[COM] Adelaide Oval Redevelopment

[mshagg]

Seems like an ok idea to me. I spent plenty of time in the village green (great atmosphere!) throughout the test and it's not like the average SACA member is any better behaved than the general population; just a bunch of guys from the hill that got on the waiting list and bought a collared shirt. Not sure if it was just for the first big game but enforcement of dress code and behaviour was non existant.

Anyway here's a couple of panoramas from the souther stand. View over the city from the terrace bar is fantastic.

[joshyboy]

Thing is though, you'd have to pay for it. Through the nose, more than you already do.
A GA ticket buys you entry to the oval and access to the hill. Each ticket level above that just changes it to "access to a seat".
Pretty sure MCC Members get better social facilities than GA ticket-holders at the MCG. They don't have a Long Room in the Great Southern Stand, for example.

[skyliner]

Couple of names from the general populace for the AO getting around -'the toilet seat' (bad 'taste') and the 'horseshoe'. I know which I'd prefer! More will probably come, being inclined as we are to such things as titles etc.

Great publicity for the oval again today!

ADELAIDE - TOWARDS A GREATER CITY SKYLINE

[Kasey771]

Couple of names from the general populace for the AO getting around -'the toilet seat' (bad 'taste') and the 'horseshoe'. I know which I'd prefer! More will probably come, being inclined as we are to such things as titles etc.

Great publicity for the oval again today!

ADELAIDE - TOWARDS A GREATER CITY SKYLINE

I spoke to many people over the last 5 days as I moved around the members areas of our ‘new’ Oval and The only negatives I heard were from those caught out in the terrace bar on Level 5 of the Riverbank Stand in last Thursday’s unseasonal cold and rain storms. The vast majority of the others very impressed and I find it hard to imagine too many people calling our wonderful new stadium a toilet seat.

[slenderman]

Here's one I got from the bottom of the eastern stand. Unfortunately my camera's quite average:



A couple of thoughts:
-Photos don't show just how huge that southern stand is. You have to see it in person.
-Really liked the leg room. I'm not particularly tall, but there was plenty of room, especially for people to get past for food and whatnot, unlike at AAMI.
-Not sure why such a large section of seating had to be cut off with that white bay cover thing. I understand the batsman has to have the white there, but it's never that much, is it? It was at the other end of the ground as well.

Overall, I really like the stadium. It will be great for footy, being able to hang out in town before and after the game, as well as getting home quicker.

[Nort]

Took a walk up to Montefiore Hill a couple of days ago, and the view from there really shows how massive the Southern Stand is, as you are staring right at a sheer wall of people.

[rev]

Seems like an ok idea to me. I spent plenty of time in the village green (great atmosphere!) throughout the test and it's not like the average SACA member is any better behaved than the general population; just a bunch of guys from the hill that got on the waiting list and bought a collared shirt. Not sure if it was just for the first big game but enforcement of dress code and behaviour was non existant.

I saw plenty of evictions from all over the ground, including the members sections.
I don't know where you've been for the last 5 or so years, but there's been boofhead bogan types who drink to much, spill their drinks everyone, and smell like they've shit them selves half way through the day in the members section for years. It's not a new phenomenon.
I don't know what behavior you are talking about, but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. The Village Green is not a Bowling Green's club for pensioners. It's not intended to attract that sort of crowd who will sit around under the shade enjoying some wine and a bite to eat. There was live music, so it was obviously catering to a younger crowd. Loud and boisterous is kind of expected in that setting. If you don't like it, move to another section as it's obviously not aimed at you.

[Brucetiki]

-Not sure why such a large section of seating had to be cut off with that white bay cover thing. I understand the batsman has to have the white there, but it's never that much, is it? It was at the other end of the ground as well.

ICC requirement I believe. Australia's sight screens have been much, much smaller than most countries for years, so we're really just falling into line with the other test playing nations.

[Port Adelaide Fan]

CROWD FIGURES
Day 1 - 33,943
Day 2 - 35,488
Day 3 - 36,414
Day 4 - 33,754
Day 5 - 14,201 (free entry)
Total crowd - 153,800

CROWD RECORDS
Day three's 36,414 was the highest third-day attendance since 1955, and second-biggest crowd of any day since 1955.

more

[mshagg]

If you don't like it, move to another section as it's obviously not aimed at you.

Settle down chief. I didnt have a problem with it at all - it was a fun and friendly vibe, particularly after the end of play when the bands were playing. The suggestion i was addressing was that the unwashed masses outside of the members area would 'trash' the place if they had a similar social area provided. I dont think that's the case, as the members area isnt the library-type environment that some people seems to assume. If there's room on the eastern side of the ground for such a setup, I think it would be very well received.

Im not sure how they'd go for capacity... during Johnson's spell on saturday there wasnt much room in the stands but the village green was still being very well patronised!

[rev]

I wasn't having a go at you. Was just talking generally.

[cruel_world00]

Well, we knew it was coming. If this is the best News Limited has to rag on the new Adelaide Oval then it's clearly a successful redevelopment:
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/opin ... 6779179197

IT began with a one-sided conversation with Darren Lehmann on the jam-packed Village Green behind the Sir Donald Bradman Pavilion at the new Adelaide Oval.

