Lidcombe Oval is a

playing field Play is a range of Motivation#Intrinsic and extrinsic, intrinsically motivated activities done for recreation. Play is commonly associated with children and juvenile-level activities, but may be engaged in at any life stage, and among other high ...

and

velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement ...

in the

Western Sydney Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...

suburb of

Lidcombe Lidcombe () is a suburb in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lidcombe is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Cumberland Council, with a small industrial part in the north in t ...

and is part of Wyatt Park. It was first opened in 1933 with a completely flat track velodrome. Within a year the velodrome was rebuilt to include the banking that we see today. It is situated in the western end of Church Street, on the northern side of the railway line. The outfield has a capacity of more than 20,000 spectators. While the venue has been used for a number of sports over the years,

has been in continuous use for

track cycling Track cycling is a Cycle sport, bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its i ...

events. Lidcombe-Auburn Cycle Club since 1947, and Neo Cycling Club since 2015. The infield is used mainly for NSW Cup Rugby League matches. Since 2023 there have been seven matches per season scheduled for Lidcombe Oval.

Ground & Track Use

Rugby League

In the

NSWRL The New South Wales Rugby League Ltd (NSWRL) is an Australian rugby league football competition operator in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission.It was registered on 21 ...

competition, the ground was home of the

Western Suburbs Magpies The Western Suburbs Magpies (legal name: Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd) is an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as the club is commonly ...

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

team from 1967 to 1986, before the club moved to

Campbelltown Stadium Campbelltown Sports Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Leumeah, a suburb in South Western Sydney, Australia, owned by Campbelltown City Council. Formerly known as Orana Park and Campbelltown Sports Ground, it is currently the home ground ...

in 1987. The attendance record for the ground is 21,015, set in 1978 for a club match between Wests and local rival

Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...

. The Magpies moved from the ground after the 1986 NSWRL season to

due to deteriorating quality of the facilities at the ground as well as a chance to claim a vast amount of junior rugby league players in the south-western suburbs. The final ever first grade game to be played at Lidcombe Oval was on 31 August 1986 between Western Suburbs and Easts. Easts won the match 8–6 in front of 7,375 people. Today, Lidcombe Oval was used as the home ground of the

Auburn Warriors The Auburn Warriors Rugby League Football Club were an Australian rugby league football club based in Auburn, New South Wales formed in 1953. They played in the NSW Ron Massey Cup competition and in Sydney's A-Grade competitions. 2017 In The 2 ...

up until the end of 2018 before the club was dissolved. The

for the last 3–4 seasons have played 1–2 home games a year at the ground as part of the "Return to Lidcombe' celebrations. In 2017, Western Suburbs played against St Mary's in both the

Sydney Shield The Sydney Shield is a rugby league football competition played in Sydney, New South Wales. The competition is administered by the New South Wales Rugby League. Clubs Ten teams will compete in the 2025 Sydney Shield. The fixture list is availabl ...

and

Ron Massey Cup The Ron Massey Cup (formerly known as the Bundaberg Red Cup and Jim Beam Cup) is a semi-professional development level rugby league competition in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, run jointly by the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) and the ...

matches at the ground to honor their connection with Lidcombe Oval. On 26 May 2018, Western Suburbs played against Newtown in the "Return to Lidcombe" match. Newtown came from 18 points down in the second half to defeat Wests 23–22. In March 2019, Lidcombe Oval hosted 2

Canterbury Cup NSW The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserve ...

matches that featured fellow foundation clubs Newtown and

North Sydney North Sydney is a suburb and commercial district on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. And is the administrative centre for the local government area of North Sydney Council. History The Indigenous people on the s ...

. Both games were broadcast live on Channel 9. In November 2020, Western Suburbs announced that they would be returning to the ground more frequently in 2021, which included using the oval as their primary home ground as opposed to

. The Grandstand at Lidcombe Oval was named after Western Suburbs legend

Tommy Raudonikis Thomas Walter Raudonikis (13 April 1950 – 7 April 2021) was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach. He played 40 International games and World Cup games as Australia representative and captained his country in two matches of the 1 ...

in 2022.

Cycling

Originally designed and commissioned by champion Commonwealth Sprinter and LACC member Grant Pye in the early 1930s, and used by the NSW League of Wheelmen for a number of years. It was sometime before amateur clubs and the NSW Cyclist Union were allowed to compete on the track. LACC held their first races at nearby Coleman park in 1927 and moved into the Lidcombe Oval Velodrome in 1947. Lidcombe Oval is one of the last three remaining outdoor velodromes in the Greater Sydney Region including Hurstville Oval and Canterbury (AKA Tempe) Velodrome. A fourth outdoor velodrome remains at Merrylands however it has fallen into disrepair. All year round the cycling track is used by a number of cycling clubs on most days for weekly training and racing. It has been home to Lidcombe-Auburn Cycle Club (LACC) since 1947 and Neo Cycling Club (Neo CC) since 2015. Until 2020, the cycling clubs had six bookings a week in summer and four in winter, however with the return of Rugby League in the minor grades, cycling has been reduced to two bookings per week over winter. Initially a juniors club, Neo Cycling Club quickly became the largest junior cycling club in Australia. In 2020 Neo Cycling Club opened its membership to adults and quickly attracted more track cyclists than any other Sydney club. Neo use the track in the Winter season for training purposes, and both training and racing in the Summer season. The Velodrome is also used to host the Cycling NSW Junior Metropolitan Track Championships and the InterSchool Cycling Track Student Championships. 1964-Lidcombe Oval-general

References

* {{NRL Grounds Sports venues in Sydney Rugby league stadiums in Australia Rugby union stadiums in Australia Soccer venues in Sydney Western Suburbs Magpies Lidcombe