User:Theshiz162/SANDBOX

The Arden Street Oval is a sports ground in North Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, home to the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League, and the North Melbourne Cricket Club who play in the Victorian Premier Cricket league. Up to the end of the 1985 season it was used for elite-level VFL/AFL matches, playing host to 529 matches, before North Melbourne moved to the larger Telstra Dome in Melbourne's Docklands Precinct. It is still used by the North Melbourne Football Club for training and administration, and by the Cricket club for Elite-level matches.

History
Not much is known about the exact date that Arden St Oval was officially opened, but local history purports it as being as old as the suburb itself. The Hotham Cricket Club served as the ground's only tenants until 1882 when they amalgamated with the Hotham Football Club - as they were then known - to effect improvements to the ground. Before then, the Hotham Football Club had been playing home matches at Royal Park, near the present site of the Melbourne Zoo. The first game of Australian football ever played at the ground took place on 29 April 1882, when Hotham defeated Royal Park. Three years later, the ground became permanently reserved to the Crown. The football and cricket clubs changed their names to North Melbourne on the 23rd of March 1888, after the Town of Hotham reverted back to the name of of North Melbourne in August 1887.

The sharing agreement between the cricket and football clubs was not all rosy, and by the late 1890s the two entities ended up in court over a dispute about the use of the cricket pavilion by a visiting football team. The court ruled in favour of the cricket club citing that since it was Crown land, it was illegal to fence off any part of it for the benefit of either party.

thumb|right|250px|Arden St in 1980. The 1928 Grandstand is to the North. Betting ring in the North-West. Harold Henderson Pavilion to the west. Outer sheds to the South and East1906 saw the construction of the grounds first grand stand. By mid-1909, the control of the Recreation Reserve had shifted to the Parks and Gardens Committee of the Melbourne City Council. In 1921, North were temporarily expelled from the VFA after the club attempted to amalgamate with Essendon. The Essendon Football Club had previously played at the East Melbourne ground at Jolimont, but this site had been acquired by Victorian Railways, making the ground unavailable for use. However, the terms of the Crown grant allowed the use of the ground only for North Melbourne’s citizens, not Essendon’s. This prompted Essendon being granted its own ground in Napier Street, Essendon, and the re-formed North Melbourne’s return, the following season, to Arden Street.

In 1922, the management of the ground was transferred from the Melbourne City Council to the North Melbourne Football and Cricket Clubs. Improvements to the ground that year, made in an attempt to increase revenue, included the installation of hot showers in the change rooms.

In early 1925, North Melbourne was finally admitted to the VFL. The invitation to join the VFL came at a time when local support for the club was at an all-time high prompting further upgrading of facilities. This included the construction of the main grandstand in 1928, with seating for 2,000 spectators.

Until the late 1960s, these two grandstands were the only major structures associated with the Recreation Reserve, until the construction of the new administration building and Social Club after 1966.

The North Melbourne Football Club continued to use the site as its home ground until 1985, when the club began using the Melbourne Cricket Ground for its home matches. The last VFL match was played there on the 17th of August 1985 when North Melbourne played Richmond. North won by 50 points. The Arden Street Oval is now used only as a Training Base for the Club. The club administration moved to offices at Docklands Stadium in 2002.

Australian Rules Football
The Arden Street Oval was first played on the 29th of April 1882 when the team originally known as Hotham moved its headquarters from Royal Park to the Arden Street Oval. Less than a decade later Hotham became North Melbourne, following the name change of the surrounding suburb. In 1965, North Melbourne, also known as the Kangaroos moved from Arden Street to the City of Coburg Oval which at the time had better facilities. However a year later the club returned to Arden Street. Twenty years later, the Club moved its home games to the much larger Melbourne Cricket Ground and then again to the Telstra Dome in 2000 where they still play today.

In 2006, a section of the facility was destroyed in a fire. North Melbourne trained at the much larger Telstra Dome for the remainder of the 2006 season while repairs were in place at Arden Street Oval. The fire damage caused the club to start looking at redeveloping the ageing and inadequate training facilities. Later that year, the old Grandstand was torn down to make way for new facilities that are to be completed in early 2010.

The last VFL match was played there on the 17th of August 1985 when North Melbourne played Richmond. North won by 50 points. The Arden Street Oval is now used only for Administration and as a Training Base for the Club.

The highest score was North Melbourne's 29.19 (193) in 1983 versus Carlton.

Cricket
The North Melbourne Cricket Club was founded in 1906. The club has played at the Arden Street Oval since its foundation. They play in the Victorian Premier Cricket league and have had little first grade success.

Greyhound Races
Between 1957 and 1962, the Arden Street Oval was home to a betting ring that would play host greyhound races on a weekly basis. The meetings would attract more than 5000 people regularly. After the greyhound races moved away, the shed would accommodate equipment and car parking for the football club.

First Grand Stand
thumb|right|125px|Player Race

The first grandstand was built in 1906 on the Fogarty Street side of the ground, at a reputed cost of £850. Remnants of this stand, the concrete players’ race and the base of one of the external staircases, remain in the terraced area. The players’ race still connects the players’ dressing rooms in the Football Club administration building with the oval. In 1909, plans for a new grandstand, to cost £1,000, were drawn up by local councillor and club founder J H Gardiner. Despite the popularity of the club, it was deemed that too few finals games were scheduled for the ground to warrant the construction of another stand.

