Belmore Sports Ground

Belmore Sports Ground, formerly known as Belmore Oval, is a multi-purpose stadium in Belmore, New South Wales, Australia. The park covers 22acre and from 1951 has contained the Belmore Bowling Recreation Club green. It is close to Belmore railway station.The stadium has a capacity of 19,000 people and was built in 1920, with the grandstand itself having the capacity to seat 12,000 people. The ground record crowd for Belmore was set on 12 April 1993 when 27,804 fans saw Canterbury defeat local rivals Parramatta 42-6. The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Sydney Olympic Football Club are the current co-tenants of the ground.HistoryIn 1920, the local council took steps to acquire park areas around the Belmore area. The park was named after the suburb it was located: Belmore Park. Belmore Park was eventually purchased in three sections between 1918 and 1921. The first two parcels were purchased by the State government and the third by Council. The park was opened around the early 1920s, the land was formerly known as Gunn's Paddock. In 1936, council purchased a large stand from the Sydney Cricket Ground and had it re-erected at the park as part of unemployment relief works. This stand was opened on March 14, 1936 by Mayor SE Parry and was named after him. Around 1967, council moved other sports played at the park to grounds else-where and rugby league was given priority.Ground UseAssociation footballThe ground is currently used for Association football as the home ground for former Australian National League club Sydney Olympic FC, who now competes in the New South Wales Premier League.