Subiaco Oval

Capacity: 43,500
Opened: 1908
Owner: Western Australian Government

Subiaco Oval is the major sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. It is located in the suburb of Subiaco, a few kilometres west of Perth’s city centre. It is mainly used for Australian Football League matches, as it is the home ground for the West Coast Eagles and Fremantle Dockers football teams. “Subi” is also used for West Australian Football League matches. The ground is not exclusively used for Australian Rules Football though, having hosted National Soccer League grand finals, regular rugby union Test Matches (including games in the 2003 Rugby World Cup), International Rules and sometimes, rock concerts. It became the home ground for Perth’s Super 14 rugby union team, the Western Force, in 2006.

The ground was first built in 1908, at which point it was known as “Mueller Park”. In 1969 a three-tier stand was constructed at the western end of the stadium, and in 1981 a two-tier stand on the members’ wing was completed. A further redevelopment came in 1995 with the opening of the new two-tier “ANZ Stand” opposite the members’ wing. In 1997, light towers were installed at the ground. The last redevelopment, which converted the stadium into an all-seat venue, was completed in 1999 at a cost of $AUD35 million.

The three-tier stand is named the Orr-Simmons-Hill stand, in honour of three leading figures in the history of WAFL (then known as WANFL). This was proudly and prominently displayed on the exterior western face of the stand right up until the early 1990′s, when it was replaced with the logo of a commercial sponsor. There is a small plaque remembering the original naming of the stand, mounted in one of the stair wells, and each tier has a sign on the back interior wall; for example, the first (ground) tier is the R.W Hill Tier, second is the W.R Orr Tier. (W.R Orr was Secretary of the WANFL in 1932, R.W Hill was Captain of West Perth in 1940 and 1941, and Secretary of the WANFL in 1968).

In 2003, the retail telecommunications company Crazy John’s controversially attempted to buy the naming rights to the ground, but the bid was denied by the local Subiaco council, which refused planning permission for advertising signs on the stadium’s exterior. More recently, in May 2005, a non-commercial name change was being considered; the proposal to rename to ‘ANZAC Field’ was put forward by the WA Football Commission, but rejected by the Minister for Veterans Affairs, Deanne Kelly (Anzac is a federally protected word).

Subiaco Oval’s capacity is 43,500 fully-seated. The ground is floodlit by four lighting towers. There was some initial concern vented surrounding the lack of aesthetic value of the proposed floodlights, but after their deployment these concerns quickly subdued.

The Western Australian Football Commission has a $235 million plan to increase the stadium to a 60,000 seat venue. However, this is presently a matter of significant debate in Western Australia. The demand for a new stadium is undeniable (the West Coast Eagles had 42,000 season ticket holders in a 43,000 seat stadium in 2005), but the notion of developing and expanding Subiaco in order to meet this higher demand has been called into question. An alternative plan has been tabled for the construction of a new stadium, called “Stadium WA,” which would seat 70,000 and have retractable seating to cater for rectangular field codes, and appeared to be the lead candidate. However, it has become evident that it may be more cost effective to re-develop Subiaco to 60,000 seats, and redevelop Members Equity Stadium, a small rectangular stadium in Perth, to 35,000 seats to cater for rectangular field sports. The Government of Western Australia is expected to make a decision some time in the second half of 2006 regarding the future of the stadium.

Notable, Subiaco Oval has been the venue of major music concerts, including Led Zeppelin in 1972 and Paul McCartney in 1993. It is due to play host to Pearl Jam in November 2006 and Robbie Williams in December 2006.

(source .. wikipedia) reproduced under GFDL

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Subiaco Oval wikipedia entry
Fremantle Dockers website
Freo Fanatics Fansite
Dockerland Fansite
West Coast Eagles website
eaglesflyinghigh.com Fansite
NRL website
AFL website
Cricket Australia website

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