Birchgrove Park is a park

Park

A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...

 and sports ground located in Birchgrove, New South Wales

Birchgrove, New South Wales

Birchgrove is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Birchgrove is located 5 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Leichhardt....

 on the waterfront of Sydney Harbour. It is the location of Birchgrove Oval, a historic rugby league football ground which served as the original home of the Balmain Tigers

Balmain Tigers

The Balmain Tigers are a rugby league football club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful in the history of the premiership, with eleven titles...

 club. It was also the headquarters of the Sydney Cricket Club

Sydney Cricket Club

Sydney Cricket Club play in the Sydney Grade Cricket Competition. In 2007 the UTS-Balmain club merged with the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust and are now known as Sydney CC or Sydney Cricket Club or just simply Sydney Tigers. The Tigers play out of Drummoyne Oval. With over 100 years of history and...

 from 1897 to 1947.

Regarded as the spiritual home of rugby league in Australia

Rugby league in Australia

Rugby league football is one of the most popular sports in Australia. It is the dominant winter sport on the eastern seaboard of Australia, including the states of New South Wales and Queensland as well as the Australian Capital Territory, which together comprise around half of the country's...

, Birchgrove Oval hosted the official launch of the 2008 NRL season, which celebrated the sport's centenary in Australia.