17 June 2021
Photos:
1. 1976 Grand Final - Port Adelaide v Sturt - Looking from above (this is before the public transport hub was constructed on the north eastern flank of ground)
2. 1976 The crowd spills onto the ground pre match
3. 2013 The final AFL game at the venue (for premiership points)
4. Out come the Crows for their first match in the AFL, looking to get some "Hawk on their Fork", which they duly did by 86 points. (Apology to the Allen family who may have forgotten this part of history!)
5. ABBA stage and layout 1977
6. ABBA Concert Ticket 1977 (we are looking through the archives for the Scratch's Unofficial Report coverage of the event!)
7. Port Adelaide - 1977 Premiers
8. Final days in 2019
Football Park at West Lakes (also known as AAMI Stadium in later years) was the home of SA Football from the early 70's until early 2015 when it hosted its last official match.
Construction commenced in 1971, with the ground opened in 1974 for its first season of SANFL football. Sturt defeated Glenelg in that year to be the first SANFL premier at the new ground. The initial construction cost was around $6.6m, although significant upgrades and extensions continued thereafter. New stadiums in the modern era tend to have a "b" following the number quoting the cost!
The 1976 Grand Final attracted the largest crowd, quoted at 66,897 ticketed spectators, however after gates closed for further admissions to the ground, the outer fence was brought down by those eager to get in. Police estimate the crowd could have been as high at 82,000. Whatever the real figure was, the stand and terraces couldnt hold the numbers, so the ground itself was opened outside the boundary line to ease the crush. This was prior to pre purchased tickets which assists regulating crowd numbers these days.
Adelaide Crows took up residence at the ground when they entered the National competition in 1991, developing a state of the art training base on the eastern wing. Adelaide FC remain at the ground for training, however they too are looking to move closer to Adelaide Oval in the future.
Port Adelaide used the ground as its home venue upon their admission to the AFL in 1997, although training at their traditional home - Alberton Oval.
Both Port and Crows moved to Adelaide Oval in 2014 as their home venue, but the two played a pre season match at Football Park in March 2015, the last official match at the ground. The final SANFL Grand Final at the ground was 2013 when Norwood defeated North Adelaide.
Outside of Football, the ground has hosted a wide range of sport and entertainment. Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket used the venue when they were banned from the traditional cricket host - Adelaide Oval in the seventies,
Amongst the list of bands and artists - world scale acts include ABBA, Neil Diamond, Alice Cooper, Dire Straits, U2 & Kanye West, Electric Light Orchestra, Rolling Stones, Elton John & Melbourne Sympathy Orchestra, Robbie Willams, Bon Jovi, Andre Rieu, Adele, One Direction and the Bay City Rollers. An impressive list!
The venue hosted Monster Trucks, National Soccer League and International Rules Football vs Ireland.
The stands and surrounds were demolished in 2018 & 2019. The following video condenses this demolition down to five minutes. Certainly worth a look at for anyone who enjoyed time at the venue for it's many functions. Adelaide Oval is now the home the SA Football and Cricket, located near the CBD and city services.
Please follow link:
SANFL HISTORY - FOOTBALL PARK DEMOLITION
Last Modified on 17/06/2021 19:02