1928 Grand Stand
North’s move to the VFL in 1925 prompted significant upgrading of the club’s facilities. Almost symbolic of the club’s new status as a member of the VFL was the construction of the brick grandstand in 1928, with seating for 2,000 spectators. Located to the south-east of the existing 1906 stand, it was built on the site of the small timber pavilion, which was demolished, and another even smaller structure to the south-east which was apparently re-located elsewhere. The designer was H E Morton and the builder was J E Morison. thumb|right|125px|1928 Granstand

The foundation stone reads as follows: NORTH MELBOURNE RECREATION RESERVE THIS TABLET WAS UNVEILED BY THE RIGHT HONORABLE THE LORD MAYOR OF MELBOURNE ALDERMAN SIR STEPHEN MORELL ON SATURDAY 24TH MARCH 1928 COMMITTEE 1927-28 COUNCILLOR DR KENT HUGHES, CHAIRMAN L. W. ABLEY REV. D. DALEY A. J. HARFORD J. T. EDMONDS C. W. LETTEY J. P. T. MORAN G. P. RUSSELL W. J. WOODBRIDGE R. ROUTLEY, J. C. CONNOLEY, SECRETARY TREASURER H. E. MORTON, J. C. MORISON, ENGINEER BUILDER

The main grandstand seated prominent members and administrators of the football club up until the club stopped playing games there in 1984. From then on, it fell into disrepair and was eventually closed off to the public in 1991. It housed the club gym for a few years before bird droppings inside the roof began to present a safety hazard. The grandstand was eventually demolished in 2006 after failed attempts to find funds to repair the structure, much to the disappointment of the North-West Melbourne Association. A new administration and football facility will be built in its place.

Harold R. Henderson Pavilion
The Harold R Henderson Pavilion is the latest stand to be built, and as of 2009, is the only stand still remaining on the oval. It was constructed in the late '60s following the clubs disastrous move to the Coburg City Oval.

Lead by Allen Aylett and Harold R. Henderson, a committee was formed that aimed to redevelop the ground so that there would never be a repeat of the club's relocation to Coburg. Along with new administration facilities, a new first rate social club was built that became the envy of other VFL clubs during the 70s.

The pavilion itself set a new benchmark in football standards, with the introduction of corporate hospitaly where clients could enjoy the football in comfort. These improvements were responsible for the great success North achieved during the 70s.

After 1985, the Pavilion was converted into the 'Kanga Kasino' that housed the clubs pokie machines. In 2002, North Melbourne acquired the Captain's Bar at the newly constructed Docklands Stadium, and the pokies were moved there. Nowadays the Pavilion holds the club gym, and North's official merchandise store the 'Roo Shop'.

Betting Ring
thumb|right|125px|Betting ring The betting ring is a concreted area beneath a roof, behind the 1928 grandstand, on the corner of Arden and Fogarty streets. The betting ring was built for greyhound meetings that were held at Arden St from 1957-62. The dogs ran on a track that formed a perimeter around the cricket oval. While the betting ring was alive with punters and bookmakers, only those in the ring's top corner, at the northern end, had a view past the grandstand and across the terraces to the finishing line. Since the demise of greyhound racing at Arden Street, the betting ring has served as a car park and equipment shelter. Much of the area is taken up by the Bob Dempster Memorial Nets, which were built on the oval in 1975, before being shifted to the corner of the betting ring closest to the intersection of Arden and Fogarty streets. The nets, which look worse for wear, house a mini-bus, a tractor, a wheelbarrow and truckloads of abandoned furniture.

In 2006, the betting ring was destroyed in an arson attack.

Outer Shed
At the eastern goals and along the Macaulay Street boundary stood small shelters for the spectators. These shelters were demolished in the aftermath of the Bradford City stadium fire in England and were declared a fire hazard.

The Gasometer
thumb|right|125px|Gasometer

One of the iconic features of VFL football at Arden St was the gigantic gasometer that towered over the ground. The giant gas works structure was located along McCauley Road and became synonymous with North Melbourne in the footy world. The gasometer was so well known that Mick Nolan was affectionately labelled the "Galloping Gasometer" by footy fans due to his large size and resemblance to the structure.

Redevelopment
In 2007, it was announced by former Football club Chairman Graham Duff that the facilities at the Arden Street Oval would get a $10 million upgrade, including new facilities for the State Fencing Centre. The new facilities would be ready in time for the 2009 AFL Season and allow the Football club to move administration from the Telstra Dome to the ground. The upgraded facilities will also serve the community with a Gymnasium, Basketball Courts and Change rooms.

In early 2008, newly elected President and media personality James Brayshaw of the Football club together with new CEO Eugene Arocca announced extra funding for the ground and a new "Learning and Life Centre", along with a partnership with the Australian Multicultural Foundation that will increase funding to $16 Million AUD. .

Transport
The Arden Street Oval is about 1km from North Melbourne Station which is located on the Corner of Ireland Street and Railway Place. North Melbourne Station is a major transport hub and Melbourne's link to the North-Western suburbs, playing host to more than 10 train lines, both Urban and Regional.