The new-look Southern Stand and entrance plaza of the Adelaide Oval. Picture courtesy: Stadium Management Authority

Adelaide: After 40 years, the Australian Football League (AFL) matches are back at the Adelaide Oval.

That’s not all.

The iconic ground has undergone extensive redevelopment and wears an exceptionally classy look. The century-old scoreboard and the ‘hill’ have been untouched, though.

Old-timers won’t miss the St Peter’s Cathedral either. It hasn’t been blocked by concrete and steel.

On view, then, is the blending of history with the requirements of a world-class facility in the 21st century.

Fans demand better facilities and the men who matter seem to have made the right moves.

To talk of the other changes, the Chappell Stand has been relocated and the must-visit Bradman Collection Museum is now at the Adelaide Oval after years at the state library.

One understands the Chappell brothers (Ian, Greg, Trevor) gave their “wholehearted support” to the redevelopment and had “no issues” with the shift.

Some words on the Museum...

Walk in and you’re greeted by Sir Donald Bradman’s immortal line — “I was never coached. I was never told how to hold a bat.”

Look around and there’s another classic from the batsman who finished with a first-class average of 99.94: “Every ball went exactly where I wanted it to go until the ball which got me out.”

While on the changes, capacity at the ground is up, from 30,000-odd to over 53,000.

And, of course, the management is no longer in the hands of the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA).

Instead, it’s now run by the Stadium Management Authority, which balances the interests of the SACA and the South Australian National Football League (SANFL).

The Eastern Stand has a football flavour, with greats of that sport honoured. The Western Stand, where the dressing rooms are housed, is all about cricket.

Both the SACA and the SANFL have a lease for “80 years” from the state government, headed by Premier Jay Weatherill. The government, in fact, pumped in as much as AUD 535 million to change the Adelaide Oval almost beyond recognition.

Taken up in phases, the redevelopment got over in March and the Australia-India face-off, this December, will see the ground stage its first Test after getting a new look.

It’s no surprise that “massive” is how everybody is describing the India-Pakistan World Cup encounter, scheduled for next February.

Right now, however, the attention is on the October 25 concert by Mick Jagger’s Rolling Stones.

No surprise there too.

One may ask why the state government had to invest so much. Well, the dynamic Weatherill and his colleagues looked at the business side: Having both cricket and football at the Adelaide Oval boosts the city’s standing and guarantees big returns right through the year.

In other words, plenty of positives, with not everything linked to economics.

A pre-redevelopment study conducted by the South Australian Centre for Economic Studies predicted a direct and indirect spending of AUD 114 million annually — from fans coming to Adelaide for both disciplines.

In actual terms, today, it’s going to be much more. That, at least, is the assessment.

It’s another matter that had Sir Don been alive, he wouldn’t have been delighted as he was always for cricket only at the revered ground.

“The way things are, it’s a win-win situation for everybody... The city, cricket, football, fans... You cannot but admire the Adelaide Oval as it stands now,” Darren Chandler, the upmarket facility’s general manager (commercial), told The Telegraph on Friday afternoon.

Andrew McDonald, who played four Tests for Australia in 2008-09, appeared to echo that.

Kent Rossiter, a member of the SACA for about 40 years, gave the members’ perspective. He said: “I’m very happy with what has been done... It was long overdue... The traditionalists probably took time to be convinced, but the ground needed to move with the times.”

According to Chandler, the revenue from cricket goes to the SACA, while the earnings from football are for the SANFL. The Stadium Management Authority gets revenue largely from the banquet and conference facilities which are regularly used.

Playing host at the Adelaide Oval is quite the in thing. Clearly, it’s the hottest destination in South Australia’s capital.