Established in 1871, the structures and grounds underwent significant redevelopment between 2012 and 2014. It has three grandstands: Riverbank Stand, Eastern Stand, and Western Stand, and is known for its heritage-listed scoreboard, which stands alongside a new digital scoreboard. Australia's first stadium hotel, named the Oval Hotel, opened in 2024.
In 1882, a grandstand, possibly designed by Wright & Reed Architects, and later renamed the George Giffen Stand, was opened to the public. In 1884, the first Test match was played at the grounds, for which the mound was built and Moreton Bay fig trees were planted.<ref name=heritage1996/>
In 1889 the original grandstand was expanded to include a dining saloon and "ladies retiring
rooms", and a new stand, designed by English and Soward, was built adjacent to it.<ref name=heritage1996/>
20th century
Ahead of a cycling event held on 24 March 1900, SACA undertook some major renovation of the grounds in order to accommodate a cycling track around the oval. Thousands of loads of earth were carted from the Torrens to create the necessary slope to the track, and a picket fence was built around the Oval's playing surface. A newspaper commenter wrote at the time: "The removal of the soil and the sloping of the banks of the lake [the Torrens] have greatly improved both its width and its appearance, while the banking up of the oval has rendered it impossible for anyone to see in from outside, for the mound is continued beyond the inner fence so as to form a natural grandstand for the spectators".<ref name=cycle1900>Template:Cite news</ref>
Between 1923 and 1929 substantial modifications and additions were built at the grounds, to designs by SACA architect Charles Walter Rutt.<ref name=heritage1996/> These included the John Creswell Stand (built 1923) and the entrance gates, and the western stands were integrated under one roof.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At this time, the other stands were named Sir Edwin Smith Stand (built 1889), George Giffen Stand (built 1882) and Mostyn Evan Stand (built 1919-26).<ref name=heritage1996/>
On 20 January 1990, the Sir Donald Bradman Stand was opened,<ref name=heritage1996/> after being built to replace the John Creswell stand.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 1997, lights were constructed at the ground allowing sport to be held at night. This was the subject of a lengthy dispute with the Adelaide City Council relating to the parklands area. The first towers erected were designed to retract into the ground; however one collapsed and they were replaced with permanent towers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
21st century
In 2003, two grandstands, named the Chappell Stands, after the South Australian cricketing brothers Ian Chappell, Greg Chappell, and Trevor Chappell, were completed.<ref name=sah/>
Temporary stands were constructed for the 2006 Ashes Series to cope with demand. In August 2008 SACA announced that it had approved plans to redevelop the ground, involving expanding its capacity to 40,000. Development plans showed a reconfiguration of the playing surface and a remodelled Western stand. The redevelopment would make the ground a viable option for hosting Australian Football League games as well as international soccer and rugby. The state and federal Governments each pledged $25m to the project, leaving the SACA to raise at least $45m. The SACA planned for the new stand to be ready in time for the 2010–11 Ashes series.<ref>New-look Adelaide Oval to chase AFLTemplate:Webarchive, The Australian, 2 August 2008</ref> The South Australian government announced it would commit funding to redevelop Adelaide Oval into a multi-purpose sports facility that would bring AFL football to central Adelaide.<ref>The Australian, 3 December 2009</ref> Announcing an agreement negotiated with SACA, SANFL and the AFL, the Rann Labor government committed $450 million to the project.<ref name="ReferenceA">Michael Owen, The Australian, 3 December 2009</ref>
The Adelaide Oval Stadium Management Authority (AOSMA), a joint venture of SACA and the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), was registered as a company on 23 December 2009 following the re-announcement of the plan.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2010 AOSMA had eight directors, four associated with SACA (Ian McLachlan, chair; John Harnden; Creagh O'Connor; and John Bannon), and four with SANFL (Leigh Whicker-CEO, Rod Payze, Philip Gallagher & Jamie Coppins).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2010 the new Western Stand was completed, incorporating 14,000 individual seats and featuring improved shading conditions and amenities for SACA members.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
