Box Hill City Oval

Box Hill City Oval
Fenjiu Stadium
Box Hill City Oval in 2014
Map
LocationBox Hill, Victoria
Coordinates37°49′8″S 145°8′15″E / 37.81889°S 145.13750°E / -37.81889; 145.13750
OwnerCity of Whitehorse
Capacity10,000 (500 seated)[1]
Field size165m × 150m
SurfaceGrass
Opened1937
Tenants
Box Hill Hawks Football Club
Box Hill Sub-District Cricket Club

Box Hill City Oval, currently known by its sponsored name Fenjiu Stadium, is an Australian rules football and cricket stadium located in Box Hill, Victoria, Australia. It is the home ground of the Box Hill Hawks Football Club which plays in the Victorian Football League, and the Box Hill Cricket Club which plays in the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association. The Hawthorn AFLW team's first two AFLW home matches on 4 September 2022 and 17 September 2022 were played at the Box Hill City Oval, with the matches attracting crowds of 2262 and 1108 respectively.

Box Hill City Oval was officially opened in 1937. The capacity of the venue is approximately 10,000 people. The largest official attendance at the ground was on 14 August 1983 when 6,200 people attended a VFA game between Box Hill and Oakleigh. In more recent times a crowd of 5,253 attended a VFL game between the Box Hill Hawks and Williamstown on 19 June 2005. On Melbourne Show Day 1953, the venue hosted a benefit game for the family of Ray Gibb, who had died in an accident in early September, between a combined Hawthorn–Richmond team and a Box Hill team augmented with VFL and VFA stars;[2] the crowd at the time was estimated to be 6,000.[3] The venue has two pavilions and terracing on the western wing, but no grandstand.

It is currently the second-choice venue, behind North Port Oval, for VFL finals; it usually hosts finals only in the first week, but also hosted the preliminary finals in 2010 when the North Port Oval surface was unplayable due to rain and overuse.[4]

In March 2024, Box Hill Hawks announced a three-year partnership with Fuja Fenjiu and renamed the stadium as Fenjiu Stadium for the duration of the partnership.[5]

Major milestones

1937 Ground opened.
Main pavilion constructed.
1951 Box Hill Football Club admitted to VFA.
Major improvements including committee rooms, kiosk and scoreboard added.
1970 Coterie room constructed.
1976 Social rooms built in main pavilion.
1983 Present scoreboard constructed.
1989 Playing surface relaid.
Present kiosk constructed.
1994 Committee rooms and coterie room joined to form President's Room.
1998 Whitehorse Council acquired 4 remaining houses adjacent to ground.
Areas converted into public car parking.
2001 "Federation Gates" constructed
2002 Box Hill Hawks players rooms and administration office constructed
2007 "Barbara and Ron Gibbs Entrance" opened.
Cricket practice wickets removed from playing arena.
2009 "South Pavilion" opened (second storey to players rooms and administration office constructed in 2002).
2012 New coaches boxes constructed.
Major refurbishment of North Pavilion completed.
2016 Existing scoreboard (built 1983) upgraded to LED display.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Box Hill City Oval.
  1. ^ "Box Hill City Oval | Austadiums".
  2. ^ "Stars aid appeal". The Argus. Melbourne. 24 September 1953. p. 12.
  3. ^ "Big crowd at charity game". The Age. Melbourne. 25 September 1953. p. 8.
  4. ^ Brent Diamond (7 September 2010). "Valenti and Clifton share Liston". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  5. ^ Ferguson, Emily (27 March 2024). "Welcome to Fenjiu Stadium!". Box Hill Hawks. Archived from the original on 31 March 2024.
  • "Box Hill Football Club Yearbook", Box Hill Football Club, Melbourne, 1951
  • "Box Hill Football Club Souvenir History", Box Hill Football Club, Melbourne, 1961
  • "Box Hill Football Club Souvenir History", Box Hill Football Club, Melbourne, 2000