Lidcombe Oval

Lidcombe Oval is a playing field in the Western Sydney suburb of Lidcombe, and is part of Wyatt Park. It is situated in the Western side of Church Street, on the northern side of the railway line. The ground has a capacity of more than 20,000 and is used mainly for football matches of various codes. It also has a velodrome to host track cycling events around the outside of the playing surface. The home of Lidcombe-Auburn Cycle Club since 1947.

Lidcombe Oval
LocationLidcombe, New South Wales, Australia
Coordinates33°51′24″S 151°2′24″E
Capacity20,000+
Record attendance21,015
SurfaceGrass
Opened1933 [1]

Ground Use

Football

In the NSWRL competition, the ground was home of the Western Suburbs Magpies rugby league team from 1967 to 1986, before the club moved to Campbelltown Stadium in 1987. The attendance record for the ground is 21,015, set in 1978 for a club match between Wests and local rival Parramatta. The Magpies moved from the ground after the 1986 NSWRL season to Campbelltown Stadium due to deteriorating quality of the facilities at the ground as well as a chance to claim a vast amount of junior rugby league players in the south-western suburbs. The final ever first grade game to be played at Lidcombe Oval was on 31 August 1986 between Western Suburbs and Easts. Easts won the match 8–6 in front of 7,375 people.[2]

Today, Lidcombe Oval was used as the home ground of the Auburn Warriors up until the end of 2018 before the club was dissolved. The Western Suburbs Magpies for the last 3–4 seasons have played 1–2 home games a year at the ground as part of the "Return to Lidcombe' celebrations.[3]

In 2017, Western Suburbs played against St Mary's in both the Sydney Shield and Ron Massey Cup matches at the ground to honor their connection with Lidcombe Oval.[4]

On 26 May 2018, Western Suburbs played against Newtown in the "Return to Lidcombe" match. Newtown came from 18 points down in the second half to defeat Wests 23–22.[5]

In March 2019, Lidcombe Oval hosted 2 Canterbury Cup NSW matches that featured fellow foundation clubs Newtown and North Sydney. Both games were broadcast live on Channel 9.[6][7]

Cycling

All year round the cycling track is used by a number of cycling clubs on most days for weekly training and racing. Home to Lidcombe-Auburn Cycle Club (LACC) since 1947. LACC held their first races at nearby Coleman park in 1927 and moved into the Lidcombe oval Velodrome in 1947. Originally designed and commissioned by champion Commonwealth Sprinter and LACC member Grant Pye in the early 1930's, and used by the NSW League of Wheelmen for a number of years. It was sometime before armature clubs and the NSW Cyclist Union were aloud to compete on the track. The Velodrome is also used to host the Cycling NSW Junior Metropolitan Track Championships and the InterSchool Cycling Track Student Championships.

In more recent time, Neo Cycling Club [8] has made Lidcombe Oval its home since 2015 to become the largest juniors cycling club in Australia before opening its membership to adults.

Lidcombe Oval in use by the Ukrainian community in February 1964 to commemorate 150 years from the birth of the poet Taras Shevchenko. The cycle track, built in 1947 can be seen on the perimeter.

References
  1. http://www.cumberland.nsw.gov.au/facilities/sports-grounds/lidcombe-oval/
  2. http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/nswrl-1986/round-26/western-suburbs-vs-eastern-suburbs/summary.html
  3. "After 65 years Auburn Warriors rugby league club to fold following failed Salim Mehajer sponsorship deal". Sydney Morning Herald.
  4. http://www.prattenparkmagpies.info/?page_id=5943
  5. "Match Report". www.nswrl.com.au.
  6. "Western Suburbs Magpies draw". www.nswrl.com.au.
  7. "'RETURN TO LIDCOMBE' 2019". Wests Magpies.
  8. "Neo Cycling Club".
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