However, in early-mid-2010, prior to the election, it became clear that $450m would be inadequate. Following the election, won by Labor, the Rann government capped the State Government's commitment at $450 million, and set a deadline for the parties to agree.<ref>Rann caps State Government's commitmentTemplate:Webarchive, Advertiser, 7 April 2010: SA Premier Mike Rann has capped the State Government's commitment to any redevelopment of Adelaide Oval for AFL football at $450 million. "It's $450 million – and not a penny more", said Mr Rann today ruling out the government underwriting any cost over-runs at Adelaide Oval.</ref> In May, treasurer Kevin Foley announced that "the government's final offer to the SANFL and SACA for the redevelopment" was $535 million, and the deadline was extended to August 2010.<ref>Adelaide Oval plan still short by $50mTemplate:Webarchive, 27 May 2010, Adelaidenow.com.au</ref> Simultaneously, SACA and the SANFL were in the process of negotiating an agreement that would enable Australian rules football to use Adelaide Oval during the AFL season as their home ground.<ref>AFL at Adelaide Oval, SACA website</ref><ref>Stadium Management Authority promotional brochureTemplate:Webarchive, 13 August 2010, SACA website</ref><ref>Stadium Management Authority official websiteTemplate:Webarchive, www.adelaideovalredevelopment.com.au</ref><ref>SMA Design BriefingTemplate:Webarchive, 18 June 2010, SANFL website</ref> In August 2010, SANFL and SACA representatives signed letters of intent committing to the project, including the capped $535 million offer from the state government.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In early 2011, the AFL, SANFL, SACA, the SA Government and the Australian Government reached an agreement to upgrade Adelaide Oval. The SACA and the SANFL proposed, if SACA members vote yes on the upgrade in early May, that the whole Stadium would undergo redevelopment, except for the Northern Mound, the Moreton Bay fig trees and the heritage-listed scoreboard. A three-quarters majority of SACA members were required to vote in favour of the proposed upgrade for it to ahead, with a successful vote resulting in the SANFL and AFL having control over the stadium for 7 months of the year and SACA having control for 5 months of the year. SACA members had the choice of voting online on 28 April 2011 or attending in person an Extraordinary Meeting at the Adelaide Showground on 2 May 2011. At 6 pm, 28 April 2011, It was announced that 60% of SACA members that voted online voted yes, 15% short of the majority vote needed for the upgrade to go ahead. At 10.15 pm, on 2 May 2011, the final result was announced: 80.37% of total votes cast were in favour of Adelaide Oval being redeveloped (10,078 members voted yes and 2,461 voted no), meaning that the 75% threshold had been reached and the upgrade and stadium reconfiguration was approved.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Following the vote, the South Australian Government increased its funding commitment to $535 million.<ref>AAP, Sydney Morning Herald, 2 May 2011</ref>
The upgrade commenced in April 2012. The Chappell Stands and Sir Donald Bradman Stand were demolished.<ref name=sah/> The Riverbank Stand was complete in late 2013 in time for the Ashes test as well as parts of level one of the Eastern Stand. The new Eastern Stand was fully completed with a total capacity of 19,000, bringing the overall seating capacity of the stadium to 50,083 in time for the 2014 AFL season.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="2014reopening">Template:Cite web</ref>
As part of the 2012-14 redevelopment, the already rebuilt Western Grandstand (SACA and SANFL members-only stand) had modifications to improve sightlines for some seats, the addition of a new media centre for AFL, Rugby League, Rugby Union and Soccer matches and AFL standard interchange benches. The Northern Mound had its seating capacity increased, and the historic scoreboard and the Moreton Bay fig trees, planted in the 1890s, remained untouched.<ref name=redevover>Template:Cite web</ref> The 2014 development included renaming the central part of the Western stand the Sir Donald Bradman Pavilion.<ref name=oval>Template:Cite web</ref>
Recent upgrades
