Stirling Cricket Club reveals plans for oval expansion to make ‘hub for girls cricket’ in the Adelaide Hills
One of South Australia’s oldest cricket clubs has revealed plans to transform an Adelaide Hills oval from an “eyesore” to a vibrant precinct for women's sport. Check out the plans.
Adelaide Hills
Don't miss out on the headlines from Adelaide Hills. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Uraidla set for $18 million aged care project
- Mapped: 135 major projects to boost the Adelaide Hills economy
Stirling’s ageing cricket oval is set for a major overhaul to help shine a light on women in sport.
The Stirling Cricket Club and the local business association have joined forces to develop plans for a $700,000 expansion, including the creation of an English cricket-inspired pavilion.
Other upgrades include changes to existing clubrooms to attract more women to the sport.
Club president Peter Fryer said the project would coincide with the club’s 150th anniversary in 2024.
“At the moment, club facilities are all scattered around the oval, such as the change rooms, which are on one site, while the toilet block, which was built in the 80s for the Prince Charles and Di visit is in another location,” Mr Fryer said.
“So it’s all very disjointed and makes it impractical for our players and other activities that happen on the oval.
“We currently have 120 active members and hope to grow that number, especially for junior cricket and in the women’s site.
“In fact, once we have the new facility up and running, I’d like to see this become the hub of girls cricket in the Hills.”
Mr Fryer said the club had been working closely with the local historical society to pay homage to the community.
He said the oval was originally gifted to the community in the 1930s and was then established as a sporting ground.
“Back then, they built this enormous grand staircase which, according to the original plans which we’ve obtained, had this pavilion at the top,” Mr Fryer said.
“But we think that they spent so much money on the staircase and oval, that they ran out of money to complete the project.
“So we now hope to add the pavilion to give it that grand English look to take it into the next decade.”
