Arden Street Oval

Infobox_Stadium
stadium_name = Arden Street Oval
nickname = North Melbourne Cricket Ground


location = North Melbourne, Victoria
broke_ground = 1882
opened = 1882
closed = -
demolished = -
owner = Melbourne City Council
operator = North Melbourne Football Club
surface = Grass
construction_cost = $10.7 Million (Redevelopment)
architect = Williams Ross Architects
former_names =
tenants = North Melbourne Football Club
seating_capacity = 15,000

Arden Street Oval is a sports oval based in Arden Street, North Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is currently the training base of Australian rules team North Melbourne Football Club and up to the end of the 1985 season it was used for elite-level VFL/AFL matches.

History

The ground was first used in 1882 when North Melbourne moved from Royal Park to its current site. The Arden Street Oval remained North's home up until they moved to the larger Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1985 (except in 1965, when they played at the City of Coburg Oval).

The record attendance at the ground in 35,116 in 1949. The highest score was North Melbourne's 29.19 (193) in 1983 versus Carlton.

In 2006, a section of the facility was destroyed in a fire. North Melbourne trained at the much larger Telstra Dome for the remainder of the 2006 season while repairs were in place at Arden Street Oval. The fire damage caused the club to start looking at redeveloping the ageing and inadequate training facilities. In 2006, the old Grandstand was torn down to make way for new facilities that are to be completed in early 2009.

The last VFL match was played there on the 17th of August 1985 when North Melbourne played Richmond. North won by 50 points. The Arden Street Oval is now used only for Administration and as a Training Base for the Club.

Redevelopment

In 2007, it was announced by Club Chairman Graham Duff that the facilities at the Arden Street Oval would get a $10 million upgrade, including new facilities for the State Fencing Centre [ [http://kangaroos.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/4912/Default.aspx?newsId=49284 Training facilities will be AFL's best: Duff] ] . The new facilities would be ready in time for the 2009 AFL Season and allow the club to move administration from the Telstra Dome to the ground. The upgraded facilities will also serve the community with a Gymnasium, Basketball Courts and Change rooms.

ee also

*North Melbourne Football Club
*Australian Football League

Notes

External links

*Austadiums|6
* [http://www.kangaroos.com.au North Melbourne Football Club website]
* [http://www.afl.com.au Australian Football League website]
* [http://stats.rleague.com/afl/crowds/vn_arden_st.html VFL/AFL Attendance Records]
* [http://stats.rleague.com/afl/venues/arden_st.html Team Scoring Records]
* [http://www.aroundthegrounds.bellestorie.com/arden/arden.html "Around the Grounds" - Web Documentary - Arden Street]