Richmond Oval was constructed upon land formerly used for housing that fell into major disrepair during the Great Depression and possessed demand for restoration because of the movement of people from the inner city.

Unfortunately the council was not in a financial position to meet the whole burden of this request and as a result, the club had no option but to use the venue only for training purposes that year.

After many negotiations with the Council and the SANFL, including an AU£10,000, 10-year loan from the SANFL and another £10,000 loan from a local trading bank to pay for improvements, the ground was gradually developed with improvements including: The ground was officially opened by the Chief Secretary of the South Australian Government, Sir Lyell McEwin in 1958.

[citation needed] The ground record crowd was set in Round 5 of the 1969 SANFL season when 15,742 saw West Adelaide go down to the Neil Kerley coached Glenelg Tigers 18.18 (126) to 8.9 (57).

[citation needed] As of the end of The Bloods 2011 season, ten night games have been held at Richmond Oval with a total attendance of 36,961.

West Adelaide captain Ryan Ferguson was awarded the Fos Williams Medal as the Croweaters best player.