Adelaide Oval tours: How much do they cost and can I go inside the scoreboard?

Adelaide Oval tours cost $25. And – yes – they go inside the famous old scoreboard at the beloved Adelaide cricket ground.

As a cricket lover, Adelaide Oval tours will stir up the emotions. For some, remaking the Adelaide Oval was the equivalent of unnecessarily rebooting a much loved film. The Oval had long been regarded as one of the most beautiful cricket grounds in the world. It was a place that exercised a mellow, content hold over players, spectators and commentators alike.

But in 2011, most of the beloved Oval was demolished. In a bid to boost capacity and bring Adelaide’s two AFL teams back into the heart of the city, a massive restructuring to turn it into one of Australia’s biggest stadiums was signed off. Many fans were fearful of what it may turn into.

The new Adelaide Oval

The results, it turns out, are better than many could have hoped for. There’s still something strikingly beautiful about the new Oval. And in many places it has clung proudly to its past rather than abandoned it.

On an Adelaide Oval tour, you can see the famous cricket ground stilll forms a proud, fat oval shape. The stands gently hug the circumferences rather than being straight, blocky beasts awkwardly trying to square the curves. On top of the stands are white, scallop-like roofs. They immediately bring to mind at 21^st century interpretation of the Sydney Opera House. They also resemble the gracefully tucked-in wings of a swan as it glides effortlessly amongst the water.

But more impressive is the sense of space the Adelaide Oval reconstruction has managed to maintain. The seats don’t clamber upwards steeply as they do in most high-capacity stadia. They gently flow upwards at a barely noticeable gradient on the lower tier, then gradually rise from there. It gives a wide open feel, complemented by the surrounding parklands.

Adelaide Oval tours: What do you see?

The stadium tours of the Adelaide Oval are much like the tours in any other stadium around the world. They venture into the changing rooms and the media centre. Then come the self-congratulatory areas that hark back to glorious victories and legendary players of the past. But what makes this stadium tour a little bit special is the parts that remain of the old Adelaide Oval.

The northern end has been left undeveloped. The grassy mound that families sit on, and the handsome fig trees (originally planted to stop people on nearby Montefiore Hill viewing the cricket for free) have been left in-situ.

Adelaide Oval scoreboard

More importantly, so has the gorgeously old-fashioned scoreboard.  It was built in 1911 and has changed very little since. Names are still put up in large wooden letter tiles, and there’s not an LED to be seen.

Going inside provokes childlike wonder. It’s like an eccentric inventor’s den, with all manner of levers, pulleys and switches. Around five people have to work in there on Test match days, and around eight for Twenty20 matches – and they’re not even the official scorers.

Apparently, the heat in there can be unbearable on a summer’s day. But that’s not going to stop operating the scoreboard being the most coveted job in Adelaide. It’s kinda nice when some things resolutely stay the same…

Adelaide Oval tour costs

Adelaide Oval tours cost $25 and last around 90 minutes. More adventurous types can plump for the Roofclimb, which lets you walk all over the Adelaide Oval roof. You can also stay at the on-site Adelaide Oval Hotel.

Come in winter and you can watch an AFL game.

Other top spots for cricket fans in Australia include the Bradman Museum in Bowral, New South Wales, and the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne.

More South Australia travel

Stop at Head of Bight on the Ceduna to Eucla drive.

Take the Seaford train and go surfing at Seaford Beach.

Stop at Tumby Bay on the Port Augusta to Port Lincoln drive.

Driving times in South Australia.

Take the Outer Harbor train for beach time at Largs Bay.