Junction Oval

The St Kilda Cricket Ground was established on its present site in 1856. The first grandstand at the ground was purchased from the old Elsternwick racecourse and erected in 1892 at the southern end of the ground. A new grandstand was built in 1925–26 at a cost of £7000, designed by the architect E J Clark and built by H H Eilenberg. It was originally called the G P Newman Stand but has been renamed the Kevin Murray Stand after one of the Fitzroy Football Club's most famous footballers before being renamed as the Shane Warne stand in 2024. A second brick stand designed by E J Clark to complement the Murray Stand was built by H H Eilenberg in 1933–34 at a cost of £7500. It was named the Don Blackie–Bert Ironmonger Stand in honour of the St Kilda Cricket Club and Test cricketers. Both grandstands still stand today and have been restored and are in use. A new £6000 manual scoreboard and kiosk at the northern end of the ground was built in 1956–57, the cricket club's centenary year. The scoreboard is a landmark of the St Kilda Junction area. The remainder of the ground is grass embankments, other than the southern practice wicket area. Older structures were demolished during a rationalisation of the ground, after they were declared a fire hazard by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade in 1988. It is a very picturesque venue, with a top-quality turf playing area and a modern backdrop of tall buildings and parkland. In 2013, Warne spoke on behalf of the campaign to preserve the ground's suitability as a venue for first-class cricket. In December 2014, the Victorian government announced it would contribute $25 million to the Oval's redevelopment to allow it to become the administrative and training headquarters of Cricket Victoria. The redevelopment of the venue incorporated several new features such as a national centre for cricket training and programs, on-site accommodation for visiting teams and officials, medical and training facilities including an extensive outdoor turf training area and 10-lane indoor centre and administrative facilities and offices to house Cricket Victoria and be rented to external parties. The redevelopment allowed the oval to become a boutique-size alternative venue for first-class cricket with a capacity for up to 7,000 spectators. The upgraded venue was unveiled ahead of the Sheffield Shield match between Victoria and New South Wales on 3 March 2018. The Melbourne Stars played the first men's Big Bash League match at the venue against the Perth Scorchers on 2 January 2022 as part of their BBL11 Campaign. ==Cricket==

Junction Oval was founded in tandem with the St Kilda Cricket Club, who have called the ground home since its opening in 1856. The lack of upgrades to the oval meant that by 2005 the venue failed to meet first-class standards, though in retaining its charm it was compared to the Basin Reserve in Wellington. . The need for a first-class standard cricket ground in Victoria, in addition to the 100,000 seat capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), became increasingly apparent as the state team was forced to host Sheffield Shield finals in interstate locations. Consequently, the redevelopment of the ground in the mid-2010s allowed Victoria and other teams to host matches at an appropriately-sized venue, relieving pressure on the MCG and enabling the oval to become capable of hosting Women's Big Bash League matches and other cricket competitions where necessary, as well as being the administrative headquarters of Cricket Victoria. The venue is referred to as the CitiPower Centre. ==Australian rules football==

While the redevelopment of Junction Oval ended the 145-year association of Australian rules football with the ground, the venue has a rich football history. On 28 May 1870, the first ever football match with historical senior premiership status was played at the oval between South Yarra and Albert Park, with Albert Park winning by three goals to one. After entering senior competition, the St Kilda Football Club played its home matches there in 1874 The St Kilda Football Club left the venue after the 1964 season and moved to Moorabbin Oval, motivated by the desire to operate its own venue. In 1970, the Fitzroy Football Club relocated to the venue and stayed until the end of 1984. Fitzroy were evicted from the venue at the end of 1984 after a fifteen-year tenure, and moved their primary training and administrative base to Northcote Park and their home games to Victoria Park, sharing the venue with Collingwood Football Club. The final VFL game to be played at the Junction Oval was between St Kilda Football Club and Fitzroy Football Club in front of a crowd attendance of 15,156 on 1 September 1984 in Round 22 of 1984: Fitzroy defeated St Kilda by 57 points, 24.20 (164) to St Kilda 15.17 (107). The Sandringham Football Club played home games at the ground during the 1966 season. The Melbourne Football Club used the venue as a training ground and administrative base between 1985 and 2010, having previously trained at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and the annual 3RRR Community Cup football match was played there until 2007. The record attendance for a Fitzroy home game was 27,202 versus Collingwood in the opening round of 1981. ==Other sports==

On 3 March 1975, one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time, "Smokin" Joe Frazier, defeated Jimmy Ellis via technical knockout in the 9th round of their scheduled 12 round fight at the Junction Oval, "to barge squarely back into contention for Muhammad Ali's world heavyweight title." It was the second time Ellis had fought Frazier; Frazier had won their first fight. Other major events that have been held at the ground include the 1898/99 Victorian athletics titles, numerous bicycle meets and two inter-colonial lacrosse matches between Victoria and New South Wales. ==References==