Erskineville Oval is a sporting venue in Erskineville, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Originally developed and opened in 1885 as Macdonaldtown Park, it was later renamed in 1892 to its current form with the municipality name change of the local government body. At approximately a capacity of 5000 spectators, previously 2000 Erskineville Oval was formerly an AFL venue as of 1903 when the NSW Australian Football League was founded. From 1913, the ground become a rugby venue as well, in which it has since hosted professional teams such as Newtown and the South Sydney Rabbitohs. History The ground of Erskineville Oval is upon grants originally acquired by Nicholas Divine in 1794 and John Campell in 1825. However, the venue itself remained undeveloped due to multiple lawsuits over many years. On 28 July 1885, 22 acres of land were declared Macdonaldtown Park. This remained until 1892 before the named was changed to Erskineville Oval. This was done during the municipality name change of local Erskineville government. Previously, the oval was bound by Swanson Street, Copeland Street, Ashmore Street, Binning Street and Mitchell Road but has since undergone redevelopment in both 1937 and more recently in 2006. When first developed in 1937 under the Erskineville Housing Scheme, the ground was altered with the addition of housing on and around the oval. This resulted in the current layout of the oval and the subsequent formation of the adjacent Harry Nobel Reserve. Over its history, Erskineville Oval has been used as a sporting venue for various sporting codes, the most notable of which includes the NSW Australian Football League, NSW Rugby Football League as well as various levels of local AFL, rugby and cricket within the Erskineville and Macdonaldtown community. Ground Usage After its development in 1885, Erskineville Oval became a major sporting ground for the NSW Australian Football league after its formation in 1903, it was later also used for other sports including rugby league, baseball and boxing. Australian Football Erskineville Oval was first used as a sporting ground following the inception of the local senior New South Wales Football League in 1903. This included Newtown which would be the home team. One of the first matches was East Sydney Football Club vs Alexandria Football Club. From 1907, however, its use of the ground was restricted due to clashes with rugby league which had begun to schedule matches there and the NSWFL was