Leichhardt Oval
Encyclopedia
Leichhardt Oval is a football stadium in Leichhardt, New South Wales
, Australia
. It is a home ground for the Wests Tigers
rugby league
team. The stadium has a nominal capacity of 20,000, with recorded highest crowd figures of 23,000 in the 1981 KB Tooth final South Sydney Rabbitohs
versus Cronulla Sharks
, and 22,877 for the 24 July 2005 NRL
game of Wests Tigers versus South Sydney Rabbitohs, in which the Tigers won 42-20.
The ground is considered by some to be antiquated but home supporters and many league fans in general consider it to be good for spectators due to the proximity of supporters to the playing area. The grounds roots lie with the Balmain Tigers
who were in the national competition from 1908 to 1999. The Balmain Tigers merged with the Western Suburbs Magpies
for the start of season 2000 to become the Wests Tigers.
On 4 August 1985 a crowd of 21,707 set a new record for the ground.
Balmain left the ground in 1994 when they moved to Parramatta Stadium as part of an identity change to the Sydney Tigers. The move was not popular with supporters and the club returned to Leichhardt for the 1997 season. Balmain played their final game as a stand alone team in 1999 when they defeated Parramatta 20-10 in appalling conditions. The ground then became one of the home grounds of the new Wests Tigers team.
games a year. This decision to reduce the amount of games is mainly financial and related to issues such as ground capacity, corporate facilities, and financial incentives to play games at the Sydney Football Stadium. Ironically for a ground once prized for its lighting, the cost of playing night games is another factor as the current lighting is not considered acceptable.
In spite (or perhaps because) of its anitquated facilities, Leichhardt Oval is beloved by Tigers fans especially those who formerly supported Balmain. Match attendances are usually close to or at capacity. Attempts to improve facilities are underway with the goal to return Leichhardt to its place as a top level rugby league venue.
In 2007 the New South Wales
Government announced it would provide finance to help in the redevelopment of the ground http://www.villagevoice.com.au/article/20070904/NWS03/709040344/Leichhardt+Oval+set+for+improvement. Previously it had provided a loan to match grants made from Leichhardt Council and the Balmain Football Club. A group known as Stop the Rot aims to revamp the ground into a first class sporting venue. A.P.I.A. Leichhardt Tigers
were renamed Sydney Tigers before the start of the 2009 New South Wales Premier League, and moved their home ground from Lambert Park back to Leichhardt Oval, for the first time in over a decade. A-League
club Sydney FC
will also played a pre-season friendly against rivals Central Coast Mariners on 6 June.
On 21 November 2009 Leichhardt Oval hosted 2 matches in a double-header of the W-League
. Sydney FC
took on Perth Glory while after that Melbourne Victory played the Central Coast Mariners. During 2009, the thirty year lease of Leichhardt Oval by the West Tigers Franchise, came to an end. It is not known what further activity will be conducted by the West Tigers franchise. The local business arm of the Tigers, the Balmain Leagues Club, continues on its long haul to financially restructure, following financial losses in 2008 and 2009. As of early 2010, the Balmain Tigers have yet to make a further commitment to returning to play the overall majority of their matches, using Leichhardt Oval.
2011 Played 4 Won 3 (New Zealand, Newcastle, Roosters), Lost 1 (Melbourne)
2010 Played 4 Won 4 (Canberra, Nth Qld, Cronulla, Melbourne)
2009 Played 3 Won 2 (Melbourne, Nth Qld), Lost 1 (Penrith)
2008 Played 3 Won 1 (Gold Coast), Lost 2 (New Zealand, Cronulla)
2007 Played 3 Won 1 (North Queensland), Lost 2 (Manly, Souths)
2006 Played 3 Won 3 (Melbourne, Manly, Souths)
2005 Played 3 Won 2 (Manly, Souths), Lost 1 (Melbourne)
2004 Played 4 Won 4 (Manly, Parramatta, Melbourne, Souths)
2003 Played 5 Won 1 (Cronulla), Lost 4 (Canberra, Brisbane, Manly, Souths)
2002 Played 5 Won 3 (Parramantta, Northern Eagles, Melbourne), Lost 2 (Penrith, Souths)
2001 Played 6 Won 3 (Melbourne, Nth Qld, Northern Eagles), Lost 3 (Parramatta, Dragons, Cronulla)
2000 Played 7 Won 5 (Auckland, Canberra, Penrith, Northern Eagles, Cronulla), Drew 1 (Parramatta), Lost 1 (Nth Qld)
Leichhardt, New South Wales
Leichhardt is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. Leichhardt is located 5 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the Municipality of Leichhardt...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It is a home ground for the Wests Tigers
Wests Tigers
The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's mid-western suburbs. They have competed in the National Rugby League since they were formed at the end of the 1999 season as a joint-venture club between the Balmain Tigers and the Western Suburbs...
rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
team. The stadium has a nominal capacity of 20,000, with recorded highest crowd figures of 23,000 in the 1981 KB Tooth final South Sydney Rabbitohs
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...
versus Cronulla Sharks
Cronulla Sharks
The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are Australian professional Rugby league team based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales...
, and 22,877 for the 24 July 2005 NRL
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
game of Wests Tigers versus South Sydney Rabbitohs, in which the Tigers won 42-20.
