A.S.G. | |
 Interactive map of Albury Sports Ground | |
| Former names | Albury Oval |
|---|---|
| Location | Albury,New South Wales,Australia |
| Coordinates | 36°4′59.19″S146°54′31.59″E / 36.0831083°S 146.9087750°E /-36.0831083; 146.9087750 |
| Owner | City of Albury |
| Capacity | 8,000 approx.[1] |
| Record attendance | 15,000 (14 June 1952: VFL Season: South Melbourne vs. North Melbourne) |
| Surface | Grass (Oval) |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1890s |
| Renovated | 2016(Rejected proposal) |
| Tenants | |
| Albury Tigers F.N.C. (OMFNL) South Melbourne Football Club (VFL) (1952) Albury Tigers C.C. (CAW) Melbourne Storm R.L.C. (2020 pre-season training only) GWS Giants (VFL) (2025) | |
 Interactive map of Albury Sports Ground | |
| Ground information | |
| Country | Australia |
| End names | |
| "East End" / "Members End" "West End" | |
| International information | |
Albury Sports Ground (also known as "Albury Oval") is a sporting ground located close to the central business district ofAlbury,Australia. The oval is near theNSW bank of theMurray River, with a historic grandstand on the north-western flank, and a members' club with a grandstand and changing rooms on the eastern wing. The venue also incorporates anetball court in the north-eastern corner, while theAlbury Swim Centre is adjacent to the west. The ground is part of a string of parks and gardens between theMurray River and Wodonga Place that include theAlbury Botanic Gardens, Hovell Tree Park, Noreuil Park, Australia Park, and Oddies Creek Park.
The venue is the home ground for theAlbury Football Club in theOvens & Murray Football League, and most seasons it hosts the Ovens & Murray preliminary final.
In previous summers the venue was used for cricket, with a turf wicket, and in this capacity serves as the home of the Albury Tigers side in the Cricket Albury-Wodonga Provincial competition. The turf wicket was removed in the early 2000's and the cricket club was relocated.
In May 2020, the Albury Sports Ground hosted the Melbourne Storm for a pre-season training capacity in preparation for recommencing the delayed 2020 NRL Season. The Storm were originally slated to train at Albury community Rugby League venue Greenfields Park, however a decision by the Albury City Council led to the Storm requiring an alternate venue at short notice.
On 28 February 2014 theBorder Mail published an article titled "Lavington Oval 'in the wrong spot' for major events"[3] in which Andrew Boyd Barber (a University of Melbourne post-graduate urban design student) said: "Albury Council should start planning for an upgraded sportsground precinct." He went on to cite the AFL's decision to sell its ground at Waverley in favour of the Docklands stadium in central Melbourne. "Waverley is an incredible oval in the middle of suburbia that now has this radiating pattern of houses," ... "People couldn't really access it that easily,". Mr Boyd Barber said Lavington Oval contained the same elements as Waverley, in that it had simply become nonviable to have a huge stadium in such a residential location. "You've got an oval on the outer fringe of an urban area that is slowly being encroached on by development,".
On 9 March 2016 theBorder Mail published an article titled "Urban designer promotes plan to link new Albury aquatics centre with upgraded sportsground".[4] ...
Round 8 of the1952 VFL season was declared "National Day Round" where all matches were held away from traditionalVFL venues, and as part of this, Albury Sports Ground hosted a fixture that sawSouth Melbourne 18.10 (118) defeatNorth Melbourne 14.12 (96).
In May 2020, due to theCOVID-19 lockdown in the state ofVictoria, theMelbourne Storm utilised the training facilities in preparation for the resumption of their2020 NRL season.
Whilst its role as Albury's main sporting venue has been superseded by the establishment of the Lavington Sports Ground in the 1970s, it has in the past hosted the O&MFL grand final (including the notorious 1990 "Bloodbath" decider between Lavington and Wodonga Bulldogs), as well as representative Australian Rules football and cricket matches. It was also the venue for the rugby league tour game in 1951 where a team of virtual unknowns representing Riverina upset France, who at the time were possibly the best test nation in the world. Riverina won 20–10, thank mostly to the boot of their fullback Koch, who kicked 7 goals. It has also hosted cultural events such as rock concerts and carols by candlelight, as well as hosting a stage of the Royal Tour byQueen Elizabeth II in 1988 during Australia's bicentenary of colonisation, where thousands of schoolchildren were assembled on the oval to greet the Queen.