Sydney Showground (Moore Park)
Capacity | 40,000 (originally 90,000) |
---|---|
Surface | Grass |
Construction | |
Broke ground | 1882 |
Opened | 1882 |
Renovated | 1938 |
Expanded | 1902–1919 Southwards 1920–1937 Northwards |
Closed | 1997 |
Demolished | 1998 re-purposed |
Tenants | |
Sydney Royal Easter Show (1882–1997) South Sydney Rabbitohs (1908–1920) Empire Speedways (1926–1996) World Series Cricket (1977/78) |
The former Sydney Showground (Moore Park) at
History
In 1811,
The period from 1902 to 1919 saw the expansion of the showgrounds to the south. From 1920 to 1937, the grounds were further expanded to the north, with the addition of new squares and judging rings. The dominant visual elements of the complex by this time were the peripheral walls, the Members' Grandstand clock tower and the tower of the Anthony Hordern building.
The country's sesqui-centenary celebrations of 1938 led to a further building program at the showground, including the Government Pavilion and the Commemorative Pavilion. Aside from the Royal Easter Show and rugby league matches, the venue was used for World Series Cricket games in the late 1970s as the nearby Sydney Cricket Ground was unavailable. At its peak, the old showground could hold over 90,000 people.
The Main Arena at the Sydney Showground was also used as one of two Sydney Harness racing venues, the other being the Harold Park Paceway, located only 4 km from Moore Park in the suburb of Glebe.
Since the departure of the Sydney Royal Easter Show to the new showground, the old showground has been redeveloped as Fox Studios, and later Disney Studios Australia, a commercial venture designed at supporting Australia's film industry. It is in close proximity with some of Sydney's largest public venues, namely the Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Football Stadium, and the Hordern Pavilion, a multipurpose entertainment venue.[2]
Speedway
From 1926 until 1996 the Showground's main arena also doubled as the
Football
The showground was the venue for the first game of
Sydney's Royal Agricultural Showground was then venue for the
Music
The venue hosted concerts by many famous artists, including Led Zeppelin, ABBA, David Bowie, AC/DC, The Police, Alice Cooper and KISS, among others.
Alice Cooper played to over 40,000 fans at this venue on 26 March 1977.
The Sydney Showgrounds was also the venue for the annual Sydney Big Day Out music festival held in January between 1992 and 1997. The 1997 event was titled 'Six and Out - Big Day out' then indicating the final Big Day Out Festival before its new beginning at the new Sydney Showground Homebush in 1999. The former Sydney Showground is featured in the Rage Against the Machine video clip for "Bulls on Parade", from when they performed live at the Big Day Out Festival on 25 January 1996.
References
- ^ http://www.eqmoorepark.com.au/
- ^ Fox Studios Australia
- North-West Evening Mail. UK: CN Group. Archived from the originalon 6 October 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
- ^ "NSWRL 1987 - Round 7 - Rugby League Project".