The lights under the roof of the grandstands were replaced with LEDs in November 2017, followed by the light towers in December 2023 with the latter costing $5 million.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Australia's first stadium-hotel, the Oval Hotel, was announced in December 2018<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and opened in September 2020.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It has 138 guest rooms.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2012 Austadiums.com described Adelaide Oval as being "one of the most picturesque Test cricket grounds in Australia, if not the world."<ref>"Adelaide Oval" (Updated 10/11/2010) Austadiums.com, 10 November 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2014</ref> After the completion of the ground's redevelopment in 2014, sports journalist Gerard Whateley described the venue as being "the most perfect piece of modern architecture because it's a thoroughly contemporary stadium with all the character that it's had in the past".<ref>"Gerard Whateley's Monologue Transcript"Template:Webarchive Bigfooty.com, 29 April 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014</ref>
Volunteers lead 90-minute guided walking tours of the grounds for interested visitors, including children.<ref name=tours/>
The oval is Template:Cvt by Template:Cvt.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This is both unusually long and narrow for an Australian cricket or football ground. The arrangement was highly favourable for batsmen who played square of the wicket, and heavily penalised bowlers who delivered the ball short or wide so that the batsman could play cut, hook or pull shots. Before the far ends in front of and behind the wicket were roped off, making the playing area shorter, it was not uncommon for batsmen to hit an all-run four or even occasionally a five.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Adelaide Oval pitch runs north–south. Historically, Adelaide Oval's integral pitch was generally very good for batting, and offering little assistance to bowlers until the last day of a match. Since the redevelopment in 2013, a drop-in pitch has been used at the venue.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The heritage-listed scoreboard, designed by architect F. Kenneth Milne<ref name=milne/> and located on "The Hill", was first used in 1911, and has been retained. Today there is a manually operated display adjacent to a huge digital one, around four storeys high.<ref name=tours/> The scoreboard, which was first heritage-listed by the National Trust in 1984, was listed on the South Australian Heritage Register in 1986.<ref name=byrne2014>Template:Cite web</ref> This is the only manual scoreboard still operating in major Australasian cricket venues. Due to the 10-letter limit, some names have to be truncated, or be replaced by nicknames.<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Hill
'"The Hill" (or "Northern Mound"), located under the scoreboard and shaded by the Moreton Bay fig trees,<ref name=hill/> was created in 1898<ref name=tours/> or 1900,<ref name=cycle1900/> with earth from the banks of the River Torrens.<ref name=tours>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=redevover/> It became a favoured spot for some of the most vocal supporters in the crowd, and was known for being very noisy before the 2014 redevelopment.<ref name=byrne2014/>
Since then, seating has been installed on part of the hill, and only around 3,500 spectators can be accommodated on the strip of grass in front of the scoreboard, a fraction of the crowd that used to gather there.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:As of The Hill includes the Northern Mound Terrace, a hospitality venue set on large timber decking.<ref name=hill>Template:Cite web</ref>
Since 2021 Bradshaw Bell, named after former SACA CEO Keith Bradshaw after his death, is rung at the start of each day's play in a Test match. Weighing Template:Cvt, the bell was designed by Australian Bell and local digital engineering company Applidyne, and forged at Billmans Foundry in Castlemaine, Victoria.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Members' stands
The members' stands were the first section of the ground completed in the 2014 redevelopment of Adelaide Oval. They retain significant portions of the original members' stands, including the brick archways and long room.Template:Citation needed
The Riverbank Stand is the southern stand of Adelaide Oval, gaining its name from the River Torrens which is behind it. It has a capacity of 14,000 spectators.Template:Citation needed
The Victor Richardson Gates, at the south-eastern entrance of the oval<ref name=sah>Template:Cite web</ref> off King William Road, were locally heritage-listed as of city significance in 2001.<ref name="j648">Template:Cite web</ref> Architect and then mayor James Campbell Irwin suggested the idea of honouring Richardson in 1965, and a public appeal supported by SACA and SANFL raised funds for the gates. In 1966, the small road leading to the Oval from King William Road was named Victor Richardson Drive. The five iron gates, set between rectangular arches, were erected in 1967, in honour of cricketer and footballer Victor Richardson (1894–1969). Former footballer Ian Hannaford was supervising architect, and reliefs created by South Australian sculptor John Dowie were added after over £5000 was raised. The gates include two double-sided bronze reliefs, showing groups of football players competing for the ball and cricketers batting, bowling, and fielding, with the batsman resembling Richardson. Lord Mayor Walter Bridgland led the opening ceremony on 28 October 1967, with Alderman Irwin opening the gates. Sir Donald Bradman and Don Brebner, then SANFL president, attended the ceremony, which was held during a Sheffield Shield lunch break. Players Ian and Greg Chappell, Richardson's grandsons, helped to form the guard of honour. A central bronze plaque was installed after the death of Richardson in 1969.<ref name=sah/>
