Coburg City Oval

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Coburg City Oval
Piranha Park
Coburg City Oval May 21 2022.jpg
The main grandstand at Coburg City Oval in 2022 following its refurbishment.
Coburg City Oval
LocationCnr Bell & Russell Sts, Coburg, Victoria
Coordinates 37°44′37″S144°58′6″E / 37.74361°S 144.96833°E / -37.74361; 144.96833
Owner City of Merri-bek
Capacity 12,000 (430 seated) [1]
Record attendance21,626 (26 June 1965) [2]
Field size165×140m
SurfaceGrass
Opened1915
Tenants
Coburg Football Club (VFA/VFL)
West Coburg Football Club (EDFL)
Coburg Cricket Club (VSDCA)
North Melbourne Football Club (VFL, 1965)
Murray Kangaroos (VFL, 2000–2002)

Coburg City Oval (also currently known as Piranha Park due to naming rights) [3] is an Australian rules football and cricket stadium located in Coburg, Australia. It is home to the Coburg Football Club in the Victorian Football League, and the Coburg Cricket Club.

The oval was officially opened in 1915. [4] Following the Coburg Football Club's admission to the Victorian Football Association in 1925, the grandstand was constructed, and was officially opened in March 1926. [5] In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the venue was one of the VFA's finals venues, and it hosted the final in 1932. [6] It later hosted the 1967 Division 2 finals series. [7]

In 1965, the VFL's North Melbourne Football Club moved its playing and training base from the Arden Street Oval to Coburg City Oval. [8] The move was intended to be permanent, with some initial negotiations seeking long-term leases for up to 40 years, [9] but it was ultimately cancelled after only eight months, and North Melbourne returned to the Arden Street Oval in 1966. [10] [11]

During the 1965 VFL season, Coburg City Oval attracted an average of 13,146 spectators to its nine games. A ground record was set in round 10 against Collingwood, with a total attendance of 21,626. [2] The ground's current capacity is around 15,000. [1]

The oval is open to the citizens of Merri-bek and all others. The oval sits inside the wider G. A. Bridges Reserve, which includes a leisure centre, a bowls club and a former trugo club. [4]

In 2018, following the efforts of the Coburg Football Club, and local residents the State Government of Victoria along with the City of Moreland announced a joint $6million investment into the redevelopment of the oval's grandstand and changerooms, set to commence in 2020 [12] with further funding to be announced by both the Australian Football League and Cricket Australia. Once completed, the venue will once again be a modern and Female friendly football and cricket facility. Once locked away from the citizens of Coburg, City Oval is now a true Peoples Ground.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Coburg City Oval". austadiums.com. Austadiums. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  2. 1 2 Coburg Oval - Attendances (1965), AFL Tables. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  3. ↑ Paul Amy (26 March 2014). "Old rivalries smoulder as Port takes on Coburg for the opening round of the VFL". Port Phillip Leader. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  4. 1 2 "Victorian Heritage Database place details". Moreland City Council. 4 July 2014.
  5. ↑ "New grandstand opened at Coburg". The Argus. Melbourne, VIC. 29 March 1926. p. 9.
  6. ↑ Onlooker (26 September 1932). "Association – Premiership decided". The Argus. Melbourne, VIC. p. 11.
  7. ↑ Chris de Kretser (11 September 1967). "Port shows real class". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne, VIC. p. 48.
  8. ↑ "North gets lease". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne, VIC. 30 March 1965. p. 51.
  9. ↑ "North can have a new oval". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne, VIC. 3 November 1964. p. 34.
  10. ↑ "Coburg to drop stand?". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne, VIC. 28 September 1965. p. 51.
  11. ↑ "North to quit Coburg". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne, VIC. 29 September 1965. p. 52.
  12. ↑ "Coburg City Oval set to become Iconic Premier Football Facility". AFL Victoria. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
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