SCG Trust Timeline

Governor Macquarie proclaimed a park adjacent to the city to be named Hyde Park. This park incorporated a racecourse, exercise ground and cricket ground, and had been the centre of sporting activity in Sydney since the early 1800's.

A grant of land to the south of Victoria Barracks was given to the British Army for use as a soldier's cricket ground and garden.

First recorded cricket match was played at the ground between the Garrison Club and Royal Victoria Club. Garrison won.

NSW cricket team used the ground for practice before playing Victoria.

Victorian team practised at the ground in preparation for its match against NSW at The Domain.

Moore Park was opened as a public recreation area adjacent to the ground. It was named after the Mayor of Sydney, Charles Moore, who planted a number of Moreton Bay Fig trees in the park.

British troops left Victoria Barracks and the future of their cricket field, then known as the Military & Civil Ground, became uncertain. Club rugby union was first played at the ground.

The NSW Cricket Association approached the NSW Government with an offer to upgrade the ground. The government agreed and made plans to form a trust to oversee the management of the ground. The NSW Cricket Association was invited to nominate two trustees.

The ground was formally dedicated by the Governor, Sir Hercules Robinson, and officially handed over to the Trust. The first Trustees were Richard Driver MLA, Phillip Sheridan and William Stephen.

The first cricket match on the rebuilt ground was played between the Government Printing Office and the Audit Office.

The Sydney Lawn Tennis Club (formerly the Association Ground Tennis Club) was formed, basing itself at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

The ground began to be used for athletics meetings.

The Association Ground Lawn Tennis Club was formed. It later became the Sydney Lawn Tennis Club and has survived to become the oldest tennis club in Australia.

The first inter-colonial football match played at the ground was a game of Australian rules football between NSW and Victoria on 6th August.

Messrs Parry & Son successfully tendered for the construction of a new Members Pavilion. The old wooden pavilion on the site was demolished and the new pavilion was completed in November 1886 at a cost of 6,625 pounds.

The name of the ground was changed to the Sydney Cricket Ground.

The Hill Stand (later called the Bob Stand) was opened. This stand was moved to North Sydney Oval in 1983.

The present Ladies Stand was completed. The Ned Gregory Scoreboard was built. A cycle track was laid around the perimeter of the ground.

The Northern Stand was erected to the north-east of the Members' Pavilion.

Lights were installed around the cycling track and the ground was a popular venue for cricket, athletics, tennis, baseball, football and cycling.

The Members' Pavilion was extended.

The Sheridan Stand was completed on the site where the Churchill Stand would later be built.

Rugby league was first played on the Sydney Cricket Ground between NSW and New Zealand on 22nd June.

The bicycle track around the SCG was removed.

A new scoreboard was erected on the Hill.

The Noble Stand was constructed at a cost of 90,000 pounds. It replaced the Northern Stand and was originally planned to sweep around to the west and replace the Members Pavilion and Ladies' Stand.

The Empire Games (now Commonwealth Games) were held at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

The Sydney Cricket Ground and Sydney Sports Ground were brought under the control of one amalgamated trust - the Sydney Cricket & Sports Ground Trust.

The Bradman Stand was opened at a cost of $2 million.

The Trust resolved to permit ladies to become members.

Floodlight towers were erected at the SCG at a cost of $1.2 million.

A new Brewongle Stand was opened at a cost of $8.9 million.

The first electronic video scoreboard began operating.

The Pat Hills Stand was opened at a cost of $6.5 million. This stand was later renamed the O'Reilly Stand.

The Doug Walters stand on the Hill of the SCG was constructed, in conjunction with the Clive Churchill Stand.

The Churchill Stand opened at a cost of $8.2 million.

The Hill area of the SCG (including the balance of the grassed area) was progressively concreted/terraced and individually seated.

Sydney Football Stadium was opened on 24th January. It was a major Bicentennial project and was specially designed to bring spectators close to the sidelines of the football field. Cost of construction was $68 million.

The Yabba's Hill sign was erected at the base of the videoscreen in October of this year

Interactive guided tours of the Sydney Cricket Ground and Sydney Football Stadium were introduced and named Sportspace Tours.