In 2003, when the Chappell Stands were built, the gates were moved slightly northwards, and precast concrete pillars and a capping beam replaced the original metal framework. After the stands were demolished in April 2012, the Victor Richardson Gates were repositioned in March 2014.<ref name=sah/>
Other features
There are also a number of statues, mainly of sportsmen, at the oval.
Adelaide Oval hosts some of the many events in the cricketing calendar, including the annual Australia Day One Day International on 26 January (replacing a traditional Australia Day Test) and every four years, one of the five Ashes Test matches against England. The Tests are now normally held in early December and is a clash between Australia and the international touring team of that particular season. Adelaide Oval was the host of the first ever day/night Test match, when Australia played New Zealand on 27 November 2015.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2011, Adelaide Oval held its first Twenty20 International between Australia and England, a match which England won by one wicket. The ground was announced as one of the venues for the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, and hosted one of the semi-finals.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1873 - 13 December – The first cricket game is played on the ground between Australian born players and players born overseas.
1874 - 1 March – England beat South Australia by 7 wickets in the first international cricket match at the ground.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1874 - 7 November – South Australia play Victoria on Adelaide Oval for the first time. Victoria won by 15 runs.
1877 - 10 November – The first first-class cricket match played at the ground was between South Australia and Tasmania. South Australia was victorious, winning by an innings and 13 runs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1878 - 30 January – The first cricket century at the ground was scored by John Hill, 102 not out for North Adelaide against the Kent Club.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1884 - 12 December – The first Test match was played at the Oval. England beat Australia by eight wickets. (Scorecard)
1894 - 15 January – Albert Trott collected 8/43 on debut against England, the grounds best single-innings Test match bowling figure.
1932 – The Bodyline affair reached its lowest point at the ground when Bill Woodfull and Bert Oldfield were struck, and on the third day mounted police patrolled to keep the 50,962 spectators in order (a record crowd for cricket at the ground). The total attendance for the match was 174,351.File:Bodyline 3rd Test Oldfield 01.jpgDuring the third test of the 1932–33 Ashes series Bert Oldfield was struck in the head by a ball from Harold Larwood. This series became known as the Bodyline due to the controversial aggressive tactics of the English.
1946 – Arthur Morris of Australia, and Denis Compton of England both made centuries in both innings of the Test.
1947 – Australia scored the highest team total in a test match at the ground, 674 runs, against India.
1949 - 15 January – The first women's test match held at the ground was between England and Australia. Australia would win by 186 runs.
1960 – Australia played the West Indies in the fourth test of the Frank Worrell Trophy. The match ended in a draw, with the West Indies unable to take the final wicket of the fourth innings, as the last batsmen Ken Mackay and Lindsay Kline held out for 109 minutes. West Indies bowler Lance Gibbs took the only Test cricket hat-trick at the ground in Australia's first innings. (Scorecard)
1975 – The first One-Day International match at the ground was between Australia and the West Indies. Australia won by 5 wickets. (Scorecard)
1982 – In a Sheffield Shield game against Victoria, David Hookes hit a 43-minute, 34 ball century – by some metrics the fastest hundred in history. (Statistics)
1991 – South Australia compiled the highest fourth innings winning total in Sheffield Shield history, reaching 6/506 (set 506 to win) against Queensland.
