Coopers Stadium

Coopers Stadium was built in 1960 on the site of West Torrens Football Club’s former ground the Hindmarsh Oval (1905 – 1921), a team which participates in the SANFL. The Soccer Association of South Australia initially wanted to use a former brick pit known as Rowley Park as the location of the new football stadium but opted against this after learning of the difficulties of cultivating grass within the proposed site which is now a speedway track. The stadium opened in 1960 with an initial capacity of 15,000 and the rectangular design with all-terrace spaces proved to be popular amongst fans of Adelaide FC. When Soccer was less popular in Australia in the 1970’s and 1980’s Hindmarsh regularly held matches of the National Team (The Socceroos) in addition to both Rugby Union and Rugby League Matches.

When Australia were awarded the right to host the 2000 Summer Olympic Games, the old wooden grandstand was replaced in 1996 with a new two tiered seating structure, as Hindmarsh stadium became one of the chosen venues to host football matches for the tournament. In addition to this, the pitch was extended by 10 metres in order to accommodate more sports, and new electronic equipment was installed such as floodlights and television display units. With Football becoming more popular across the country post-millennium, matches of the Socceroos are generally held at either Brisbane’s 52,5000 Suncorp Stadium or Sydney’s 84,000 capacity ANZ Stadium. This means Hindmarsh is primarily used within the domestic A-League for games of Adelaide United FC.