North Sydney Oval: Proposal pitched for sporting clubs, community events to be held on hallowed turf

A bold proposal to allow junior sporting and community events to be held at the storied North Sydney Oval has been met with a lukewarm response from the boss of the North Sydney Bears.

A bold proposal has been pitched to allow the grounds of the historic North Sydney Oval to be opened up for grassroots sporting clubs and community events in a move to address rapid population growth and a dire shortage of sporting facilities.

A community forum to discuss the region’s recreational needs has heard suggestions for the hallowed turf of the North Sydney sporting ground to be expanded from hosting elite sports to broader activities including club training events, weekend junior sport and even community markets and concerts.

The oval, which has a spectator stand capacity for 20,000 people, is best known as the home of the North Sydney Bears rugby league team and is also used by cricket and AFL teams.

John Hancox, who chairs a local North Sydney resident group, believes the site could be opened up for wider community use to solve a dire shortage of green space in the north shore area.

North Sydney Council currently has the lowest amount of open space per head of population of any local government area in NSW.

The oval dates back to 1867.

Mr Hancox said the need for more sporting facilities has been partly fuelled by population growth as well as the construction of the Western Harbour Tunnel, which has resulted in a net loss of green space at St Leonards Park and Cammeray Golf Club.

“By all means have the oval used by the big sporting codes during the peak season but it could be adapted for shared use outside the main fixtures,” he said.

“It’s a large flat oval and at a time when open space is coming under increasing pressure, it makes sense for it to be shared.

The oval is used for sports including cricket.

“It could be used for community cricket, bowling – it would also be a great place for concerts.”

Martin Sheppard, chief executive of the National Sports and Physical Activity Convention, has backed the proposal – saying similar elite facilities around Australia have been opened up for broader community use.

“There are facilities in Melbourne which host top class cricket but are also used for schools, junior women’s sports and they’ve become a place for the community as well as elite sport,” he said.

The oval is best known as the home ground of the North Sydney Bears.

“The good thing about it is the local community feel as though they are part of big clubs that use the facilities and tend to embrace the clubs a lot more.

“There’s no reason why (North Sydney Oval) couldn’t be opened for the community for even 20 hours a week.”

North Sydney Bears chairman Daniel Dickson said he supported the idea in theory but questioned the finer details of the proposal.

Bears chairman Daniel Dickson.

“I don’t want to sound like a grinch and as much as I love the idea, when you look at the level of elite sport that uses the oval all year around the ground does need to have time to rest in order to stay at an optimal level,” he said.

“The community might be surprised at how much the oval is already utilised. If you added weekend community sport into the mix it would not be in the same condition that it needs to be for AFL, rugby and cricket.”

The shortage of sporting facilities has meanwhile sparked a range of other ideas by local sporting clubs to help address demand including using the grounds of private schools and even the roofs of car parks as sporting facilities.

A photo of mid-season maintenance work at the oval.

Austen Shephard, president of Northern Sydney and Beaches Hockey Association, said there was also a dire shortage of synthetic pitches in the north shore area.

“We are a fast growing sport but there’s only one synthetic field in our catchment and our members have to travel considerable distances just to train and play games,” he said.

North Sydney Council – which manages North Sydney Oval – said it is “supportive of the oval’s availability being expanded to accommodate more events.”

“North Sydney Oval already provides facilities for a range of hirers including professional sporting teams, junior clubs, local schools, private functions and community events,” a spokeswoman said.

“Any additional requests are welcomed, with site visits available.

“To protect the playing surface and stakeholder expectations, any additional use of the Oval would need to be facilitated through consultation with turf operations and annual hirers.

“Council will be engaging with the community later this year to finalise strategies for the next ten years including open space and recreation.”

The oval is recognised as one of the oldest sporting grounds in Australia with the first cricket pitch laid on December 6, 1867.

Got a story tip? Email [e-mail]

Originally published as North Sydney Oval: Proposal pitched for sporting clubs, community events to be held on hallowed turf