A few lost souls wandered around, unable to find their seats at the redeveloped Adelaide Oval.
But they were the only problems on what officials describe as a triumphant international unveiling of the `new’ Adelaide Oval.
“The big things have gone really well,” South Australian Cricket Association chief executive Keith Bradshaw told AAP.
“Like any opening night of a show, we have had a few small issues around the ground. But nothing that is not easily fixed, so overall it is a big tick.”
Thursday’s opening day of the second Ashes Test between Australia and England was a landmark for the oval after undergoing a $535 million redevelopment.
The oval first hosted a cricket match some 140 years ago and had been lauded as among the prettiest in the world.
And despite the modernisation, the re-cast oval has won initial rave reviews.
“It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, this morning, seeing that first ball,” Bradshaw said.
“A lot of the issues have particularly been around people finding their way around the oval and navigating their way to their seats.
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“There is a consistent theme that people were looking forward to seeing what we had done and how we have been able to change it cosmetically.
“Some of them had some trepidation because they love the old Adelaide Oval.
“But the responses I have had, now that they’re here, they’re really enjoying the new facilities … it hasn’t lost any intimacy at all, if anything it has added to the atmosphere.”