Internal reconstruction of the Noble stand was completed.

NSW Cricket Centre opened, incorporating indoor training wickets and administrative offices for Cricket NSW (formerly NSW Cricket Association).

New LED electronic video screens installed at the Sydney Cricket Ground and Sydney Football Stadium.

$2 million reconstruction of the SCG playing surface was undertaken.

Sydney Football Stadium was the main competition venue for Olympic Games Football (Soccer) during the Sydney Games, hosting 10 matches on 7 competition days which attracted a total of 226,519 spectators.

The Walk of Honour was officially opened by the Premier of NSW, the Hon. Bob Carr MP.

NSW Rugby Union moved its administrative headquarters from Concord to Aussie Stadium, joining the Sydney Swans and NSW Cricket Association as permanent tenants at their Moore Park home venues.

The name of the Sydney Football Stadium was officially changed to Aussie Stadium in a 5-year sponsorship deal with Aussie Home Loans.

Aussie Stadium was a venue for Rugby World Cup, hosting five games with a total attendance of 168,948.

Robbie Williams created a 16-year ground attendance record at Aussie Stadium, with nearly 100,000 people attending his two concerts.

The old Sports Ground was remembered as a special historic Speedway site, when a special ceremony was held in the forecourt of the Sydney Football Stadium. Former Speedway drivers attended and a commemorative plaque was unveiled.

Following a Cricket NSW Tender between the Sydney Cricket Ground and the Olympic Stadium, the rights to hold all international cricket matches in NSW from 2005 to 2010 was awarded to the SCG - the 'home of cricket'.

The SCG Trust completed three major capital works at the SCG - enlarged the existing Media Centre in the Bradman Stand, constructed a new Members lounge within the Members Pavilion, and outfitted a new corporate area, known as Club SCG, at a total cost of $1.31m.

A $6.95m capital works program was completed at Aussie Stadium which saw the seating capacity increased to 45,500 with 3,000 additional seats located closer to the field of play, two new food outlets, additional toilet facilities and the expansion of the Home Team dressing room.

Construction of the new $70m Hill Grandstand commenced in February 2007. The new Hill Grandstand replaces the Doug Walters Stand and Hill area.

The Aussie Home Loans naming rights sponsorship ends, and the Stadium reverts to the 'Sydney Football Stadium'.

A major $2.5m upgrade of the six SCG light towers commenced in August of 2007. Headframes of four towers were removed and replaced by new headframes to provide state-of-the-art onfield lighting for players, spectators and television viewers. The remaining two light towers were removed as part of the Hill Grandstand construction and will be relocated to the roof of the new Grandstand when completed.

The Sydney Roosters High Performance Centre and Administrative departments set up their headquarters at the Sydney Football Stadium (moving into the former NSW Rugby building).

The IBM NSW Rugby Centre was officially opened on 28 November 2007. The Centre features player and administration facilities.

Richie Benaud OBE, the first of the Basil Sellers Sculptures Project was unveiled by Her Excellency, Professor Marie Bashir, Governor of NSW
during the January Test Match on 4 January 2008.

The sculpture of Dally Messenger, the second of the Basil Sellers Sculptures Project was unveiled by the Premier of NSW, the Hon Morris Iemma MP, on 20 March 2008.

A sculpture of iconic SCG supporter Stephen Harold Gascoigne, nicknamed 'Yabba', is commissioned by the SCG Trust in honour of every spectator that has ever attended the SCG. The popular lifesized sculpture located in row two of Bay 15 of the Victor Trumper Stand, was unveiled by Major General Mark Kelly AO, Land Commander of Australia, on 7 December 2008.

The Victor Trumper Stand (the new Hill Grandstand) was officially opened on 13 December 2008, by the Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon Kevin Rudd MP, and the Premier of NSW, the Hon Nathan Rees MP. The $82m state-of-the-art facility includes a 500 seat dining room (Steve Waugh Room), a 200 seat dining room (Arthur Morris Room), the Doug Walters bar and modern entry and spectator facilities.