North Port Oval
Port Melbourne Cricket Ground
Port Melbourne Cricket Ground
Former namesTEAC Oval, Fortburn Stadium, Stannards Stadium, Adcon Stadium
LocationPort Melbourne, Victoria
Coordinates37°49′51″S 144°56′32″E / 37.83083°S 144.94222°E / -37.83083; 144.94222
Capacity6,000[1]
Field size150 m × 125 m
SurfaceGrass
Tenants
Port Melbourne Football Club
Port Melbourne Cricket Club
Essendon Football Club (AFLW) (2022)
Footscray Bulldogs (VFL) (2023)
Coburg Football Club (VFA) (1965)

North Port Oval, also known as the Port Melbourne Cricket Ground or by the sponsored name ETU Stadium,[2] is an Australian rules football and cricket stadium located in Port Melbourne, Australia. The capacity of the venue is 6,000 people. It is home to both the Port Melbourne Cricket Club and the Port Melbourne Football Club.

The ground has historically been one of the Victorian Football League primary venues. The ground has hosted a total of seven VFA/VFL top division Grand Finals: in 1931, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1997, 1998 and 1999. In most years from 1988 until 2019, it served as a central ground which hosted most finals matches in the first three weeks of finals; and from 1988 until 1991 served as a neutral central ground at which the majority of the ABC's telecast matches were played.[3][4]

The crowd record estimated to be 32,000 witnessed the 1953 Sunday Amateur League Grand Final between Montague and Carlton;[5] the ground's highest VFA crowd of 26,000 was set at the 1964 Division 1 Grand Final between Port Melbourne and Williamstown.

On 12 November 1927 the foundation stone for the main grandstand was laid by the Mayor of the City of Port Melbourne, Cr. A.Tucker JP. In the 1970s the main grandstand was named the Norman L Goss Stand in honour of long-time Port Melbourne Football Club administrator Norm Goss Sr. On 30 May 2015 the redevelopment of the oval and facilities was officially opened by Mayor Cr. A.Stevens and Hon. Martin Foley MP (Member for Albert Park), with funding from City of Port Phillip, Port Melbourne Football Club, the AFL, AFL Victoria, and Victorian Government. The ground is now also home to the Sandridge Events Centre, located at the Woodriff St end of the ground.

In 2014, the ends of the ground were renamed to honour of the Port Melbourne Football Club's two champion goalkickers, Fred Cook (1210 goals) and Bob Bonnett (933 goals). The Woodruff St end is known as the Fred Cook End, and the Williamstown Rd end is known as the Bob Bonnett end.[6]

The ground has been known by several sponsored names during the 21st century. It is presently known as ETU Stadium under a sponsorship deal with the Electrical Trades Union of Australia.[7] Under its longest-lasting name, it was known as TEAC Oval from 2000 until 2011.[8] It has previously had short term naming rights deals lasting only the end of the home and away season and the finals as Fortburn Stadium in 2017[9] and Stannards Stadium in 2018;[10] and for the full season in 2019 as Adcon Stadium.[2]

Light towers were installed at the ground in 2022 and were first used for a VFLW game between Port Melbourne and the Darebin Falcons on 28 May, 2022.[11]

North Port Oval hosted its first AFLW match on 4 September, 2022 when Essendon took on Carlton.

References

  1. ↑ "North Port Oval". austadiums.com. Austadiums. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Borough Welcome Adcon as Ground Naming Rights Partner". VFL footy. 26 November 2018.
  3. ↑ Linda Pearce (10 June 1988). "VFA-VFL link move". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne. p. 68.
  4. ↑ Phil Cleary (8 April 1992). "VFA goes home to fans". The Sunday Age (Sport Liftout). Melbourne. p. 18.
  5. ↑ Marc Fiddian (2003), The Best of Football Trivia, Hastings, VIC: Galaxy Print and Design, p. 115
  6. ↑ "Bonnett & Cook ends at North Port Oval". Sportingpulse. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  7. ↑ "Borough Partner with CFMEU/ETU for Next Three Seasons". Port Melbourne Football Club. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  8. ↑ "North Port Oval". Australian Football. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  9. ↑ "North Port Oval Renamed for 2017 Finals Series". Port Melbourne Football Club. 2 August 2017.
  10. ↑ "North Port Oval Renamed for 2018 Finals Series". Port Melbourne Football Club. August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  11. ↑ "CEO Update". Port Melbourne Football Club. 9 May 2022. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
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