TCA Ground

Cricket has been played at the venue since the early 1870s. On 8 September 1873, the TCA was granted permission to use the ground exclusively for cricket, and the TCA Ground officially opened in 1882 after about 10 years of development. The main grandstand, the H.C. Smith Stand, was completed in 1880 and extended in 1908. It has remained largely unchanged since then and is now heritage listed.{{cite web|title=TCA Ground Heritage|url=https://www.hobartcity.com.au/TCA-Heritage |publisher=Hobart City Council|access-date=24 October 2024}} The adjacent Ladies Stand, completed in 1894, originally stood in a different location but was relocated after being blown over by gales in 1946 and again in 1995, with the final reconstruction completed in 1999.{{cite web|title=TCA Ground Ladies Stand History|url=https://www.heritage.tas.gov.au/TCA-stand|publisher=Heritage Tasmania|access-date=24 October 2024}}

The ground's opening in 1882 featured a match between the TCA and a visiting Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) XI. Although the scorecard is lost, the TCA was reportedly defeated. The ground faced challenges such as drought towards the end of the 19th century, leading to difficult pitch conditions. Edward H. Butler, a Tasmanian fast bowler, famously took 6 for 1 on the challenging pitch during one such occasion. The ground also struggled with inadequate seating and changing facilities in its early years. The original Member's Stand was relocated in 1906 to make way for a new brick addition, which opened in 1908 and was later named the H.C. Smith Stand.{{cite book|last=McCulloch|first=John|title=Cricket Grounds of Tasmania|year=2005|publisher=Allen & Unwin|location=Sydney}}

File:Tasmanian Cricket Association Ground or Domain, Hobart , Tasmania (c1900s).jpg

A "classic" style scoreboard was added in 1907 but was demolished in the early 1980s after years of neglect.{{cite web | last=Maskell | first=Vin | title=TCA Ground, 25 January, 1908 | website=Scoreboard pressure | date=2020-07-31 | url=https://scoreboardpressure.com/2020/07/31/tca-ground-25-january-1908/ | access-date=2025-04-30}}

Additional upgrades included a top deck in 1946{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article26203415 |title=Improvement Plan for TCA Ground |newspaper=The Mercury |volume=CLXIV |issue=23,624 |location=Tasmania, Australia |date=26 August 1946 |accessdate=1 May 2025 |page=20 |via=National Library of Australia}} and a modernized press area in 1977. However, by that time, Bellerive Oval was being considered as a better option for future cricket developments.{{cite news|title=TCA Ground Scoreboard Demolished|url=https://www.themercury.com.au/sport/cricket/tca-ground-scoreboard/1984|date=23 January 1984|publisher=The Mercury}}

In 1954, the Hobart Greyhound Racing Club built a smaller stand next to the H.C. Smith Stand, which was demolished in 2018.{{cite web|title=Hobart Greyhound Racing Club Facilities|url=https://historyofgreyhoundracing.com/racing-at-hobart-in-1944/|date=9 February 2016 |publisher=History of Greyhound Racing|access-date=24 October 2024}} The Powell Pascoe Payne Stand, named after Hobart Football Club legends, was also opened in 1954. A roofed section at the southern end, built in 1951 to protect spectators from harsh weather, was removed in 2010 due to asbestos concerns.{{cite news|title=TCA Ground Roofing Removed Due to Asbestos|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2010/tca-asbestos-removal/13102948|date=12 March 2010|publisher=ABC News}}

The TCA Ground's golden era spanned from 1979, when a record crowd of 10,882 watched Tasmania win its first domestic cricket trophy, the Gillette Cup, until 1985, when 6,500 spectators saw the West Indies defeat Sri Lanka in the ground's only One-Day International.{{cite web|title=Gillette Cup at TCA Ground|url=https://www.cricketaustralia.com.au/gillette-cup-history |publisher=Cricket Australia|access-date=24 October 2024}} The ground record attendance is 11,002, set during a Tasmania vs. Australian XI match on 5 March 1948.{{cite web|title=TCA Ground Record Attendance|url=https://www.austadiums.com/stadiums/tca-ground|access-date=24 October 2024}}

By 1999, the ground had fallen into disrepair. A National Trust restoration plan aimed to restore it as a Federation-style village ground, with the help of unemployed labour under a "work for the dole" scheme, combined with grants from the Federal Government and Hobart City Council. The stands were repainted in period colours, and modern ad-boards were removed.{{cite web|title=TCA Ground Restoration|url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.au/restore-tca-ground/|publisher=National Trust|access-date=24 October 2024}}

