Hickinbotham Oval
| Noarlunga | |
The Jim Deane Grandstand at Hickinbotham Oval
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| Former names | Noarlunga Oval |
|---|---|
| Location | 1 Lovelock Drive, Noarlunga Downs, South Australia |
| Coordinates | 35°8′43″S 138°29′36″E / 35.14528°S 138.49333°ECoordinates: 35°8′43″S 138°29′36″E / 35.14528°S 138.49333°E |
| Owner | South Adelaide Football Club |
| Operator | South Adelaide Football Club |
| Capacity | 12,000 |
| Field size | Football: 170m x 135m |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1994 |
| Opened | 1995 |
| Tenants | |
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South Adelaide Football Club (SANFL) (1995-present) |
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Hickinbotham Oval (originally Noarlunga Oval) is an Australian rules football oval in Noarlunga Downs, a southern suburb of Adelaide. It has been the home of South Australian National Football League (SANFL) club South Adelaide Football Club ("The Panthers") since 1995.
After previously spending 111 years (in two stints, 1882-1903 and 1904-1994) playing their home games at the Adelaide Oval which is ironically located on the northern side of the Adelaide city centre and the Torrens River, the Panthers decided to move to the southern suburb of Noarlunga in the early 1990s. The club had played two games at the Bice Oval in Christies Beach (approximately 1.5 km from Hickinbotham) in 1992 and 1993 in order to gauge support in the area for the Panthers. The 1993 game saw some 8,000 fans crammed into the oval to see the Panthers take on local rivals Glenelg. That overwhelming 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 at St Marys (directly opposite the Mitsubishi Motors factory at Tonsley Park), were also relocated to the Noarlunga Oval.
The oval has a capacity of 12,000 people, with seating for up to 1,000 in the Jim Deane Grandstand, named in honor of South Adelaide's 1953 and 1957 Magarey Medallist. The record crowd for Noarlunga is 10,123 attending an SANFL match between South Adelaide and Glenelg on 6 May 1995 – the first SANFL match played at the venue. As the oval is located at the top of a hill, it is known for its cold southerly wind and wet weather coming straight from the nearby Gulf St Vincent, 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.
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