At face value, it's a rather barren vista at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart.

The South-West Stand has gone. Two sets of practice nets have vanished. Bulldozers, cranes and denuded earth now occupy the territory where the Stuart Spencer Stand was previously positioned. Even the most photographed toilet block in Australian cricket has disappeared from its former base behind the bowler's arm at the River End.

The bottom line, though, is that things at the ground have never looked so good.

After years in the planning, work has begun on the formal redevelopment of the Oval - home of the Tasmanian Cricket Association (TCA) and the premier cricketing facility in Australia's southernmost state. A far-reaching redevelopment, that is, which will see the ground transformed into a boutique venue capable of accommodating 15,000 fans for major matches in the future.

Bellerive has been the headquarters of Tasmanian cricket ever since a shift from the TCA Ground on Hobart's western shore in 1987. In the years that have followed, it has gained a fine reputation and played host to five Tests, sixteen One-Day Internationals and countless other first-class and limited-over games. Complete with a perfectly-manicured surface and offering spectacular views from its position at the eastern edge of the Derwent River, it has also come to be widely regarded as one of the most picturesque ovals in Australia.

But the need for further enhancement - to maintain its status and its suitability for elite-level cricket - has long been on the agenda of the state's senior administrators. And, as the heavy construction equipment and hordes of construction workers have moved in during recent weeks, so it has been that that exciting ideal has started to inch toward realisation.

"Our impetus to do this was the fact that we needed to continue to host international cricket here successfully," explains TCA Chief Executive, David Johnston.

"In some ways, our ground was getting a little tired for that purpose and our infrastructure for players, spectators and the media probably wasn't as good as it could have been."

Back in 1999, the TCA initially proposed a more comprehensive redevelopment programme. After re-appraising the costs, reviewing its members' reactions, and setting its plans against the backdrop of opposition from a band of local ratepayers, though, it soon opted for a re-think.

At a cost of close to $A16 million, this new upgrade weds a blueprint of contemporary stadium design with affordability and practicality. But, while the TCA has been careful to ensure that the budget for the project will not exceed the capital it has drawn together from a $5 million Commonwealth Government grant, $8 million of commercial borrowings and $3 million of its own reserves, it is still the case that few expenses are being spared in adorning the ground with levels of comfort which significantly surpass those previously known at Bellerive.

Headlining the array of alterations will be the relocation (to the southern end of the ground), extension and roofing of the existing Northern Stand. In providing seating for just under 6,000 people, it will form the centrepiece of the TCA's plans to attract more spectators to premium cricketing events. The Members' Pavilion will also undergo significant reconfiguration, to provide vastly upgraded facilities not only for members but also for players and umpires, the TCA's administrative staff, and the electronic and print media.

To complement those developments, the Oval will be equipped with indoor practice facilities for the first time. Its new indoor centre, which will provide state-of-the-art training equipment and house the Association's coaching and development staff, will in fact be the first of the new features to reach completion. There will be no alterations to the playing surface that cricket devotees around the world already know well. But a dedicated cricket museum and library, clock-tower, regraded hill, enhanced function rooms and deluxe corporate hospitality areas will also be among the amenities new to Bellerive.

"It has taken us around two years in total to go through all the planning and then through the local Planning Appeals Tribunal itself," says Johnston.

"In short, what we're trying to do is upgrade the overall quality of the facilities for our patrons and our members. We'll ultimately be able to fit considerably more people into the ground and they'll also have a better view, be a lot more comfortable and enjoy a higher standard of catering and public facilities."

Much of the work on the project will be completed by the time the ground hosts the second match of the three-Test series between Australia and New Zealand in November and a One-Day International between New Zealand and South Africa in January. The second and final phase of construction activity will be undertaken in the lead-up to the 2002-03 domestic season.

It will be then that the recurring dream of a ground that can truly take Tasmanian cricket deep into the twenty-first century will have become a reality.

© 2001 CricInfo Ltd