Adelaide Oval Guided Stadium Tour

Adelaide Oval: the ground between the city and North Adelaide

Adelaide Oval sits in the Park Lands on the northern bank of the River Torrens, between the city centre and the leafy suburb of North Adelaide. Cricket has been played here since 1871, and the ground still hosts international Test matches every summer, Australian rules football every winter and the biggest concerts that come to South Australia. A redevelopment finished in 2014 gave the Oval modern grandstands for around 53,500 spectators while keeping what makes it unlike any other stadium: the heritage scoreboard, the grassed northern mound and the view of St Peter's Cathedral beyond the fence.

An Adelaide Oval tour is the easiest way to appreciate that mix of old and new, because you walk from the glass-and-steel stands into spaces that look much as they did a century ago. If you are wondering whether Adelaide Oval is worth visiting when there is no match on, the answer for most travellers is yes: on a quiet day you see far more of the ground than any spectator ever does.

Behind the scenes: players' facilities, media areas and the heritage scoreboard

The guided route takes you through doors that are locked on match days. You visit the players' facilities, where the teams prepare before walking out through the race onto the turf, and the areas used by coaches and officials high in the stands. In the media centre your guide explains how commentators and journalists cover a big game, and you see the ground from the same angle they do. Along the way the guide shares stories of the matches, records and characters that made the Oval famous.

The highlight for many visitors is the heritage scoreboard side of the ground. The scoreboard was built in 1911 and is still operated by hand from inside, with staff changing the numbers and names during play. Beside it stands the northern mound, the grassy bank shaded by Moreton Bay fig trees where spectators have sat for generations, with the spires of St Peter's Cathedral rising behind. This part of the Adelaide Oval behind-the-scenes tour is where the best photographs are taken.

The cricket heritage museum inside the Oval

Your ticket includes entry to the cricket heritage museum housed within the stadium. It brings together bats, caps, trophies, scorebooks, photographs and film from South Australian and Australian cricket, from the first matches on the ground in the 1870s to the modern game. Displays explain how the Oval became one of the great cricket venues of the world and how the sport grew in Adelaide, and the collection is arranged so that even visitors who know nothing about cricket can follow the story.

The museum is usually visited at the end of the guided part of the tour, and you can stay as long as you like once the guide has finished. Allow at least 20 to 30 minutes to see the Adelaide Oval museum properly. Families often find it the most relaxed part of the visit, with plenty to look at for children while adults read the stories behind the exhibits.

Getting to Adelaide Oval: the River Torrens, the footbridge and North Adelaide

Getting to Adelaide Oval is simple. From Adelaide Railway Station and the Festival Centre on North Terrace it is a walk of about 10 minutes across the Riverbank footbridge over the River Torrens, with the stadium directly in front of you. Buses along War Memorial Drive and the car parks of the Park Lands are close by, and taxis can drop you at the tour desk on War Memorial Drive. Tours run at fixed times on most non-event days, so check the Adelaide Oval tour times for your date in the booking panel.

Because the Oval sits in the Park Lands, it combines well with the rest of the riverbank: the paths along the Torrens, the Adelaide Zoo and the Botanic Garden to the east, and the cafés of North Adelaide a few minutes' walk uphill. If you want to see the city from above, our Adelaide Oval rooftop climb starts from the same side of the stadium and makes a memorable second half of the day.