Throughout its history, the TCA and Tasmanian representative teams have often dealt with small crowds and lower-quality teams, struggling for acceptance into the Sheffield Shield. By the time Tasmania was admitted to the Sheffield Shield in 1977, the TCA had moved to Bellerive Oval, leaving the TCA Ground with just 12 Sheffield Shield matches. Prior to that, Tasmania played 87 first-class games at the ground, mostly against Victoria and touring international sides, as well as 12 domestic one-day games, including the 1978–79 Gillette Cup Final. In a reversal of the previous season's result, Tasmania caused a major upset to win their first-ever domestic title by beating Western Australia by 47 runs.{{cite web|title=Gillette Cup 1979 Final at TCA Ground|url=https://www.cricketaustralia.com.au/gillette-cup-1979/ |publisher=Cricket Australia|access-date=24 October 2024}}

The last state-level cricket match at the TCA Ground took place on 15 March 1987, when Tasmania faced South Australia in the McDonald's Cup final. South Australia won by 86 runs before a crowd of more than 8,000, marking the end of an era for Tasmanian cricket.{{cite news|title=South Australia vs Tasmania McDonald's Cup Final at TCA Ground|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/mcdonalds-cup-final-1987|publisher=ESPN Cricinfo|access-date=24 October 2024}}

While the TCA Ground has primarily hosted cricket and Australian rules football, it has also been the venue for other sports. When the ground first opened in 1882, it featured two tennis courts, later moved to the Domain Tennis Centre, and a skittles alley. The TCA bowls club, established in 1911, still stands on the eastern side of the ground. Cycling events, baseball matches, and quoits were also popular in the 1890s.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

A notable event occurred in 1902 when two Japanese warships arrived in Hobart. A "Japanese Sports Day" was declared, drawing a large crowd to witness competitions in martial arts, kendo, and sumo wrestling.{{cite news|title=Japanese Sports Day at TCA Ground 1902|url=https://www.themercury.com.au/japanese-sports-day-1902-tca-ground|date=22 July 1902|publisher=The Mercury}}

Australian Rules Football has been the most common alternative use of the TCA Ground, hosting numerous TFL Grand Finals and State Grand Finals until 1921. Hobart Football Club began playing home matches at the ground in 1946 but moved to North Hobart Oval in 1954 due to high rent costs. They returned in 1961 and played there until 1982 when the TANFL required clubs to use venues with better facilities. After a period of instability, the club returned to the TCA Ground in 1998 as part of the SFL.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

The TCA Ground hosted Gone South in 2002, an all-Australian touring concert series featuring Killing Heidi, Incubus, Grinspoon, Something for Kate, Sonic Animation and Machine Gun Felatio.{{cite web | title=Mar 16, 2002: Gone South at Hobart TCA Ground Hobart, Tasmania, Australia | website=Concert Archives | date=2002-03-16 | url=https://www.concertarchives.org/concerts/gone-south | access-date=2025-04-30}}

The largest non-sporting event at the TCA Ground was an AC/DC concert, held on 27 January 2001. Performing as part of the as part of their "Stiff Upper Lip" national tour, the concert attracted the largest crowd ever at the venue, with 15,300 people in attendance.{{cite web|title=AC/DC Concert at TCA Ground 2001|url=https://www.austadiums.com/concerts/acdc-stiff-upper-lip-tour-tca-ground|publisher=Austadiums|access-date=24 October 2024}}

From 1935 to 1980 greyhound racing meetings were held at the ground. Visible remnants of that era include the dog kennelling quarters at the north of the ground (now home to the Hobart City Band), and a covered standing book-makers area which was removed in 2010 due to asbestos.

The Hobart Greyhound Racing Club (HGRC) used its considerable resources to build two grandstands at the TCA Ground which were both opened in September 1954 and the above-mentioned bookmakers area in 1951, at a time when the TCA were in considerable financial hardship. The first meeting at the ground was held on 30 January 1935. The principal event was the Hobart Cup (later the Hobart Thousand). When the HGRC left the ground in October 1980 they moved to the Royal Hobart Showground.{{cite web|url=https://australianracinggreyhound.com/tracks/hobart/|title=Hobart Greyhound Track|date=9 February 2016 |publisher=Australian Racing Greyhound|access-date=10 March 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://historyofgreyhoundracing.com/racing-at-hobart-in-1944/|title=Racing at Hobart in 1944 & Club History|publisher=History of Greyhound Racing|access-date=10 March 2021}}

