Norwood Oval

Award-winning redevelopment

Adelaide’s Norwood Oval has been part of the landscape for close to 120 years. It has been the site of countless Aussie Rules football matches as well as being used for many other sporting and community events. This well-known venue is the home ground for the Norwood Football Club in the South Australian National Football League and is the primary home ground of the Adelaide Crows in AFL Women's.

In 2019, we were contracted to complete a long-awaited project that would provide a new, two-storey multi-purpose community function centre, and overhaul existing change rooms and facilities. The main feature of the project was to erect a new pavilion between the southern Sir Edwin Smith Grandstand and the Western Grandstand. This ‘Wolf Blass Function Centre’ features a downstairs bar, complete with serving areas and kitchen facilities, and a brand new high-end function area upstairs. The outside of the building has ramps, split-level viewing decks, and paved areas so spectators can take in the action on the oval.

The Sir Edwin Smith Grandstand was upgraded to add change rooms, offices, a boardroom and a gym. At the existing Western Grandstand, a kiosk, umpires’ change room, amenities, and two away team change rooms were created. The challenge for construction teams was to work around a heritage-listed site, accommodate the existing facilities as part of the project and tackle additional repair requirements that were encountered as part of the works.

In 2021, Norwood Oval wins the Ken Gannon Award. The Ken Gannon Awards recognise the remarkable examples of best-practice development that benefit the game and communities across Australia.

Uniting the community

Norwood Oval has always been more than a ‘footy field’ and has incredible significance to the local community. As a supporter and sponsor of the Norwood Football Club, we recognised the significance of this project and were proud to be involved.

There's a lot of deep passionate support of the SANFL and the Norwood Football Club. There's a lot of talk around town and on social media. Even the SA Premier is a Norwood club member and came to have a look at the new facilities.

Andrew Hay, Senior Project Manager

Upgrading a site steeped in history

Norwood Oval was in need of an upgrade to accommodate the needs of players, spectators, members and officials but creating a new structure between two existing ones allowed minimal room for error. The coordination of trades and shop drawings was crucial for the project to succeed.

The new club facilities had to look state of the art without interrupting the overall look of the historic stadium. The design included a suspended glass bridge spanning across the breezeway entrance between the new build and the Southern Sir Edward Stand. Completing this bridge required countless hours of engineering and problem-solving to ensure a finished product that was structurally sound and also met the design intent.

On the outside of the stadium, a key feature of the revamp was the Woods Street facade, which included three layers of cladding in the Norwood Football Club colours and an external mesh screen.