"Where's the David Hookes Bar", Boof?

Boof, usually as affable as they come, wasn't saying anything because he's a statue.

But you can't have everything, so I tried his great mate Dizzy Gillespie.

"Where's the Leigh Whicker Room", Diz?

Dizzy, the most approachable of cricketers, wasn't talking either because he's a statue, too. I tried Twitter, but I guess statues don't tweet - yet.

It stands to reason that the best way to find your way around this new legend-happy Adelaide Oval is to ask a legend. But if Boof and Dizzy are staying mum, what hope have we got?

Eventually Barrie Robran, Russell Ebert and Malcolm Blight, not to mention Ken Farmer, George Giffen and Clem Hill, will join the boys in bronze. Obtaining directions from the second trio of departed sporting heroes will be a feat in itself, so I reckon our main hope is Blighty.

I tell you what, if you can't get a word out of a statue of Malcolm Blight, you'll never get a word out of a statue of anybody.

However, Blighty won't be in situ for a while yet. So until he is, we're pretty well on our own negotiating our way through this maze of legends. Without question all of them are worthy of the recognition accorded.

But such an orgy of name-dropping has made getting around Adelaide Oval an act of quiet desperation for your average SA sports-lover, at a time when joy should be all around.

And it's not going to get any easier when one stand - the eastern one - stand alone will have FIVE names.

Five! Wanganeen-Ricciuto-Oatey-Basheer-Williams. What if you're in the Wangas Stand and your partner, sitting next to you, is in the Roo Stand? Worse, what if it's your ex-partner?

Expect turf wars and border disputes in the world's most named grandstand.

At the Test, I thought of catching a taxi to the Bob Hank Bridge in the new Riverbank Stand. As I was in the Super Carey-Neil Kerley Bar in the new Riverbank Stand at the time, it seemed a good idea. Knowing my luck with taxis though, I probably would have been dropped at the Morphett Street Bridge.

With the eastern stand still under construction, it was slightly disappointing not to be able to not find the Graham Cornes Deck, the John Halbert Room and the John Platten and Garry McIntosh Bars.

But it was extremely disappointing not to be able to not find the Rick Davies Stadium Club Bar, named after the only stand-up comedian in the entire history of Australian Football.

What a hoot that room is going to be, seven nights a week, two shows a night. Davo is also known as the Jumbo Prince, which set me thinking about the legends who missed out on the first wave of name-dropping, and how Adelaide Oval is going to accommodate the waves of name-dropping required in for future generations. ahead.

At the cracking rate they've already set, the Oval managers will soon run out of things to name-drop. They might have to turn to the seats, of which they now have zillions.

Peter Darley was the original Jumbo Prince, a true SA and Adelaide Oval sporting legend. I feel Darls is unlucky to have missed out the first time. Amends should be made, and believe this: in the future I'd much rather sit on a seat at Adelaide Oval called Peter Darley than Peter Darley sit on me.

It's not only the humans, though. During an Ashes Test, how would you feel if you were a room, a lift, an escalator, and you weren't named after a legend? Inadequate, I would say, or shabbily spurned.

Although Boof and Dizzy were completely useless, a full day at the Test at least allows a person to get some sort of handle on moving quickly from one legend to the next. Some have done better than others, and Lindsay Head is the big winner.

The terrace at the back of the Riverbank Stand bears the triple Magarey Medallist's name. The terrace offers amenity, convenience and a view of the city skyline never seen before. Just as much as the view of the playing field of Adelaide Oval on the other side, the Lindsay Head Terrace represents a vision realised that will change Adelaide forever.

Lance Campbell is a former Advertiser sportswriter and columnist

[Henwii]

Was there on the final day and went up to the top tier of the southern stand. Sat in the wheelchair bay, so towards the bottom of the top tier, but it was still an almighty view.

You could see the whole ground perfectly, and didn't feel like you were too far away from the action IMO. The height between rows was really noticeable, you'd have to have someone who's 220cm tall in front of you to have a problem.

The atmosphere up there was really enhanced as well, despite the smaller crowd. The noise really reverberated around the stand. The roof is 10x bigger than it appears in photos as well. You'd have absolutely no chance of getting wet from where I was sitting, and I doubt anyone will get wet from level two either (the red seat section).

Anyway, here's my photo collection from the last day. Went over to the eastern stand as well after the end of play and took some photos there as well.

Enjoy!

http://s1169.photobucket.com/user/hdecu ... t=3&page=1

[bretthandorf]

Sat at the top of the southern stand at the ashes and was very, very surprised about how good the view was. Thought I would be miles away from the action but it feels like you are right on top of it, even the view down the other end was very good. Maybe skip it though if you have vertigo, don't think they could have made the stand much steeper, makes for a great atmosphere though. And my gosh that roof is spectacular

[sjc]

Any idea if they are going to do something about those stupid temporary stairs that you have to climb to get onto the terrace level at the Northern end of the Western stand? They create a real bottleneck during peak traffic times and will be hopeless come football time.

I assumed they would eventually be replaced with something permanent but I think they need that driveway area free for construction vehicles and the drop in pitches to fit through.

This was the original configuration before they excavated the area between the stand and the green fence to create a flat driveway at ground level.



And then the new setup.