1992 – The West Indies defeated Australia by one run in the fourth test of the Frank Worrell Trophy, when a bouncer by Courtney Walsh brushed Craig McDermott's glove to end a 40-run last-wicket partnership. It was the narrowest victory ever in Test cricket. (Scorecard)
1997 – The first cricket match under lights was a One Day International between South Africa and New Zealand on 6 December 1997. (Scorecard)
1999 – Sri LankanspinnerMuttiah Muralitharan was called for throwing by umpire Ross Emerson in a One Day International against England. The Sri Lankan team almost abandoned the match, but after instructions from the president of the Sri Lankan cricket board (relayed to captain Arjuna Ranatunga by mobile phone) the game resumed.
2006 – During the Ashes series, many temporary stands were erected to cope with the demand for tickets. Stands were put between the Chappell stands and on the top of the hills. Australia beat England by 6 wickets on a remarkable last day. (Scorecard)
2014 - 10 December – Michael Clarke scored his 7th century on the ground, the most test cricket centuries at the ground.
2017 - 2 December – Adelaide Oval hosted the first day/night Ashes Test,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> attended by a record crowd for cricket of 55,317.<ref name="austadiums.com">Template:Cite web</ref>
2018 - 4 February – Adelaide Oval hosted its first Big Bash LeagueGrand Final with the Adelaide Strikers defeating the Hobart Hurricanes for the Championship.
2019 - 30 November - David Warner breaks the record for most runs scored in a single test innings by an individual player at Adelaide Oval with a score of 335* against Pakistan, surpassing Donald Bradman's 299* in 1932.
2020 - 19 December – India were all out for 36 on the third day of a test match against Australia in the second innings. This is India's lowest ever test score and the lowest ever test score recorded at the Adelaide Oval.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
From 1877 until the 1973 SANFL Grand Final, Adelaide Oval was the marquee ground for South Australian National Football League matches. After a dispute between cricket and SANFL administrators, Australian rules football in South Australia was moved to Football Park in the western suburbs of Adelaide until its permanent return to the ground in 2014. Adelaide Oval hosted the 1889 SAFA Grand Final, the first grand final in any Australian rules football competition after Port Adelaide and Norwood finished the 1889 SAFA season with the same win–loss–draw record. The record crowd for an Australian rules football match at Adelaide Oval was set at the 1965 SANFL Grand Final between Sturt and Port Adelaide when 62,543 saw the latter win by three points. After 1973 Australian rules football matches were sporadically held at the ground apart from South Adelaide games as that club continued to use the ground for their home matches after 1973. After the advent of the Australian Football League in 1990 only one AFL match was held at the ground before it was permanently adopted again by the code, with Port Adelaide hosting Melbourne during the last minor round match of the 2011 AFL season.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As of 2014, all SANFL Finals Series matches are played at the ground including the SANFL Grand Final. Regular Australian Football League matches at the venue also began in 2014.
1887 June 20 – After the previous two encounters between Norwood and Port Adelaide were drawn, the South Australia interest in their next meeting set a record for Australian rules football at the time with at least 11,000 spectators present. Attending the match were Chinese General Wong Yung Ho, Consul-General U. Tsing who were both accompanied by Dr. On Lee of Sydney and Mr. Way Lee of Adelaide. The Chinese commissioners were provided the private box of the Governor of South AustraliaWilliam C. F. Robinson. Norwood won the match by two goals.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1892 August 20 – A Broken Hill side was the first team from New South Wales to play at Adelaide Oval. Norwood would beat the visitors by four goals.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1911 August 5 – The Australian Football Council Carnival was held at the ground for the first time and was won by South Australia. The competing leagues fielding representative sides were the SANFL, VFL, VFA, WANFL, TSL and NSW. This was the first time a Tasmanian side had played at Adelaide Oval.
