Hickinbotham Oval (currently known as Flinders University Stadium due to
naming rights
Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of t ...
Noarlunga Downs
Noarlunga Downs is a metropolitan suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It lies within the City of Onkaparinga and has postcode 5168.
The suburb is the home of Hickinbotham Oval, the home ground of the South Adelaide Football Club who play in ...
, an outer-southern suburb of
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
. It has been the home of
South Australian National Football League
The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport.
Originally formed as t ...
(SANFL) club
South Adelaide Football Club
The South Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club that competes in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Known as the ''Panthers'', their home ground is Flinders University StadiumFlinders University.
After 111 years (in two stints, 1882-1903 and 1904-1994) of playing their home games at the
Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby le ...
, (which is located on the northern side of the
Adelaide city centre
Adelaide city centre (Kaurna: Tarndanya) is the inner city locality of Greater Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is known by locals simply as "the City" or "Town" to distinguish it from Greater Adelaide and from the City of Ad ...
and the
Torrens River
The River Torrens , (Karrawirra Parri / Karrawirraparri) is the most significant river of the Adelaide Plains. It was one of the main reasons for the siting of the city of Adelaide, capital of South Australia. It flows from its source in the ...
), the club decided to move to the southern suburb of Noarlunga in the early 1990s. The club had played two games at the
Bice Oval
The John Bice Memorial Oval is a public park in the Australian state of South Australia located within the suburb of Christies Beach and which is used by the Christies Beach Football Club and Southern District Cricket Club as their home grou ...
in Christies Beach (approximately 1.5km from Hickinbotham) in 1992 and 1993 in order to gauge support in the area for the club. Approximately 8,000 fans crammed into the oval in 1993 to see the Panthers take on the
Glenelg Tigers
Glenelg Football Club is an Australian rules football team, which plays in the South Australian National Football League. The club is known as the "Tigers" (or the "Bays"), and their home ground is ACH Group Stadium (formerly Glenelg Oval), lo ...
. That level of community support was one of the determining factors in South Adelaide's decision to permanently move to Noarlunga, becoming a community based club for the first time in its then 119-year history.
The Panthers clubrooms and administration offices, which had previously been located on
South Road
South Road and its southern section as Main South Road outside of Adelaide is a major north–south conduit connecting Adelaide and the Fleurieu Peninsula, in South Australia. It is one of Adelaide's most important arterial and bypass roads. As ...
Mitsubishi Motors
is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.Tonsley Park
Tonsley is a southern suburb of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia.
History
The suburb of Tonsley was created on 27 January 2017 by dividing the suburb of Clovelly Park in half. The southern part of the suburb was separated from Cl ...
), were also relocated to the Noarlunga Oval.
History
SANFL
The stadium has a capacity of 12,000 people, with seating for up to 1,000 in the
Jim Deane
Jim Deane (2 January 1928 – 13 November 2010) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Richmond in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and South Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL).
A half forward f ...
Grandstand, named in honor of South Adelaide's 1953 and 1957 Magarey Medallist. The record crowd for Noarlunga is 10,123 attending the SANFL match between South Adelaide and Glenelg on 6 May 1995 – the first SANFL match played at the venue.
The stadium is located at the top of a hill, and is known for its cold southerly wind and wet weather coming straight from the nearby
Gulf St Vincent
Gulf St Vincent, sometimes referred to as St Vincent Gulf, St Vincent's Gulf or Gulf of St Vincent, is the eastern of two large inlets of water on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, the other being the larger S ...
, something which is generally unpopular with spectators as only the grandstand and a roofed standing-room-only area in front of the change rooms offer any protection from the weather.
Flinders University Stadium's dimensions are 170×135 m, giving it the widest playing surface in the SANFL. To entertain fans, the South Adelaide Football Club has introduced a gas powered fireball that shoots up at the start of all four-quarters of Panthers night games. The fireball, located in the south east corner of the ground near the scoreboard, also ignites every time the Panthers league team kicks a goal.
The venue was renamed from Noarlunga Oval to Hickinbotham Oval in 2005 to honour former Panther captain-coach and successful property developer
Alan Hickinbotham
Alan David Hickinbotham AM (9 December 1925 – 25 May 2010) was an Australian businessman and Australian rules football player and coach.
Biography
Hickinbotham was born on 9 December 1925 in Geelong, Victoria. During 1944 and 1945 he served ...
