Parry Field is a former sports venue in

Belmont Belmont may refer to: People * Belmont (surname) Places * Belmont Abbey (disambiguation) * Belmont Historic District (disambiguation) * Belmont Hotel (disambiguation) * Belmont Park (disambiguation) * Belmont Plantation (disambiguation) * Belmon ...

, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. The ground is best known for being the home of baseball team Perth Heat between 1989 and 1997. The stadium was built in 1983 on the site of Belmont Oval which had been primarily used for

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

and rugby league. After the demolition of the baseball stadium, the land became known as Grove Farm Reserve.

History

The land was part of Grove Farm, which was founded in the early 1830s. In the mid-1950s, the land was transferred to the

Belmont Park Road Board The City of Belmont is a local government area in the inner eastern suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth, located about east of Perth's central business district on the south bank of the Swan River. The City covers an area ...

and placed in a trust with the stated land use of recreation. In 1955, Belmont Oval was officially opened at a rugby league match between Western Australia and France. In 1983, it became the first purpose-built baseball

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

in Australia. It named for Kevin Parry, a local businessman and enthusiast whose fortunes failed soon after the opening. The stadium featured television-standard lighting, seating for about 2,200 people and standing room for 3,000 more. The stadium was demolished by the City of Belmont as part of the WA Building Better Cities Program. Councillors were influenced by complaints from local residents about fireworks, loud music and other pre-match festivities. On the other hand, baseball being far from a mainstream sport in Australia, its managers had been unable to recoup the stadium's high maintenance costs on a year-round basis.Joe Clark
A history of Australian baseball
' at Google Books. After the demolition of the baseball facilities the city council intended to develop the land, however the conditions of the trust led to a long delay, during which the land has been unused.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perth Sports venues in Perth, Western Australia Baseball venues in Australia 1985 establishments in Australia Sports venues completed in 1985 1997 disestablishments in Australia Sports venues demolished in 1997 Defunct sports venues in Australia History of baseball in Australia Defunct baseball venues