The Australians "were seeing red at Adelaide Oval," according to Wayne Smith of THE AUSTRALIAN. Monday's practice session provided the cricket players with their "first glimpse of the dramatically redeveloped Adelaide Oval." And "mightily impressed they all were."
The ground "is abuzz with frenetic energy as workmen struggle to complete the finishing touches, including to the long-anticipated footbridge linking the stadium to the city centre." It all "is slightly reminiscent of the mad, 11th-hour rush to get Athens ready for the 2004 Olympic Games, although in Adelaide's case there's nothing more substantial remaining to be done other than finishing the painting and the landscaping." Cricketer
George Bailey "did, however, have one little quibble." When asked about the A$535M ($487M), Bailey said,
"It's pretty awesome. The red seats behind the bowler's arm ... whoever came up with that is a genius." The sight screens at the ground "are modest by Test venue standards and although the one at the northern end is enhanced by a white screen positioned at the top of what is left of the old Hill, the backdrop to the one at the opposite end is made of ball-coloured red seats in the impressive new Southern Stand" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 12/3).
