It has hosted some of Australia’s greatest cricketers including Sir Donald Bradman, Arthur Morris and Bill ‘Tiger’ O’Reilly, as well as many championship cyclists.
But Hurstville Oval could soon see champions of a different kind such as Marvel superheroes and Jedi knights when it hosts the Starlight Cinema in 2019.
The move was the idea of the Georges River Major Events Advisory Committee which suggested that Hurstville Oval could be further utilised for outdoor screenings of films.
The council currently runs the popular Starlight Cinema program at various locations across the local government area in summer.
People are encouraged to bring a picnic dinner and a rug and enjoy a meal under the stars while watching a film.
The major events committee decided to include Hurstville Oval, consistently named the St Cricket Association’s First Grade Ground of the Year, as a venue in its 2019 Starlight Cinema program.
Other Starlight Cinema venues for 2019 will include HV Evatt Memorial Park, Lugarno; Olds Park, Mortdale; Carss Bush Park, Carss Park; and Jubilee Stadium, Carlton or Kogarah Park, Carlton, for a drive-in cinema experience.
The council will also look at hosting a “Destination Event” for the Georges River local government area.
Possible events suggested by the major events advisory committee include opera or symphony on the green at Jubilee Stadium, the reintroduction of the Asian music channel event Jadeworld Carnival, an E-Sports or outdoor online gaming event or electronic gaming competition, the Good Life under-18s music festival, and the Being Greek Festival at Hurstville Oval, previously sponsored by the former Kogarah Council.
As part of its Events Service Delivery Review, the council will gauge the community’s needs and desires in relation to major or destination events with the Georges River local government area.