Adelaide Oval news and events

[Bob]

Just regarding the Perth's place in the pantheon for cricket:
'Perth's WACA Ground is no place for Test cricket in 2020, as laptops melt and spectators sizzle' as reported by ABC News

Basically argues Optus Stadium has not won over fans (yet) but there's no turning back to WACA. Choice quote for the parochial: "If Adelaide can attract consistent Test crowds of more than 30,000 so can Perth".

As I mentioned previously, the initiative taken to get Adelaide Oval the first day/night test Match should have been followed through by the SA Govt & SMA to negotiate a deal with Cricket Australia so that Adelaide be given a permanent slot for the first weekend in school holidays in December, & given the status every year as the #3 test match.

Given that SA Tourism has just announced that international tourism numbers to SA are down almost 5% for 2019, as I have raised before, AO needs to play a bigger role in international tourism. For example, if AO had the recent NZ test match, instead of Perth, SA would probably have had a few thousand kiwis attend, as it was there were no more than a trickle of international visitors for the recent Pakistan test match, the majority of the crowd were local, plus the usual interstate evergreen cricket tragics.

It was good that AO achieved the 3rd highest test match crowd attendance this summer (after Melbourne & Sydney), but the multiple 40 degree days which Perth had during the test match pushed their crowd numbers down, so not a fair representation, the same happens at AO when there are 40 degree days, crowd attendances drop off considerably – can’t expect many people in the general attendance areas to feel comfortable when it's very hot.

AO really needs to get the permanent slot negotiated, so it gets the best test matches of the season. It still has a good argument to win, based on history and past attendances, however that argument will become weaker as time goes by.

Boosting even small international tourism numbers to Adelaide will mean more to SA economically than to WA or QLD, because we are working from a small base relatively speaking. That’s is why AO needs to be used more for higher profile international events on a regular basis.

[Bob]

The State Government pulled the pin on the Commonwealth Games bid a few months ago, now they have pulled the pin on the option to host a Bledisloe Cup at AO. Two significant events not worthy of AO or tourism benefit to SA, in their estimation.

On top of the SMA failing to secure the return of EPL, and not getting a NFL game allocated to AO as originally planned, the number of international sporting events outside of cricket for AO have become very thin on the ground, in 2019 there were none.

With AFL attendances at AO for 2019 being the lowest since redevelopment, with 2019 only having a secondary cricket Test Match, the State Govt and the SMA need to work harder on promoting AO to a broader audience worldwide and getting significant events on a regular basis.

On a brighter note, at least this year the NRL State of Origin should be a winner and later in the year and AO will get its fair share of the World Cup 20/20 the same as other grounds.

On a side note, the decision which cities hold the four India Test matches next season should be announced during March – let’s hope that Adelaide is one of them, can’t miss out on what will be the biggest series & tourism bonanza second only to an Ashes tour.

[Bob]

Just for interest/reference. Adelaide Oval & Perth Stadium highest attendances since redevelopment of AO and new build of PS.

HIGHEST ATTENDANCES*
DATE SPORT EVENT CROWD
10/08/19 Rugby Union Wallabies v New Zealand 61,241
23/06/19 Rugby League State of Origin: NSW v QLD 59,721
22/09/18 Australian Football AFL Finals: West Coast Eagles v Melbourne 59,608
08/09/18 Australian Football AFL Finals: West Coast v Collingwood 59,585
05/09/19 Australian Football AFL Finals: West Coast Eagles v Essendon 59,216
13/04/19 Australian Football AFL: West Coast Eagles v Fremantle 58,219
20/05/18 Australian Football AFL: West Coast Eagles v Richmond 57,616
05/08/18 Australian Football AFL: West Coast Eagles v Fremantle 57,375
29/04/18 Australian Football AFL: Fremantle v West Coast Eagles 56,521
19/05/19 Football A-League Grand Final: Perth Glory v Sydney FC 56,371
06/07/19 Australian Football AFL: Fremantle v West Coast Eagles 56,358
12/07/19 Australian Football AFL: West Coast Eagles v Collingwood 56,251
24/08/19 Australian Football AFL: West Coast Eagles v Hawthorn 55,859
19/08/18 Australian Football AFL: West Coast Eagles v Melbourne 55,824
23/07/18 Football Chelsea FC v Perth Glory 55,522

HIGHEST ATTENDANCES*
DATE SPORT EVENT CROWD
02/12/17 Cricket 2nd Ashes Test: Australia v England (d1) 55,317
19/07/15 Australian Football AFL: Port Adelaide v Adelaide Crows 54,468
22/09/17 Australian Football AFL Finals: Adelaide Crows v Geelong Cats 53,817
08/04/17 Australian Football AFL: Port Adelaide v Adelaide Crows 53,698
30/08/15 Australian Football AFL: Adelaide Crows v West Coast Eagles 53,445
13/05/16 Australian Football AFL: Adelaide Crows v Geelong Cats 53,141
31/03/19 Australian Football AFLW Grand Final: Adelaide Crows v Carlton 53,034
20/07/15 Football Adelaide United v Liverpool 53,008
07/09/17 Australian Football AFL Finals: Adelaide Crows v GWS Giants 52,805
24/01/15 Cricket BBL SF: Strikers v Sixers 52,633
22/08/14 Australian Football AFL: Port Adelaide v Carlton 52,505
24/05/14 Australian Football AFL: Port Adelaide v Hawthorn 52,233
03/12/17 Cricket 2nd Ashes Test: Australia v England (d2) 52,201
02/04/16 Australian Football AFL: Adelaide Crows v Port Adelaide 51,585
18/08/17 Australian Football AFL: Adelaide Crows v Sydney Swans 51,466

[NTRabbit]

As I mentioned previously, the initiative taken to get Adelaide Oval the first day/night test Match should have been followed through by the SA Govt & SMA to negotiate a deal with Cricket Australia so that Adelaide be given a permanent slot for the first weekend in school holidays in December, & given the status every year as the #3 test match.

The problem here is that, after the first successful one, the next summer was followed up by India touring, who flat out refused to do day/night tests, and really can't be forced to do anything they don't want to do given the strength of the BCCI. CA was lucky to get them to agree to as many as 4 tests, given that they would prefer to do 1 or 2 tests at most and then a dozen T20s. That was enough to kill our momentum.

[Llessur2002]

Another article relevant to the 'should Adelaide Oval be expanded' discussion:

When our stadiums are oversized, the atmosphere and intimacy of the game suffers

Recently an English acquaintance who is spending the summer in Australia asked me which of Melbourne's many stadiums was hosting an A-League game he hoped to attend.

I told him it was AAMI Park before adding rather apologetically that: "It's a great stadium for football, rugby and rugby league, but it only holds about 28,000."

"Only 28,000?" he replied. "That's a bloody big stadium where I come from."

The response was informative because it exposes both the common misconception about sports attendance in many other nations and also our increasingly outmoded addiction to much bigger and supposedly better venues.

The outcome of these long-held beliefs is that now, increasingly, we are seeing sport played in big venues attended by small crowds, meaning an inevitable lack of atmosphere and intimacy for those who have turned up.

Venues are being downsized all over the world

Yet the trend toward smaller crowds, and in turn smaller venues, has long been recognised elsewhere, amid the common perception a new generation of device-clutching fans are less inclined to abandon their couch and their flat screen to attend sport.

The downsizing has been particularly noticeable in the US where Major League Baseball clubs such as the New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Florida Marlins and Minnesota Twins have built new stadiums that are smaller than their previous models.

This might reflect a gradual decline in interest in what was once America's "national pastime".

However, even American colleges with popular football teams that once boasted massive attendances that were the source of wonder to Australians unacquainted with the traditions of varsity athletics are gradually reducing stadium sizes.

While we might marvel at the electric atmosphere created in packed English football stadiums, the mega-venues such as Old Trafford (75,000) and The Emirates (60,000) remain the outliers.

More than half the 20 current EPL venues hold less than 35,000 and, with some clubs such as Sunderland badly burnt by over-extension of venues followed by ruinous relegation, the trend is again for smaller, traditional stadiums.

This, in turn, creates the capacity for iniquitous price gouging, with the laws of demand and (lack of) supply pricing out some long-time fans, something less likely in Australia where there are almost always general admission seats available at the biggest grounds.

'It can look like a five-year-old wearing his parents' overalls'

A major dilemma in Australia has been the large disparity in average live attendance between the most active stadium builder, the AFL, and other sports sharing the venues for which they have expertly garnered taxpayer funding.

The new Perth Stadium, Adelaide Oval, the MCG, SCG and Lang Park are all now built or modified to fit AFL-sized (or Brisbane Broncos-sized) crowds.

Yet other sports, including the BBL this season, can look like a five-year-old wearing his parents' overalls when they try to fill them.

The A-League, particularly, suffers when its crowds rattle around in the 45,000 to 50,000 capacity at Docklands, Lang Park and, until it was knocked down, Sydney Football Stadium.

With the A-League's average attendance hovering just over the 10,000 mark, small crowds in large stadiums have had a detrimental impact on one of the game's greatest selling points — the electric atmosphere created by its active supporters.

Yet despite its vast participation base, football now lacks the lobbying clout to get funding for more purpose-built stadiums such as the excellent AAMI Park and, too often, is forced share a second-hand surface with other codes or be a rectangular peg in the AFL's oval hole.

Counterintuitively the relative smaller attendances for burgeoning women's competitions, and the realistic expectations of competition organisers, is ensuring games are being played in more appropriate, and often more lively, venues.

The current women's tri-series cricket matches and impending World T20 games at smaller venues provide a good example of best fit for both crowd sizes and the atmosphere they can generate — until they attempt to fill the MCG for the final.

Building crowds through smaller stadiums

Similarly, against the trend, the start of the AFLW season has provided an excellent reminder that suburban venues forsaken by AFL teams and converted to training facilities and community hubs can have an enduring value.

St Kilda was able to boast that its first AFLW game at the club's old home ground and recently reclaimed training base Moorabbin was a lockout with 8,000 in attendance.

The same crowd at any currently active AFL venue would have seemed relatively miniscule.

But at Collingwood's Victoria Park, North Melbourne's Arden St and Carlton's Princes Park, old footy grounds are proving the best fit for a league in its infancy.

There is even some momentum at AFL Commission level to build a third boutique stadium in Melbourne with a 35,000 capacity that would be better suited for AFL games between smaller local AFL teams and non-Victorian clubs.

The irony is that building a smaller stadium is seen as a way to increase attendances because the atmosphere — or "game day experience" as it is now known — will be far better.

Despite the continuing argument about stadium building in Sydney particularly, none of this is an argument against building new stadiums that better accommodate and even attract fans.

But across the summer the sight of empty seats in vast stadiums has been a reminder that, even in a country that has built venues to accommodate massive crowds, such turn-outs are increasingly the exception, not the rule, and that the best venue for most games is the one that best fits.

From: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-11/ ... s/11951632

[Bob]

The Indian Test Captain has come out and said he will likely support a Day Night Test, and says if it happens, Adelaide would be his preferred location.

If this is true, this will be a major win for Adelaide in the upcoming Indian tour 2020/21, as Perth & Brisbane will have to fight out the other spot for the remaining match.

[I Follow PAFC]

From https://www.facebook.com/keith.conlon.9

[Ho Really]

Adelaide Oval the perfect venue to host Test showdown between Australia and India, says Josh Hazlewood
Rob Forsaith, The Daily Telegraph
April 21, 2020 11:21am

Josh Hazlewood believes Adelaide Oval would be an ideal base for a Test-cricket bubble if such an extreme measure is required to stage this summer’s showpiece series.

The COVID-19 pandemic has cast doubt on Australia’s lucrative Test series against India, a showdown between the world’s two best teams that is believed to be worth approximately $300 million in broadcast revenue.

It appears highly unlikely that regular international travel will resume this year while quarantine measures for anybody arriving in Australia will be in place for some time.

The South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) has put forward its Test venue as a potential solution to the logistical challenge confronting Cricket Australia.

Virat Kohli’s team could potentially fly into South Australia then head straight to Adelaide Oval, where a hotel is being constructed by stadium management and is set to be completed in September.

India could stay and train at the Test venue while the entire series could be held there if interstate travel remains difficult.

Hazlewood argued such an arrangement should be a last resort but if it had to happen then Adelaide Oval would be the best option.

“The bowlers and batters would probably be happy with that, it’s probably been the best cricket wicket the last four or five years,” the paceman said. “It gives a bit to both batting and bowling, I wouldn’t mind it. “It’s not ideal though.

“We want to get around to all parts of Australia and challenge ourselves on all those different wickets.” Hazlewood has been keeping busy through a combination of golf, gaming and gardening in addition to fitness work.

The 29-year-old, who was set to play in the now postponed Indian Premier League, suggested he may struggle to crack a spot in Australia’s XI for the Twenty20 World Cup should that tournament go ahead in October.

“I’m out of the team at the moment and if we don’t play another game before the World Cup it’s going to be tough to get into,” Hazlewood said. “If an opportunity opens up, through injury or whatever, I’d take that. “The IPL was going to be a good opportunity for me in T20 cricket, to hopefully do well for Chennai and put my name forward for that World Cup.”

The Advertiser

Cheers

[rev]

Adelaide Oval isn't necessarily the best venue under such circumstances. Sure it will have a built in hotel fully contained within the stadium grounds, but that just makes it a simpler process, not the only possibility though. Would there actually be enough rooms in the hotel to hold two full squads, umpires and a media contingent? The Indian media contingents aren't small.

Docklands, or Marvel Stadium as it's called now, has a Peppers and Quest on the same block right next to it, and a Travelodge literally across the street. Not to mention there's a large number of apartments they could 'rent' for the duration of the summer test series between Australia & India. Moving between the accommodation that isn't on the same block as the stadium could easily be achieved via vans in the underground car parks at accommodation sites and straight under the stadium.
The surrounding area including Peppers & Quest could be closed off to the public or sections of it to allow for safe passage between accommodation and venue for teams.
It's all very doable. Of course hopefully if restrictions are still in place and these things are necessary we see the series played here.

Perhaps if such an outcome occurs, they could schedule match times for later in the evening into the night, to catch a larger broadcast audience since there wont be any need to consider ticketed fans in the stadium.

[Bob]

The English Premier League are looking at options to finish their season under lock down.

It is looking at basing all 20 teams in one city to play the remaining games of the season. A significant economic boost to any city involved, in immediate $$$ and international exposure on TV for future tourism benefits.

Perth is being considered as one of the options.

Maybe all the good work in Perth hosting multiple successful EPL events at Optus Stadium has put them in a good position to leverage off.

Pity Adelaide didn't put in the follow up work at AO with the EPL after the 2015 match, they might have had a chance also.

[Ho Really]

[...]

Perth is being considered as one of the options.

[...]

Pity Adelaide didn't put in the follow up work at AO with the EPL after the 2015 match, they might have had a chance also.

After taking into consideration all the costs, logistics and health issues I doubt the EPL will be staging matches in Perth or any other Australian city (that includes AO) to bring to conclusion the 2019/20 season. You also have to consider the AFL, etc., starting up. The EPL are better off sorting it out back home.

Cheers

[Ho Really]

Adelaide Oval isn't necessarily the best venue under such circumstances. [...]

Rev, don't give the Vics any ideas (or for that matter inflate their egos).

Cheers

[Nort]

The English Premier League are looking at options to finish their season under lock down.

It is looking at basing all 20 teams in one city to play the remaining games of the season. A significant economic boost to any city involved, in immediate $$$ and international exposure on TV for future tourism benefits.

Perth is being considered as one of the options.

Maybe all the good work in Perth hosting multiple successful EPL events at Optus Stadium has put them in a good position to leverage off.

Pity Adelaide didn't put in the follow up work at AO with the EPL after the 2015 match, they might have had a chance also.

There is absolutely no chance of hundreds of people being welcomed into Australia from one of the worlds Covid-19 hotspots.

[Norman]

The surface of Perth Stadium (as well as Adelaide Oval as far as I know) is too hard for regular EPL games, many of the the players will suffer injuries after 3 or 4 rounds. They would be better off playing at Perth Oval.

Not that it's going to happen though.

[Bob]

The India Test series has been locked in for this summer.

The four Tests have been awarded to Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney & Brisbane – Perth misses out (good).

Adelaide has been given the best slot possible – one weekend before the xmas weekend, this is the time slot Adelaide should be locking in for every year going forward with CA, which is what I was suggesting in my posts on this same topic last year. Cannot get a better time slot considering Melbourne & Sydney always have the prime holiday period locked in.

It is a pity crowd attendance will be limited due to the virus.