Claremont Showground
The Claremont Showground is located in Claremont, a western suburb of Perth. The arena is some 3 hectares in size - larger than the MCG. It was the home of Speedway for almost 80 years and WAFL club Claremont Football Club have hosted infrequent matches at the venue.
As the city's showgrounds, the venue also has an important role to play as the site of annual Perth Royal Show, numerous exhibitions and festivals such as the old Big Day Out.
Installation of lights at the main arena was completed in September 1927, due to the ever rising popularity of the Claremont Speedway, which was first hosted at the showground in May of that year. The speedway remained at the venue until 1999, when after becoming the longest serving venue of its type in the world, the calls of the new Perth Motorplex were answered.
After speedway left the venue, the main arena underwent a $1.8 million re-development, creating a more appealing venue. This transformation involved the safety fences and speedway track being removed as well as the old dirt banks surrounding the arena being replaced with limestone terracing, thus making the venue more suited to exhibitions, concerts and Australian football.
The arena at the Claremont Showground has found itself under-utilised since the speedway left, only being used for the occasional concert and the Perth Royal Show each year. Other facilities within the complex are often used for exhibition and storage purposes.