1945 September 29 – Haydn Bunton Sr, triple Brownlow and Sandover medalist, played for Port Adelaide in the 1945 SANFL Grand Final, the only premiership decider of his career. Despite Port Adelaide obtaining a 32-point lead at quarter time, West Torrens would eventually win the match by 13 points.
1965 October 2 – The 1965 SANFL Grand Final crowd set the record attendance for a sporting match at the venue with 62,543 people witnessing Port Adelaide defeat Sturt by three points.
1973 September 29 – The 1973 SANFL Grand Final between North Adelaide and Glenelg was the last SANFL Grand Final at Adelaide Oval until 2014. Due to the advent of the national Australian Football League in 1990, effectively relegating the SANFL to second tier, it remains the last top flight Grand Final hosted at Adelaide Oval.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1990 September 8 – The last game at the ground before the presence of an AFL team in South Australia was between West Torrens and Woodville with the latter winning by 45 points. The clubs would merge the following year.
1996 July 20 – The last game at the ground involving Template:AFL's senior team before entering the AFL was against Sturt with the former side winning by 40 points.
2011 September 4 – The first Australian Football League match at the venue was played between Port Adelaide and Melbourne. Port Adelaide won the match by 8 points.
2014 September 7 – The first Australian Football League final at the ground, an elimination final, was played between Template:AFL and Template:AFL Ric. Port Adelaide won by 57 points.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2017 September 22 – The first preliminary final held at the venue brought the largest crowd for an AFL match at the Oval to date. 53,817 watched Template:AFL Ade defeat Template:AFL Gee by 61 points.
2019 March 31 – The first AFLW Grand Final to be held at the ground featured the Adelaide Crows defeating Carlton by 45 points.
2023 April 13 – The first AFL Gather Round is held in Adelaide. The venue hosted six of the nine matches across four days.
2025 August 16 – A new AFL attendance record is set at the venue, with 54,283 attendees at Template:AFL Ade vs Template:AFL Col surpassing the previous record set in 2017.
Australian rules football records
Template:Main
The first senior league Australian rules football match was played on Adelaide Oval in 1877 between the original Adelaide club and the Bankers club. The 1990 SANFL season was the last year that the competition was the highest level of Australian rules football in South Australia. In 1991 the newly created Adelaide Crows entered the Australian Football League, subsequently playing the highest level of football in the state. Port Adelaide would join the Australian Football League in 1997.Template:Citation needed
Association football, or soccer, has been played since the early 20th century at the oval.<ref name=sabfa/>
Adelaide United FC have played a number of A-League home games against Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory FC. Adelaide Oval was the site of an international friendly match between the Socceroos and New Zealand on 5 June 2011. On 25 July 2014, Adelaide United played its first game at the fully re-developed Adelaide Oval when it played host to Spanish La Liga side Málaga CF. In front of 23,254 fans and a television audience in Spain, Málaga defeated the Reds 5–1.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Soccer timeline
1904 July 20 – The South Australian British Football Association beat the crew aboard Template:HMS 9–0.<ref name=sabfa>Template:Cite news</ref>
1920 July 5 – During a visit by the Prince of Wales, a soccer match was organised between the South Australian British Football Association and the crew aboard the visiting Template:HMS with the game resulting in a draw 0–0.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1924 October 6 – Over the course of a day three codes were played on Adelaide Oval, Australian rules football, rugby and soccer. The soccer match was between two teams, one called "Adelaide United" and the other "Hindmarsh" with the latter team winning 2–0.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1925 – During a tour of Australia, the English football team was prevented from playing on Adelaide Oval by ground administrators.Template:Citation needed
