Concord Oval was delivered by City of Canada Bay in partnership with Wests Tigers Rugby League Football Pty Ltd, as a major stakeholder – a $84m multi-use indoor and outdoor community destination provides new recreation spaces, a one-stop-shop for elite sports players, fitness enthusiasts, community groups, young athletes and children.

This high-quality, flexible facility caters to a wide range of users, from professional sporting teams and elite athletes to community sports, young people and the broader community – responding to the vision of these diverse users for now and into the future.

ARCH Design Director, Ivana Simkovic said, “The conceptual framework synthesised the challenging programmatic requirements of a mixed-use site, the existing urban design framework and the creation of a unique identity that reflected both the building occupants and the wider community”.

The three main concepts of the architectural design strategy: porosity; identity; and integration, created a  distinctive response that blurs the boundaries of public and private space while responding to the brief and aspirations of the stakeholders.

This concept extended beyond sharing the site between building occupants to welcoming the wider community and inviting participation and passive recreation with its porous edges and engaging public spaces.

The project’s ambition required a complete reconfiguration of the site beyond the playing field, which was to be retained, and involved demolition of all previous buildings on the Concord Oval Site. The new facilities on the Western and Northern sides of the site provide services for the community and professional sports organisations, a recreation centre and facilities for community groups. It includes a mix of four indoor community sports courts, a functional training gym, fitout for West Harbour Rugby Club and High Performance Centre for Wests Tigers NRL Club with associated match day facilities. There is also a new spectator seating, integrated community space and match-day landscaping.

A key requirement of the project for Wests Tigers was the inclusion of dedicated female facilities to improve pathways for women and girls in support of the NSW Government’s ‘Her Sport Her Way’ program.

Planning and the design of the Concord Oval Redevelopment focused on the community, adaptability and flexibility of spaces and represents the outcome of the integrated interdisciplinary approach led by lead architect and Design Director Ivana Simkovic.

We created it to be “a place to raise the heart rate and restore the soul”, says Ivana.