A few wise patrons had the right idea. In the final stages of the recent thrilling Sheffield Shield match between Western Australia and Tasmania, amid the usual suffocating Perth heat, those enjoying the comforts of the WACA ground‘s new 50-metre outdoor pool took a breather.
From an ideal vantage point, around where the old Inverarity Stand was located with one of those gigantic floodlight towers hovering overhead, they became engrossed in the riveting battle taking place on the famous ground’s hallowed surface.
During the upcoming women’s one-off Test match between Australia and India, expect many camera pans to the most eye-catching part of the WACA’s major redevelopment with the pool complemented by a ‘splash park’ featuring massive water slides.
While the redeveloped ground had a soft launch in February, the Test marks its official unveiling with the old warhorse showing off its AU$189 million makeover.
The redevelopment, which started in 2021 and originally pegged at $115 million, has revitalised an ageing ground that may have stirred traditionalists but had become dated and lacked many creature comforts such as basic shading.
Local sentiment eroded once the swanky 60,000-seat Optus Stadium, located on the opposite bank of the Swan River, opened to much fanfare in 2018 and quickly gobbled up men’s international cricket fixtures and BBL games.
The WACA will now transform into a high-performance hub, a counterpart to the Junction Oval in Melbourne and Allan Border Field in Brisbane, and a multi-sport community facility that includes a cafe and public gym.
Decades of uncertainty and angst have finally ended. The future of the ground had long been a thorny subject and proven troublesome, including a failed project struck in 2007 by then WACA president Dennis Lillee that proposed an increase from 20,000 to 30,000 seats.
Anyone for the water slide?•Getty Images
It has now slimmed down to a 10,000 capacity plus another 5000 temporary seats for big events.
“It’s been a long and complicated project, and to get it over the line is a huge achievement for everyone,” WA Cricket chief executive John Stephenson told ESPNcricinfo. “It is an awesome development, very high-spec, and it’s really set up to serve the community but also be a hub for high performance.”
The WACA is arguably the most singular cricket ground in the world given the lore over its fast and bouncy pitch which has conjured some of the sport’s most visceral images. The ground’s harsh innards, in some ways, contributed to its mystique.
There has inevitably been pressure on the redevelopment to straddle the ground’s legacy while transforming it into a modern facility.
“I think what we’ve achieved is the perfect blend. We’re really cognizant of the fact that the WACA ground has so much history,” Stephenson said. “We never lose sight of the fact of our heritage and the fact that first and foremost, it’s a cricket ground.
“But we want to welcome the community in. I think what will happen is a lot of people, who didn’t really know about cricket, will take on a gym membership or bring their kids in to learn to swim and they’ll see the cricket going on and go ‘wow that looks interesting’.
“I know there’s a huge Filipino community around here who are desperate to come and use the facilities. So it will be interesting to see if we get them and others engaged with cricket.”
Even though parts of the ground had been an eyesore in recent years due to the construction, the WACA has continued to host domestic cricket and women’s internationals.
The ground has staged women’s Tests over the last two years•Getty Images and Cricket Australia
The last men’s international played at the ground was the Ashes Test in 2017, a match best remembered for Mitchell Starc’s remarkable delivery that clean bowled James Vince off a crack and a premature end to day four due to an unseasonal storm.
It had been initially touted that the WACA would still host Test matches involving smaller nations, but Optus Stadium’s commercial pull has made it a highly attractive venue.
“Our venue hiring agreement with Optus is really good,” Stephenson said. “There might be a conversation further down the line, as the game develops, where a slightly lesser nation is coming before the Test summer and the WACA can play host.
“We wouldn’t want to forgo a major Test match. But I’d never say never for a men’s Test in the future.”
In the years since higher-profile cricket matches were played at the WACA, the surrounding part of East Perth – within walking distance to Perth’s CBD – has felt increasingly overshadowed by several blossoming inner-city suburbs.
Just like in its heyday, the revamped WACA is set to be the showpiece of a suburb undergoing its own rejuvenation. Not far from the ground, a rugby field has recently been developed and will be the training base for incoming NRL team Perth Bears.
The famous scoreboard remains•Getty Images
Until it moves into its own headquarters, the Bears will use the WACA as an administration and high-performance space. “We’re working through a term sheet with them, and it’s an agreement with the state government,” Stephenson said.
“We’re hoping we can get all that nailed down in March, so that they can come in and start investing in the Lillee-Marsh Stand because that’s going to become an admin hub for the Perth Bears.”
Ongoing swimming lessons, kids on waterslides and a sleek new Inverarity Stand in the backdrop might take some getting used to, but times have changed and a new era has begun at the WACA ground.
“The look and feel of the WACA is going to change, but all for the better,” Stephenson said. “I think this sets us up for the future because we want to make ourselves more self-sustainable. We don’t want to be so reliant on Cricket Australia and this is a step in that direction.
“It’s going to be a very exciting period. I’m glad we’re doing this.”
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth