JASPAR WILSON-KEIR | JUNE 4, 2026
Following Southport’s first game at Fankhauser Reserve for the season, the oval presented in excellent condition. To most, it was the expectation but there is more than meets the eye. It was the result of detailed planning, elite expertise and a shared commitment to high performance.
When the 2026 Gold Coast Laneway Festival rolled through Southport Sharks earlier this year, it delivered an unforgettable day of music, energy and atmosphere. And as soon as the precinct was cleared, the club partnered with the Adelaide Oval Turf Solutions team to ensure the playing surface at Fankhauser Reserve was brought back to an elite, match-ready standard.
What followed was a focused, high-performance program to have the oval primed for the 2026 VFL and QAFLW seasons. Led by newly appointed Grounds person Emma Lynch, the work was approached with the same professionalism and standards seen at Australia’s top venues.
Hailing from Ballarat, Lynch arrived at Southport Sharks with an elite global resume. Her experience spans some of the world’s most iconic sporting venues, including Lord’s Cricket Ground, Tottenham Hotspur and, most recently, the Adelaide Oval – a background that helped set the benchmark for the partnership’s work at Fankhauser Reserve.
“Dean Bowtell got in contact with Damian Hough, the Head Curator of Adelaide Oval, and said, ‘you guys are the best, we want the best,’ and that’s how we ended up here,” Lynch recalled.
Her first impression was clear: elite facilities with the potential for an elite surface and a team committed to meeting the highest standard.
With parts of the ground requiring extra attention and the preparation window tightened by a few days, Lynch and her team leaned on strong planning, clear communication and proven processes to keep everything on track.
“There were around 30 to 35,000 people on site,” Lynch reflected. “It’s not the hardest thing to come back from, but it certainly didn’t make our job easy.”
Throughout the process, the priority was simple: deliver the best possible surface for players, coaches and fans.
“Getting a really good renovation on it was first and foremost, making sure the surface was back to a really high standard,” Lynch explained. “We took our time with everything we did, not rushing anything and not taking shortcuts.”
This was more than a standard renovation, it was a coordinated, best-practice program delivered with pride, ensuring the surface met elite performance expectations in the lead-in to the season.
“We were behind two or three days because of the festival, and the ground was quite dry when we arrived,” Lynch added.
Despite the scale of the event, Hough was pleased with how the surfaces recovered following the festival.
“Everyone really did have turf health in mind when bumping in and also bumping out, which is not always the case around the country,” Hough shared. “It is a credit to the work Dean, Adam and their team did leading into the event with great communication.”
In a matter of days, a surface that had seen heavy use was restored into a high-performance playing field ready for football.
“To know you’ve done something to the best of your ability, and it’s worked out really well gives you a massive sense of pride,” Lynch said.
“I look out at that surface now and think, I’ve had a hand in making that look brilliant. Everything we’ve done and our process has really worked.”
From hosting one of Australia’s biggest music festivals to presenting a pristine, high-performance surface just weeks later, Southport Sharks continues to set the benchmark off the field.
With the support of the Adelaide Oval Turf Operations team and the club’s own dedicated staff, Fankhauser Reserve is shaping as one of the leading playing surfaces in the country.
“All of the Adelaide Oval Turf Solutions staff who have worked at your facility over the last six months have nothing but praise for the way it is run, the support you provide us and for the relationships we have built,” Hough remarked. “We look forward to continuing that in our management of the ovals over the coming years.”