. In 2018 the strong partnership between South Adelaide and Flinders University reached the next level, with the club announcing that the ground would be re-named
Flinders University Stadium
Hickinbotham Oval (currently known as Flinders University Stadium due to naming rights, and originally Noarlunga Oval) is an Australian rules football stadium in Noarlunga Downs, an outer-southern suburb of Adelaide. It has been the home of Sou ...
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
Ovals, Flinders University Stadium is one of only three SANFL grounds not used for
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
during the summer months. This generally means that the centre squares of these grounds (where the cricket pitches would be located) are not as susceptible to becoming a mud patch after rain during the football season, and these ovals are generally regarded as having the better surfaces in the SANFL.
In late 2010 the South Adelaide Football Club obtained permission from the
City of Onkaparinga
The City of Onkaparinga () is a local government area (LGA) located on the southern fringe of Adelaide, South Australia. It is named after the Onkaparinga River, whose name comes from ''Ngangkiparinga'', a Kaurna word meaning women's river. It ...
to install four light towers at the oval, with the intent to host night SANFL games at the venue. Two mobile phone towers at the ground also carry lights, giving a total of 6 light towers. The oval is not located in the midst of suburban homes and streets (like most other suburban SANFL grounds), and is surrounded by plenty of free car parking (available across Goldsmith Drive, behind the northern goals, in the
Centro Colonnades
Colonnades Shopping Centre is a shopping centre in Adelaide, South Australia. The shopping centre is located in the City of Onkaparinga, in the suburb of Noarlunga Centre. Colonnades is located on a large allotment of land with access from Gol ...
car park, and the members' car park is located behind the grandstand). This made gaining permission to install the lights easier as the impact on local residents from the lights and parking was minimal.
The oval is the only SANFL venue where spectators can park their cars around the ground itself on the northern and eastern sides of the ground, giving it a country feel with people often watching games from inside their car or on top of the bonnet – large nets are in place behind the northern goals to protect cars from footballs kicked there. Other than the Jim Deane Grandstand, the main spectator areas are the north western grassed bank, while the grassed area behind the southern goals is a non-smoking and alcohol-free family area.
The first official SANFL night game was played at the oval on 21 April 2011, with the Panthers defeating Port Adelaide in front of the ground's night attendance record crowd of 2,700. However, the lights failed at the start of a Souths v Adelaide Crows game in 2015 and the organisers had to reorganise the match schedule for the 2015 season.
Southern Football League (SFL)
As Flinders University Stadium has the largest spectator capacity, and has the most modern facilities, of any outdoor sports venue in the southern suburbs , it has been used as the Grand Final venue for the Southern Football League since 2005.
Jimmy Deane's Entertainment Venue
Opened in 1995, Flinders University Stadium is the newest suburban ground used by the SANFL by some 30 years. It is generally regarded as having some of the better player and officials facilities in the league. The oval has also been extensively redeveloped in recent years with the Panthers opening including entertainment and dining establishments such as Jimmy Deane's.
Access
Flinders University Stadium is easily accessed by both road and public transport. The oval is located approximately 600 metres south of
Noarlunga Centre railway station
Noarlunga Centre railway station is a railway station on the Seaford line, and for almost 36 years (April 2, 1978 - February 23, 2014) it was the terminus of the line. Situated in the southern Adelaide suburb of Noarlunga Centre, it is 30.2 ki ...
which is serviced by both
bus
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
and
rail
Rail or rails may refer to:
Rail transport
*Rail transport and related matters
*Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway
Arts and media Film
* ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini
* ''Rail'' ( ...
, with the rail line having been upgraded in 2013, and an extension beyond Noarlunga Centre to Seaford which opened in February 2014.
Unfortunately, attendances at the oval for SANFL games still suffer because of its location: Flinders University Stadium is located approximately km south of Adelaide, with most clubs located closer to the city, and the nearest club is Glenelg (15 km). As such, non-Panthers supporters have shown a reluctance for travelling the distance to the venue by road or public transport, especially as football is played in the winter and Noarlunga’s reputation for being cold.
Another issue is the club's small fan base, which is further exacerbated by the Panthers' poor results in recent history. South Adelaide has not won the SANFL premiership since 1964 - the longest current premiership drought in the league and elite Australian Rules football - and has not played in the Grand Final since 1979.
The
Central District Bulldogs
Central District Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the South Australian National Football League. Based at Elizabeth in the City of Playford about 25 km to the north of Adelaide, South Australia the club's ...