Eric Weissel Oval, former stadium site in South Wagga Wagga, Australia
Eric Weissel Oval was a large sports ground in South Wagga Wagga featuring a grass field with seating for spectators. The venue primarily hosted rugby league matches but also accommodated other sports and community events.
Eric Weissel Oval opened in 1959, named after Eric Weissel, a state and national representative five-eighth of the 1920s and 1930s who played his entire club career in the Riverina with five clubs, including one in Wagga Wagga. The ground hosted City vs Country, NSWRL and NRL matches. After the Wagga Wagga Leagues Club went into receivership in 2004, the site was sold and rezoned for housing in 2005, and the oval was demolished in 2015.
The ground took its name from Eric Weissel, a five-eighth who played his whole club career in the Riverina in the 1920s and 1930s despite offers from Sydney. The venue was used mostly for rugby league, including City vs Country and NRL trial and premiership matches.
The ground stood in South Wagga Wagga, about 3 km from the city centre and roughly 160 km from Canberra, at an elevation of 185 m. It closed after 2007, was rezoned for housing in 2005 and demolished in 2015, so nothing of the venue remains to visit; the site is now a residential development.
The record crowd of 11,685 at Eric Weissel Oval came on 20 July 1988, when Australia beat Papua New Guinea 70–8 in the 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup, a then world record score. The ground also hosted City vs Country, NSWRL and NRL matches and a Brumbies vs Waikato Chiefs rugby union fixture.
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