The ground is considered by some to be antiquated but home supporters and many league fans in general consider it to be good for spectators due to the proximity of supporters to the playing area. The grounds roots lie with the Balmain Tigers
Balmain Tigers
The Balmain Tigers are a rugby league football club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful in the history of the premiership, with eleven titles...
who were in the national competition from 1908 to 1999. The Balmain Tigers merged with the Western Suburbs Magpies
Western Suburbs Magpies
The Western Suburbs Magpies are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly referred to, were one of the nine foundation clubs of the first New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia...
for the start of season 2000 to become the Wests Tigers.
History
Leichhardt Oval was first used as a Rugby League football ground in 1936. It has been a venue for first grade rugby league since 1943 as the home ground of the Balmain Tigers. The ground underwent a major overhaul during the 1970s when the configuration of the ground was changed (from east-west to north-south) and lighting installed. As it was one of the few rugby league grounds with lighting and was located close to the city, Leichhardt Oval began to be used for non-Balmain games such as the pre-origin interstate games. For many years in the 1970s and 1980s it was also the headquarters for the midweek night time knockout competition.On 4 August 1985 a crowd of 21,707 set a new record for the ground.
Balmain left the ground in 1994 when they moved to Parramatta Stadium as part of an identity change to the Sydney Tigers. The move was not popular with supporters and the club returned to Leichhardt for the 1997 season. Balmain played their final game as a stand alone team in 1999 when they defeated Parramatta 20-10 in appalling conditions. The ground then became one of the home grounds of the new Wests Tigers team.
Leichhardt Oval Today
The ground remains a venue for high level rugby league in Australia although it currently holds only four NRLNational Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
games a year. This decision to reduce the amount of games is mainly financial and related to issues such as ground capacity, corporate facilities, and financial incentives to play games at the Sydney Football Stadium. Ironically for a ground once prized for its lighting, the cost of playing night games is another factor as the current lighting is not considered acceptable.
In spite (or perhaps because) of its anitquated facilities, Leichhardt Oval is beloved by Tigers fans especially those who formerly supported Balmain. Match attendances are usually close to or at capacity. Attempts to improve facilities are underway with the goal to return Leichhardt to its place as a top level rugby league venue.
In 2007 the New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
Government announced it would provide finance to help in the redevelopment of the ground http://www.villagevoice.com.au/article/20070904/NWS03/709040344/Leichhardt+Oval+set+for+improvement. Previously it had provided a loan to match grants made from Leichhardt Council and the Balmain Football Club. A group known as Stop the Rot aims to revamp the ground into a first class sporting venue. A.P.I.A. Leichhardt Tigers
A.P.I.A. Leichhardt Tigers
APIA Leichhardt Tigers Football Club, also known as APIA Tigers and Sydney Tigers, is an Australian football club based in Sydney, Australia. The club was formed in 1954, known as APIA Leichhardt, by Italian Australians...
were renamed Sydney Tigers before the start of the 2009 New South Wales Premier League, and moved their home ground from Lambert Park back to Leichhardt Oval, for the first time in over a decade. A-League
A-League
The A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...
club Sydney FC
Sydney FC
Sydney FC is a professional football club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and competes in the country's premier football competition, the A-League...
will also played a pre-season friendly against rivals Central Coast Mariners on 6 June.
On 21 November 2009 Leichhardt Oval hosted 2 matches in a double-header of the W-League
W-League
The USL W-League is a national women's soccer league in the United States on the 2nd level of women's soccer in the United States soccer pyramid, alongside the Women's Premier Soccer League and below Women's Professional Soccer....
. Sydney FC
Sydney FC W-League
The Sydney FC W-League team, also known as the Sydney FC Women, represents the Sydney FC in the Australian Women's National football League, the W-League.-Season 2011-12:-Standings:-Squad:As of November 3, 2010....
took on Perth Glory while after that Melbourne Victory played the Central Coast Mariners. During 2009, the thirty year lease of Leichhardt Oval by the West Tigers Franchise, came to an end. It is not known what further activity will be conducted by the West Tigers franchise. The local business arm of the Tigers, the Balmain Leagues Club, continues on its long haul to financially restructure, following financial losses in 2008 and 2009. As of early 2010, the Balmain Tigers have yet to make a further commitment to returning to play the overall majority of their matches, using Leichhardt Oval.
Wests Tigers record at Leichhardt Oval
Overall - Played 50, Won 32, Drawn 1, Lost 172011 Played 4 Won 3 (New Zealand, Newcastle, Roosters), Lost 1 (Melbourne)
2010 Played 4 Won 4 (Canberra, Nth Qld, Cronulla, Melbourne)
2009 Played 3 Won 2 (Melbourne, Nth Qld), Lost 1 (Penrith)
2008 Played 3 Won 1 (Gold Coast), Lost 2 (New Zealand, Cronulla)
2007 Played 3 Won 1 (North Queensland), Lost 2 (Manly, Souths)
2006 Played 3 Won 3 (Melbourne, Manly, Souths)
2005 Played 3 Won 2 (Manly, Souths), Lost 1 (Melbourne)
2004 Played 4 Won 4 (Manly, Parramatta, Melbourne, Souths)
2003 Played 5 Won 1 (Cronulla), Lost 4 (Canberra, Brisbane, Manly, Souths)
2002 Played 5 Won 3 (Parramantta, Northern Eagles, Melbourne), Lost 2 (Penrith, Souths)
2001 Played 6 Won 3 (Melbourne, Nth Qld, Northern Eagles), Lost 3 (Parramatta, Dragons, Cronulla)
2000 Played 7 Won 5 (Auckland, Canberra, Penrith, Northern Eagles, Cronulla), Drew 1 (Parramatta), Lost 1 (Nth Qld)