The WACA, as an association was officially established on 25th November 1885 under the Presidency of Mr JCH James.

The WACA Ground was officially opened in 1893 with the first match played on the turf wickets in February 1894.

1895: First Grandstand built at the WACA Ground - seating for 500 people and incorporating 4 dressing rooms, a dining room, two bathrooms, members’ rooms and bars.

The Farley Stand (demolished) - opened in 1931 – the oldest stand at the ground. Named after WJ Farley – Association President 1915-16 to 1916-17 and Secretary 1917-18 to 1928-29.

Players Pavilion (demolished) - Lower level built to provide facilities for the players and the WACA Administration in 1960’s. The seating on top was added to provide extra seating for the 1970 Perth inaugural Test Match.

The current stands were built as follows:

The “Test” or Inverarity Stand
Built in 1970 to celebrate the First Test Match (Australia v England) ever to be played at the WACA.

Prindiville Stand
Officially opened in November 1984 as the first stage of a major redevelopment of the Ground to commemorate the Centenary of the WACA in 1985. Named after Mr Bernie Prindiville, a past President of the Association, the Stand today houses the Association’s Administration and Finance Departments. The Stand also includes the President’s Room, the Willow Room, the Stump Lounge and a range of Private boxes.

Lillee Marsh Stand
Completed in 1988 as a public Stand, catering for the capacity crowds of cricket and football. Since 2002 the Lillee-Marsh Stand is reserved for the WACA Membership. The Sir Donald Bradman Room and Press/Media/Scoring facilities are housed in the upper levels of the Stand along with a series of Private/Sponsor boxes. A reception-function centre for 500 people is available in this complex. Named after former State and Australian players Dennis Lillee and Rodney Marsh with acknowledgment to the R&I for their sponsorship.

Players Pavilion
Constructed in 2002, this Pavilion stands within the Member’s enclosure and includes change rooms and social rooms for all players including the Retravision Warriors and visiting teams. The building also includes facilities for the Match Committee.

The Score Board
Built in 1954, was a donation from the North West Murchison Cricket Association. This association is some 1800 kilometres north of Perth – yet still in the State of Western Australia.

The Oval
was completely restructured in 1985 with some 20,000 tonnes of soil being removed. New wickets were laid, excellent drainage installed and some 22,000 tonnes of new soil was laid. Approximately 250,000 individual pieces of turf were laid in the ten wicket centre “square”.

The Lights
Located in 6 towers, the lights were installed and first used in 1986 and cost $4.2 million. They stand 70 metres high with an average of 138 lights in each tower and when operating cost approximately $600.00 per hour. Stairs are located on the inside.

Wickets
The wickets run true North-South.

Indoor Centre
In the North-East corner, contains 4 wickets and 2 bowling machines.
Practice wicket facilities at eastern end of ground. There are 45 individual strips up to 8 “brought-up” at any one time.

The WACA has “freehold” of the ground. Originally 29 acres – part sold to the Trotting Association in the early 1920’s.