 Concord Oval showing the eastern grandstand prior to redevelopment | |
 Interactive map of Concord Oval | |
| Location | Concord, New South Wales |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°52′6″S151°6′34″E / 33.86833°S 151.10944°E /-33.86833; 151.10944 |
| Owner | City of Canada Bay |
| Capacity | 5,000 |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1985 |
| Construction cost | $85 million (2021–22 redevelopment) |
| Tenants | |
| West Harbour RFC Western Suburbs Magpies (1910–11, 1915–19, 1942) Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (1994) Inter Lions SC Wests Tigers (training + administration) | |
Concord Oval (alsoWaratah Stadium) is arugby footballstadium in the inner-westernSydney suburb ofConcord, Australia. The stadium can hold 5000 people, as of November 2022, down from 20,000 when it opened in 1985. As of 2022[update], it is used mostly forrugby union matches and hosted eight matches during the1987 Rugby World Cup. It is also a venue forsoccer and localrugby league matches.
Concord Oval is the home ground ofWest Harbour RFC in theShute Shield rugby union competition, and was the home ofGreater Sydney Rams in the defunctNational Rugby Championship. It is also the training and administration base for theWests Tigers rugby league club. TheInter Lions SC soccer club plays some home games at the ground.
Since 2022, the stadium has a grandstand on the western side that doubles as the Wests Tigers training and administration facility. The northern end hosts an indoor community sports facility. A small grass hill is on the eastern side with a basketball court and overflow car park behind it while another grass hill is located at the southern end. During the redevelopment, temporary training and administration facilities for the Wests Tigers were located there.
Prior to the redevelopment in 2021, the stadium had two opposing grandstands. The eastern stand hosted tennis box-style seats, a television gantry and change rooms, and ran approximately from try-line to try-line. The western stand contained a gym and some box-style seating. This stand ran approximately from dead-ball line to dead-ball line. In front of the western stand were two rows of seats, while a concrete path extended around the field (except where it ran behind the aforementioned two rows of seats). At each end there was a grassy hill. At the southern or Parramatta Road end, there was a wooden, manually operated scoreboard with an analogue clock.
The stadium is bordered by Gipps Street to the north,Parramatta Road to the south, Loftus Street to the west and the Cintra Hockey Centre to the east. Parking is at a premium with small carparks behind the northern hill, eastern stand and in the south-east corner, althoughBurwood railway station is not too far away, and the 410, 415, 461N, 461X, 464, 466 and 530 bus routes pass close to the stadium.
St Luke's Park, which was the home ground of Sydney'sWestern Suburbs Magpiesrugby league club in1910 and1911 was where Concord Oval is now located.[1] Wests started playing their matches atPratten Park in 1912, but after pressure from local residents there the council refused the club permission to use that ground, forcing them to return to St. Luke's Oval from 1915 to 1919.[2] From 1920 Wests resumed playing at Pratten Park and played at St Luke's again in1942.[3]
Concord Oval was reconstructed between 1984 and 1987 to become the home ofRugby union in Sydney[4] and subsequently the redeveloped venue hosted games in the1987 Rugby World Cup.
The stadium also hosted four first graderugby league matches, three of them in 1994 asCanterbury's second home ground during that season.
In the early 2010s the City of Canada Bay Council prepared a masterplan[5] to bring major events back to an expanded and rejuvenated Concord Oval. This includes construction and installation of broadcasting equipment such as satellite dishes, antennas, camera platforms and commentary boxes, as well as training quality floodlighting and a new scoreboard.
In 2020, it was announced that the Concord Oval will undergo a $51 million redevelopment to accommodate theWests Tigers new training and administration complex to be completed by mid–2021.[6] Demolition works began in mid-2020 with the Eastern Stand completely demolished by July 2020.[7] The new training and administration facility, commercially known as theZurich Centre was officially opened on 18 November 2022.[8][9]
Concord Oval hosted six matches of the1987Rugby World Cup.
| Date | Competition | Home team | Away team | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 May 1987 | 1987Rugby World Cup Pool 1 |  Australia | 19 |  England | 6 | 17,896 |
| 30 May 1987 | 1987Rugby World Cup Pool 1 | England | 60 |  Japan | 7 | 4,893 |
| 3 June 1987 | 1987Rugby World Cup Pool 1 | England | 34 |  United States | 6 | 8,785 |
| Australia | 42 | Japan | 23 | |||
| 7 June 1987 | 1987Rugby World Cup Quarter-final 2 | Australia | 33 |  Ireland | 15 | 14,356 |
| 13 June 1987 | 1987Rugby World Cup Semi-final 1 | Australia | 24 |  France | 30 | 17,768 |