Following a lengthy application process in March 2010 the Hobart City Council aldermen voted to reject an application for 25-metre floodlights suitable for night football and cricket matches. Only two out of the nine aldermen present voted in favour of the application, with those against concerned about heritage, light spill, the effects on Glebe residents and visibility from as far as Knocklofty Reserve.{{cite news|title=TCA Ground Light Towers Rejected|url=https://www.themercury.com.au/news/tca-ground-lights-rejected|date=10 March 2010|publisher=The Mercury}}

Following on from this rejection, a new application was submitted by the ground's tenant the Hobart Football Club. This application was approved in May 2011, and the lights were installed.{{cite news|title=New Light Towers Approved for TCA Ground|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2011/tca-ground-lights-approved|date=3 May 2011|publisher=ABC News}}

Hobart hosted five night matches in their stint in the Tasmanian State League until their return to SFL football in 2014 and hosted their first match on returning to the SFL under lights but have only hosted two Under-18 matches at night since then.{{cite news|title=Night Matches Return to TCA Ground|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/tca-ground-night-matches-return|date=17 September 2014|publisher=ABC News}}

Works got underway following the close of the 2017 football season in order to completely resurface the playing field and to level it out. The small unnamed stand beside the H.C Smith Stand, erected by the Hobart Greyhound Racing Club in 1954, was demolished in April 2018.{{cite news|title=TCA Ground Stand Demolished|url=https://www.themercury.com.au/sport/tca-ground-stand-demolished-2018|date=24 April 2018|publisher=The Mercury}} This is the first phase in a $5 million redevelopment of the ground over the next few years. In the coming years it is proposed to demolish the kiosk and bar area, the Hobart Football Club changerooms and build new multi-purpose buildings in their place with considerably more works also planned.{{cite web|title=TCA Ground Redevelopment Plan|url=https://www.hobartcity.com.au/Projects/tca-ground-redevelopment|publisher=Hobart City Council|access-date=24 October 2024}}

In 2017, the TCA Ground HFC precinct development project was developed by Terroir Architects in consideration of the Queens Domain master plan development principles.{{cite web | title=TCA Ground Hobart FC Precinct Development |website= City of Hobart | url=https://www.hobartcity.com.au/files/content/public/projects/current-projects/tca-ground-upgrades/tca-design-report.pdf | access-date=2025-04-30}}

A new electronic video screen scoreboard was installed by Solid Scoreboards in April 2018 at a cost of $122,000, replacing the manual scoreboard which was built by the City of Hobart in 2001.{{cite news|title=New Scoreboard Installed at TCA Ground|url=https://www.themercury.com.au/news/scoreboard-installed-tca-ground-2018|date=12 April 2018|publisher=The Mercury}}

The TCA Ground is owned by the Hobart City Council, which has played a significant role in its maintenance and development. Despite being a key sports venue for Hobart, the ground has not been considered for major future developments, such as becoming the home of the Tasmania Devils AFL team. This decision is largely due to several factors, including the ground's limited seating capacity (8,000) and its heritage-listed structures, which restrict expansion options.{{cite news|title=TCA Ground Not Considered for AFL Tasmania Venue|url=https://www.themercury.com.au/tca-ground-afl-development|date=12 April 2023|publisher=The Mercury|access-date=24 October 2024}}

Instead, the Macquarie Point precinct was selected as the preferred location for a future AFL stadium. The Macquarie Point site offers better opportunities for large-scale development, proximity to the Hobart waterfront, and the potential to attract more investment into a modern sports and entertainment complex. The Hobart City Council has supported this decision, citing that redeveloping the TCA Ground to meet AFL standards would not be financially viable or feasible given its current infrastructure and location within the Queens Domain parklands.{{cite web|title=Macquarie Point Selected for AFL Tasmania Venue|url=https://www.hobartcity.com.au/macquarie-point-development-afl|publisher=Hobart City Council|access-date=24 October 2024}}

Despite this, the TCA Ground remains an important venue for local sports and community events. Its historic significance and continued use by local cricket and football clubs ensure that it will remain a fixture in Hobart's sporting landscape.{{cite web|title=Future of TCA Ground|url=https://www.hobartcity.com.au/future-tca-ground |publisher=Hobart City Council|access-date=24 October 2024}}

Several significant sporting events have been held at the TCA Ground, drawing large crowds over the years. Here are the attendance figures for key events:

