Hindmarsh Stadium (also known as Coopers Stadium under naming rights) is a multi-purpose stadium in Hindmarsh, an inner western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is the home of the Australian A-League team, Adelaide United.
The stadium has a capacity of 16,500, of which 15,000 is seated, and is home to professional football (soccer) A-League team Adelaide United, who regularly fill this capacity, and averaged crowds of over 12,000 to its matches during the 2006-07 season and 2007-08 season. United used the stadium for its home matches in both the league and in various AFC Champions League campaigns. The venue hosted five matches during the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup and underwent a redevelopment to the eastern stand in preparation.
History
Built in 1960, the stadium stands on the site that was once Lindsay Circus/Hindmarsh Oval which housed the Hindmarsh Cricket Club (later West Torrens District Cricket Club) from 1857 - 1921, and West Torrens Football Club of the SANFL from 1905 until 1921. During World War I the Patriotic Football League, a group of SANFL clubs that wanted to continue playing football during the war played many games at the venue. The 1916 Patriotic Football League Grand Final was held at the ground between and with Port Adelaide winning 7.11 (53) to 1.13 (19).
The Soccer Association of South Australia owned land on a former brick pit on Torrens Road at Brompton named Rowley Park which was located only 5 km from the city, and the original plan was for the land to be the home of Soccer in SA as the site formed a natural bowl. However, the Soccer Association had received negative press regarding its failure to grow grass on the site. Rowley Park also had a tendency to flood during winter as the bottom of "The Brick Pit" was below the level of the water table which made playing soccer virtually impossible. The land was eventually leased to a group of speedway drivers and would become the famous Rowley Park Speedway which ran from December 1949 until it closed in April 1979. The land was eventually sold and is now the Kym Bonython housing estate, named for the speedway's long time promoter Kym Bonython.
When it became obvious to the Soccer Association that Rowley Park would be unsuitable as a soccer venue they obtained a lease on Hindmarsh Oval from the Hindmarsh Council. The old Hindmarsh Oval was developed over the years into a rectangular stadium capable of holding 15,000 with a single tier grandstand built in 1960 that held approximately 2,000 while 6 light towers for night games (plus another 8 smaller light towers on the grandstand roof) were installed during the mid-1970s. Other than the grandstand, the ground was all terracing surrounding the playing surface. This changed in 1996 when seats were installed on the eastern side of the ground.
Along with the Olympic Sports Field, Hindmarsh became one of two Adelaide venues in the former National Soccer League which was launched in 1977. Hindmarsh was the home ground of the Adelaide City Zebras (who also played games at the Sports Field), and later the home ground for West Adelaide Hellas. Hindmarsh would eventually become the sole Adelaide NSL venue during the late 1980s.
In 1986, Hindmarsh stadium hosted the first leg of the NSL Grand Final between Adelaide City and Sydney Olympic. Olympic won 1-0. Adelaide would go on to win the 2nd leg in Sydney 3-1 and become NSL Champions. Hindmarsh again hosted the NSL Grand Final (this time a single game) in 1994-95 when Adelaide City faced the Mark Viduka led Melbourne Knights. In front of a crowd of over 16,000 the Knights defeated the Zebras 2-0.
As soccer was generally played to smaller crowds during the 1970s and 1980s, Hindmarsh became a regular host of the Socceroos in some of their international matches, with Adelaide-based players such as Robert Zabica, Alex Tobin, and the Vidmar brothers Aurelio and Tony all playing prominent roles.