2024 October 10 – Australia (men) beat China 3–1 in a FIFA World Cup qualifier in front of 46,291 spectators.
Cycling
File:1903 Adelaide Oval.jpgThe 1903 Walne Stakes cycling race at Adelaide Oval was won by American professional cyclist Major Taylor who is pictured crossing the line
From the first cycling race held at Adelaide Oval in 1882, Adelaide Oval regularly hosted cycling races that attracted tens of thousands of spectators.<ref name="EASTER MONDAY">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Cycling races were halted after a fence was erected on the inner side of the asphalt track around 1911.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Cycling timeline
1882 – The first bicycle race took place on Adelaide Oval during part of a Scottish sport fete on Easter Monday that attracted a then record 15,000 spectators over the course of the day.<ref name="EASTER MONDAY"/>
1885 – The first time the Intercolonial Bicycle Championship was held at Adelaide Oval. F.H. Shackleford won the premier 10-mile race in 34 minutes 30 seconds. A.L. Henzel won the women's 3-mile bracelet race in 9 minutes 43 seconds.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1900 – Ahead of a cycling event held on 24 March, SACA undertook some major renovation of the grounds in order to accommodate a cycling track around the oval. Thousands of loads of earth were carted from the Torrens to create the necessary slope to the track.<ref name=cycle1900/>
1903 – American professional cyclist Major Taylor, the first world champion black athlete, wins the Walne Stakes in front of at least 10,000 spectators. He won the half-mile in a time of 57s ± 2.5.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He won 11 races out of 14, and was placed second in three.<ref name=timeline>Template:Cite web</ref> Taylor's trip to Australia to compete in cycling races inspired the 1992 film Tracks of Glory.<ref>Ed. Scott Murray, Australia on the Small Screen 1970–1995, Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p242</ref>
Rugby League
In 1991, the NSWRL came to Adelaide Oval when the St. George Dragons played the Balmain Tigers on a cold and wet Friday night under temporary lights in the first of five games that the Dragons would play at the oval over the next five years. That game, with the Dragons winning 16–2, set a rugby league record crowd for the ground when 28,884 people attendedTemplate:Citation needed, and was in fact the highest minor round attendance for the 1991 NSWRL season (beaten only by four of the six Finals series games including the Grand Final). In 1997 Adelaide got its own side in the much vaunted (but short lived) Super League competition with the Adelaide Rams. Their first home game attracted their record crowd when 27,435Template:Citation needed saw the Rams defeat SL's other new team, the Hunter Mariners 10–8. However, after disputes over money (and dwindling crowds due to poor on-field results) they left the ground in 1998 and moved to Hindmarsh Stadium. In the 2010 and 2011National Rugby League seasons, Sydney club the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs played home games at the Oval against the Melbourne Storm. The Bulldogs had intended to make Adelaide Oval their second "home" (the club plays its home games at Sydney's Olympic Stadium), but the plan was abandoned after 2010. On 20 November 2016, it was announced that the Sydney Roosters will take on the Melbourne Storm in the 2017 NRL season meaning that top level Rugby league returned to Adelaide for the first time since 2011. The Roosters won the game, played on 24 June in Round 16 of the season, 25–24 in golden point extra time in front of a crowd of 21,492 fans.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2020 November 4 – A NRL State of Origin match was scheduled to be held at Adelaide Oval on 1 June for the opening leg of the 2020 NRL State of Origin series but was postponed due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which affected the 2020 NRL season. Queensland ended up winning the rescheduled game 18–14.<ref name=Adelaide2020>Template:Cite web</ref>
Adelaide Oval hosted two games of the 2003 Rugby World Cup. On 25 October, Australia played their first international game in Adelaide when they defeated Namibia 142–0 in front of 28,196 fans. The next day Ireland defeated Argentina 16–15 in front of 30,203 fans.
On 3 July 2004, Australia hosted the Pacific Islanders at Adelaide Oval, winning 29–14 before a crowd of 19,266.