One-Day Internationals (ODI): (1)

West Indies defeated Sri Lanka by 8 wickets 10 January 1985{{cite web|title=West Indies vs Sri Lanka 1985 at TCA Ground|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/match/1985-tca-ground-odi|publisher=ESPN Cricinfo|access-date=24 October 2024}}

Domestic one-day: (12)

• Tasmania: played: 12, won: 5, lost: 7
• Queensland: played: 4, won: 2, lost: 2
• South Australia: played: 3, won: 2, lost: 1
• New South Wales: played: 2, won: 1, lost: 1
• Western Australia: played: 2, won: 1, lost: 1
• Victoria: played: 1, won: 1

First-class: (87) (12 Sheffield Shield matches)

• Tasmanian Tigers: played: 87, won:8 (1), lost: 37 (5), drawn: 32 (5), abandoned:1
• Victorian Bushrangers: played: 22 (2), won: 12 (1), lost: 6 (1), drawn: 4
• Marylebone Cricket Club: played: 13, won: 5, lost: 8, drawn: 0
• New South Wales Blues: played: 9 (3), won: 7 (2), lost: 1, drawn: 1 (1)
• West Indian cricket team: played: 6, won: 2, lost: 0, drawn: 4
• An Australian XI: played: 6, won: 3, lost: 0, drawn: 3
• Indian cricket team: played: 4, won: 1, lost: 1, drawn: 2, abandoned:1
• England cricket team: played: 3, won: 2, lost: 0, drawn: 1
• South African cricket team: played: 3, won: 1, lost: 0, drawn: 2
• Southern Redbacks: played: 3 (2), won: 2 (1), lost: 0, drawn: 1 (1)
• Western Warriors: played: 3 (2), won: 0, lost: 0, drawn: 3 (2)
• Pakistan cricket team: played: 2, won: 2, lost: 0, drawn: 0
• Queensland Bulls: played: 2 (2), won: 1 (1), lost: 0, drawn: 1 (1)
• New Zealand cricket team: played: 1, won: 0, lost: 0, drawn: 1
• World XI: played: 1, won: 0, lost: 0, drawn: 1

NB: Figures within brackets denote Sheffield Shield matches.

The TCA Ground is located on the Queens Domain, less than one kilometre from Hobart's CBD. It is accessible via Tasman Highway, with nearby access points at the Domain Highway and Lower Domain Road. Public transport to the ground is available through Metro Tasmania bus services, with regular routes running to stops on both the Domain Highway and near the Queens Domain park entrance. For events, special shuttle buses operate between Hobart CBD and the TCA Ground.{{cite web|title=Transport Access to TCA Ground|url=https://metrotas.com.au/tca-ground-access |publisher=Metro Tasmania|access-date=24 October 2024}}

For those driving, limited parking is available within the Queens Domain park area, but patrons are encouraged to use public transport due to the restricted number of spaces, particularly during major events.{{cite web|title=Parking and Access for Events at TCA Ground|url=https://hobartcity.com.au/TCA-parking |publisher=Hobart City Council|access-date=24 October 2024}} Cycling is also a popular option, with bike racks provided at several locations around the ground.

The TCA Ground's elevated location on the Domain offers panoramic views of the River Derwent and Mount Wellington. The Domain itself is a large public park with walking and cycling tracks, sports fields, and various recreational facilities, making the TCA Ground a prominent fixture in this green space.{{cite web|title=Queens Domain and TCA Ground Overview|url=https://www.hobartcity.com.au/Queens-Domain-TCA-ground |publisher=Hobart City Council|access-date=24 October 2024}}

{{reflist}}

• [http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/australia/content/ground/56410.html Cricinfo]
• [http://www.hobartcity.tas.gov.au/HCC.3277322:STANDARD::pc=PC_1036 Hobart City Council]{{Dead link|date=November 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• [http://tascricket.com.au/assoc.asp?i=grounds&a=1&id=6 Tasmanian Cricket Association] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040201063226/http://tascricket.com.au/assoc.asp?i=grounds&a=1&id=6 |date=1 February 2004 }}
• {{Austadiums|118}}

{{Tasmanian Football League teamlist}}

{{Hobart landmarks}}

Category:Music venues in Australia

Category:Sports venues in Hobart

Category:Cricket grounds in Tasmania

Category:Australian rules football grounds

Category:Sports venues completed in 1882

Category:Defunct greyhound racing venues in Australia

Category:1882 establishments in Australia

Category:Australian rules football in Tasmania