The City of Playford and Central District Football Club (CDFC) today announced the naming of Elizabeth Oval’s grandstand as the Kris Grant Stand, in honour of off-field legend, Kris Grant.

Renowned as one of the club’s longest-serving members, Kris dedicated 44 continuous years as secretary, general manager and chief executive of the Bulldogs. 

Kris said he felt privileged to have his name permanently stamped at the home of the Doggies.

“I'm honoured and humbled, but on the other hand I’m somewhat embarrassed. People who know me know I don’t like to be at the forefront,” Kris said.

“I’m truly grateful to the City of Playford, including past and present staff members and Elected Members, for acknowledging my journey.”

City of Playford Mayor Glenn Docherty welcomed the naming of the grandstand in honour of someone who has contributed so much to Playford’s football community.

“I sincerely thank Kris for what he’s done for both the club and for our city,” the Mayor said. “With almost five decades at the Doggies, he’s been a massive contributor to the culture we know and love.

“Kris leaves behind a legacy both on and off the field as someone who helped transform the CDFC into one of SA’s most respected clubs. There is plenty of silverware to show for his contribution and the club is a real source of pride for our community.”

Located on the western side of the ground, the grandstand, which has the capacity to seat 1,500 people, has become an iconic piece of infrastructure at X Convenience Oval. 

CDFC President, David Cavenett, said there’s no-one more deserving of the honour.

“It goes against Kris’ grain to have a grandstand named after him - it took some convincing, he’s extremely humble,” said David.

“He’s a passionate footy man, who loves this club inside and out. You would see him at Central’s seven days a week. If there was something happening at the footy club, he was there.”

Despite retirement, Kris still attends training sessions and continues to be an instrumental figure in Playford’s football community

The naming of the Kris Grant Stand comes off the back of investment by Council into infrastructure upgrades at Elizabeth Oval.

The upgrades include the construction of three unisex changerooms, with the modern, purpose-built facility helping to cater for the growing demand in football, particularly among female players.

Each of the three new changerooms include showers, toilets, and a trainers’ room, and have provided CDFC with the largest unisex facilities in the SANFL.

Council also recently invested in upgrading the oval’s LED floodlighting, which has improved visibility for night games and has led to energy savings.

Other recent projects include works to the scoreboard, the replacement of the perimeter fence on the western side of ground and upgrades to the oval’s boundary fencing.

The original metal boundary fences were replaced with a white picket fence, uplifting the appearance of the ground and making Elizabeth Oval one of the state’s most picturesque and accessible ovals.