Adelaide Oval did not host another rugby union match until 27 August 2022, when Australia defeated South Africa 25–17 in a Rugby Championship test match in front of a crowd of 36,336.
1888 July 16 – England defeated South Australia 28–3 in a Rugby Union match.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2003 October 25 – The first of two matches of the Rugby World Cup were played at Adelaide Oval. The first match saw Australia thrash Namibia 142–0. The following day Ireland defeated Argentina by one point.
In 1888, American Baseball administrator Albert Spalding brought the Chicago team and an additional composite team called the All-Americans to Australia and would play a series of three exhibition matches at Adelaide Oval. Chicago would win the Adelaide series 2–1.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> Following on from this exhibition of the match in Australia, over the next few years intercolonial matches were commonly played against other states on the ground.
Baseball timeline
1888 December – American Baseball administrator Albert Spalding brought the Chicago team and an additional composite team called the All-American team to Australia and played a series of three exhibition matches at the ground. Chicago would win the series 2–1.<ref name=":02">Template:Cite news</ref>
1934 August 12 – The final game of the inaugural 1934 Claxton Shield series was played between Victoria and South Australia with the latter state winning 5–8.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
During World War II an American football match was held by American soldiers stationed in Adelaide on Independence Day. At least 25,000 spectators attended the match that was staged between teams referred to as the "Packers" and "Bears" with the latter winning the match.
American football timeline
13 June 1938 – During an interval of a Port Adelaide and Norwood SANFL match with 27,764 spectators present, a long distance kicking contest was held using American footballs.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Measurements of kicks were then compared to College footballers in the United States. Robert Elliott of North Adelaide won the competition kicking an Australian football 67 metres. Robert Elliott kicked the American football 62 metres, 13 centimetres short of the top American figure set by Jack Cohen from the UCLA Bruins using the American ball.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
4 July 1942 – An exhibition match was held by American soldiers.
Tennis
The Adelaide Oval grounds have maintained a long tradition of holding tennis tournaments.
Hockey was first played at Adelaide Oval in the early 1900s.
Field hockey timeline
1904 September 3 – The premiers of the South Australian Hockey Association played a composite team of the best players from the remaining clubs.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1905 July 15 – The first women's hockey match held at the ground was played.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1926 – The Indian army hockey team defeat South Australia 14–0.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1939 August 22 – Australian state hockey championship held at Adelaide Oval.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The largest spectator event of the 19th century at the Adelaide Oval was the "Grand Corroboree", a corroboree performed by around 100 Aboriginal men and women from Point MacLeay mission and Yorke Peninsula on Friday 29 and Saturday 30 May 1885. They had been invited to Adelaide by the colonial government to perform as part of the Queen's Birthday celebrations. After organisers expected a crowd of around 5,000, approximately 20,000 spectators (around a sixth of Adelaide's population) turned up. The crowd became rowdy and police had to clear the performance space before the event could begin.<ref name=parsons1997/><ref name=casey2011>Template:Cite journal</ref> Profits from the show were assigned to the Aboriginal people.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The corroboree was so successful that other performances were arranged at other venues. Also at this time, the first football match held between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal teams in Adelaide was organised by Football and Cricketing Association secretary John Creswell, and a second followed at the oval on 2 June 1885.<ref name=parsons1997>Template:Cite journal</ref>
As part of the 1927 Royal Tour, the Duke and Duchess of York had a motorcade through Adelaide Oval with many people present for the event.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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A concert by Adele in March 2017, attracting an audience of 70,000, was "the largest ever attendance for a concert in South Australia".<ref name=adele2017>Template:Cite news</ref>
Other notable record-setting events at the Adelaide Oval include:
The "Grand Corroboree", on Friday 29 and Saturday 30 May 1885, witnessed by 20,000 spectators<ref name=parsons1997/><ref name=casey2011/>
Adelaide, North Terrace<ref name="Adelaide Railway Station Tram Stop">Template:Cite web</ref> Festival Plaza, King William Rd<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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