Woodville Oval (currently Maughan Thiem Hyundai Oval and formerly ''Unleash Solar Oval'') is primarily an
Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
and
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 striki ...
oval found on Oval Avenue in the western
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 ...
suburb of
Woodville South in
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
. It is the home ground 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 the ...
(SANFL) club the
Woodville-West Torrens Eagles
Woodville-West Torrens Football Club is an Australian rules football club playing in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). It was formed in 1990 from an amalgamation of the neighbouring Woodville and West Torrens football clu ...
, and the former home (1941–90) of the
Woodville Football Club
Woodville Football Club was an Australian rules football club that competed in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) from 1964 to 1990, when it merged in 1991 with the West Torrens Football Club to form the Woodville-West Torren ...
, with the former's clubrooms and administrations offices now housing The Eagles. The oval is also the home of the
Woodville Cricket Club who play in the
South Australian Grade Cricket League
South Australian Premier Cricket (previously known as South Australian District Cricket and South Australian Grade Cricket) is the semi-professional State league based in metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia. It is currently the highest level o ...
.
The Oval
Woodville Oval has a capacity of around 15,000 people, with seating for up to 2,000 in two covered stands located on the western side of the ground, with the players changerooms located under the
Barry Jarman Stand on the centre wing. Most of the spectator areas around the ground are grass banks, with the exception of the outer (eastern) wing which is six rows of concrete terracing. The playing surface of the oval is 175m x 110m making it the second longest currently in use in the SANFL behind
(178m), though if measured from fence to fence, Woodville Oval is 203m long, some 15 metres longer than Elizabeth. The main scoreboard at the oval is located in the north-eastern corner of the ground adjacent to the Woodville-West Torrens clubrooms which are located behind the northern goals.
The ground record attendance was set on 9 August 1986 when 11,026 saw Woodville, led by Captain-coach and club legend
Malcolm Blight
Malcolm Jack Blight AM (born 16 February 1950) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for and coached the North Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and Woodville Football Club in the South Australian Nati ...
, and on their way to a rare SANFL finals appearance, defeat their hated western suburbs 'big brother'
Port Adelaide
Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...
14.11 (95) to 13.11 (89) in their Round 18 match.
Woodville vs Port Adelaide 1986
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Adjoining the Oval directly to the north is the Woodville Lawn Bowling Club, the Woodville Croquet Club and the Woodville Glengarry Tennis Club, with both lawn and hardcourts it is one of the largest multi surface tennis clubs in the Adelaide.
On-site car parking is available for Eagles members, located near the Eagles club rooms in the north-west of the facility while limited on-street parking is available for the general public during Eagles SANFL games at the ground.
Woodville Oval is located approximately 600 metres from one of Adelaide's major public hospitals, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
References
External links
*
{{SANFL grounds, state=collapsed
Sports venues in Adelaide
Australian rules football grounds