Adelaide Oval, Australia

Building on 25 years’ experience of working at this unique venue, we provided detail design management and overall project management throughout the development and construction of the AUS$450m stadium.

Adelaide Oval has a unique quality and setting within the Adelaide parklands and is at the heart of wider plans for development of the Riverbank Precinct and its surrounds.

The redeveloped stadium has been designed to serve the player, spectator and media needs of cricket and soccer – while preserving the ground’s unique atmosphere and heritage and setting standards for sustainability.

Key features of the stadium complex include:

• three stands designed as individual pavilions
• 50,083 seats, of which 77% are under cover
• room for 3,500 standing spectators
• new bars and food courts with a series of barbeque terraces
• three television studios, 11 radio booths and room for nearly 150 print media
• a new pedestrian bridge across the Torrens River, enabling an estimated 20,000 fans to walk to the Oval from Adelaide city centre

To preserve the ground’s unique atmosphere, sightlines from within the stadium of Adelaide Cathedral and surrounding parkland have been safeguarded. The historic North Mound has been retained as open space.

The spectacular Southern Stand roof is formed by a single shell with a stiffening perimeter truss – a highly efficient structural combination weighing around 57kg/m2. Its shape is a toroid, meaning it’s not perfectly curved, with each connection unique in geometry. The southern roof is 147m wide x 65m cantilever and 16m rise; the eastern roof is 177m wide x 47m cantilever and 5m camber with 35m span trusses.

Construction was sequenced around test matches scheduled to be played during the early stages of the programme. The pitch had to be lifted and relaid to meet international standards for soccer, and as cricket is best viewed end-on and football side-on, the stadium has been designed to accommodate two sets of media and spectator requirements.

Existing and new elements were brought together and the valued surrounding parkland was integrated into the composition to enable Adelaide Oval to acquire a new iconic identity, one that enhances the way Adelaide is viewed without destroying the essential imagery of the city.