Field size | Football: 180m x 130m |
| Surface | Grass |
| Opened | 1959 |
| Tenants | |
|
Central District Football Club SANFL (1959-present) | |
Elizabeth Oval,[2] (currently Playford Alive Oval and formerly NAP Oval, and Hamra Homes Oval), is an Australian rules football stadium located in Elizabeth, a northern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia.
Since 1959 Elizabeth Oval has been the home ground of the Central District Football Club who play in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). The Bulldogs (also commonly known as the Centrals) played their first SANFL league match at the ground in 1964 after playing in the SANFL B-grade (reserves) since the club's inception in 1959.
The ground has a capacity of 18,000 people, with a single grandstand that seats 1,500. The oval, the longest goal to goal venue in the SANFL at 180m (5m longer than Woodville Oval), is surrounded by concrete terracing on the grandstand side of the ground, plus a 5 row ring of concrete around the rest of the ground, with grass banks around the entire outer. The ground record crowd of 16,029 was set in 1984 for an SANFL match between the Centrals and the Port Adelaide Magpies.[2]
After negotiations between Central District and the City of Playford, light towers were installed in March 2006 allowing the Bulldogs to play night SANFL games. The first official night game was held at the oval in April 2006 when 7,329 fans turned out to see the defending SANFL premiers (Centrals) defeat Sturt.[3] The ground was not used for any SANFL night games in 2011 with Centrals citing operating costs as the reason. Night football will return to Elizabeth in 2012 with the Bulldogs hosting Norwood on Saturday 31 March in a Round 2 clash.
The ground was known as Elizabeth Oval from the time it opened until 2001. In 2002 the council signed a naming rights deal with NAP Finance and the oval's name changed to NAP Oval. This expired after 2005 and NAP was replaced by northern Adelaide home builder Hamra Homes who held the naming rights until the end of 2010. From 2011 the oval has been known as Playford Alive Oval.
Playford Alive Oval is easily accessible by either car or public transport with Adelaide's northern suburban commuter railway line, the Gawler Central railway line passing by the western side of the oval and the main bus and train interchange (Elizabeth railway station) located within five minutes walking distance of the oval. The ground also has plenty of in ground (for members, players and officials) and on-street car parking, as well as ample parking at the nearby shopping mall, the Elizabeth City Centre.
References and notes
- ↑ NAP Finance, a mortgage broker, secured naming rights from 2002 to 2005.
"Aware", City of Salisbury, Issue 10, Autumn 2004, pg10;
"NAP Finance pulls out of naming rights deal", 14 December 2005, bigfooty.com. - 1 2 Elizabeth Oval, austadiums.com.
- ↑ History, Central District Football Club, cdfc.com.au
External Links
- Elizabeth Oval at Austadiums
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