Bellerive renamed Blundstone Oval
Bellerive Oval, home of Tasmanian cricket and second home of North Melbourne Football club, has been given the boot. It is now called Blundstone Oval.
The move follows in the footsteps of most AFL grounds in use today in changing from the traditional to sponsor names such as Aurora Stadium (formerly York Park), Patersons Stadium (Subiaco), AAMI Stadium (Football Park), Etihad Stadium (Docklands) and Simonds Stadium (Kardinia Park, which was Skilled Stadium until this week).
It is not known whether if the new naming-rights sponsorship will be part of Cricket Tasmania's $21 million redevelopment plans for the ground.
The upgrade would lift Bellerive's capacity from 15,500 to 19,500 with the addition of 4000 public reserve seats, as well as new cricket changerooms, football coaches' boxes and some additional corporate facilities.
It is hoped the redevelopment will be completed in time for the 2015 cricket one-day world cup and the next Ashes series, with Tasmania aiming to hold a Test between Australia and England for the first time.
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Herald Sun
