Hands Oval

Hands Oval
JE Hands Memorial Park
Map
Former namesSouth Bunbury Showgrounds
LocationBlair Street, South Bunbury, Western Australia
Coordinates33°20′46″S 115°38′34″E / 33.34611°S 115.64278°E / -33.34611; 115.64278
OwnerCity of Bunbury
OperatorSouth Bunbury Football Club
Capacity5000
Record attendance6573 (1 April 1984 - WAFL match between East Perth and Swan Districts)
SurfaceGrass
Openedc. 1954; 70 years ago (1954)
Tenants
South Bunbury Football Club
North Melbourne Football Club (AFL) (2025-present)

JE Hands Memorial Park, more commonly known as Hands Oval, is a stadium in South Bunbury, Western Australia. The ground is mainly used for football matches, but has also hosted cricket and soccer.

Uses

Australian rules football

The oval has been the home ground of South Bunbury Football Club and in the South West Football League since the early 1950s.[1] Hands Oval has also hosted five West Australian Football League matches, with the first being held on 1 April 1984 with East Perth defeating Swan Districts by 14 points. The record attendance for the ground was set during this match, with 6573 spectators attending the game.[2]

The ground is home to the South West Football League headquarters and hosts its grand final each year, with more than 4000 spectators attending the 2022 grand final.[3]

The ground also hosted two Fremantle Dockers pre-season NAB Challenge in 2009 and 2011:[4]

In November 2024, it was confirmed by the AFL that the ground will host its first AFL match for premiership points when North Melbourne host West Coast in June 2025 as part of a three-year deal for North Melbourne to play two home matches in Western Australia, with the other match to be played at Optus Stadium.[5]

2009
Saturday, 14 March 2009 Fremantle 20.6 (126) def. Carlton 12.11 (83) Hands Oval (crowd: 5000 est.) Report
2011
Saturday, 5 March 2011 Fremantle 9.14 (68) def. Western Bulldogs 14.14(98) Hands Oval (crowd: 4000 est.)

Cricket

Hands Oval has hosted three List A cricket matches with the Western Warriors as the home team:[6]

8 February, 2009
Scorecard
Western Australia Western Warriors
148 (40 overs)
v
South Australia Southern Redbacks
2/150 (36.4 overs)
South Australia won by 8 wickets.
5 December, 2009
Scorecard
Victoria (state) Victorian Bushrangers
8/277 (50 overs)
v
Western Australia Western Warriors
5/279 (49.3 overs)
Western Australia won by 5 wickets.
19 February, 2011
Scorecard
Western Australia Western Warriors
6/255 (50 overs)
v
Tasmania Tasmanian Tigers
189 (39.4 overs)
Western Australia won by 66 runs.

Soccer

Hands Oval hosted an A-League pre-season match between Perth Glory and Gold Coast United at the beginning of the 2009–10 season, with Gold Coast defeating Perth 1–0.[7] A crowd of 2985 people attended the match:

Perth Glory0 - 1Gold Coast United
Report Porter 23'
Attendance: 2985

Redevelopment

Between 2022 and 2024, the stadium underwent a $17.5 million redevelopment. It received a brand new grandstand and new changerooms,[3][8][9] as well as coaches boxes and a media centre.[10]

References

  1. ^ History Archived 13 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine - South Bunbury Football Club
  2. ^ "Round 1 - East Perth vs Swan Districts". WAFL. Retrieved 7 February 2018.[permanent dead link‍]
  3. ^ a b "See the pictures: What Hands Oval overhaul could look like". South Western Times. 2 November 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  4. ^ Hands Oval - Austadiums
  5. ^ "Roos to play two 'home' games in WA from 2025-27". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  6. ^ Hands Oval, Bunbury - CricketArchive
  7. ^ Glory go close in battle of Bunbury Archived 2011-02-25 at the Wayback Machine - PerthGlory.com.au.
  8. ^ "Redevelopment of Hands Oval". City of Bunbury. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  9. ^ "North Melbourne, AFL, WA government set to bring games to Bunbury's Hands Oval". ABC News. 30 October 2024. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  10. ^ "Bunbury to host historic AFL clash as Roos sell games to WA". The West Australian. 30 October 2024. Retrieved 31 October 2024. Bunbury's Hands Oval has just had the finishing touches put on a $17.5 million redevelopment to build a completely new grandstand on top of what was previously the outdated South West Football League headquarters.