After Sunday's round six Victorian Premier League clash, Bob Jane Stadium will be closed before its transformation into the new State Athletics Centre over the course of the next 18 months.

A budget of $50.3 million has been allocated by Victoria State Government to build the new lakeside stadium that will house both football and athletics.

One player who remembers the club's first game at Bob Jane is former midfielder Steve Panopoulos. South lost to West Adelaide 3-2 in late November 1995, but despite the result, it was a special day in the history of the club, he told au.fourfourtwo.com from his base in Brazil.

"I remember it well," he said. "It was a great day, if I remember about 12,000  fans packed in and Billy Damianos and I were on the bench that day."

Other players on the park included Ross Aloisi, Richie Alagich and Hamilton Thorpe for West Adelaide. For South, Paul Trimboli, Alan Davidson and current day coach Vaughan Coveny were wearing the home shirt of blue - but it was the yellow shirts of West who crashed the party.

After South took a 2-1 lead, the Sharks pegged back the home side late in the game courtesy of nuggetty Jimmy Tsekinis and a cracker from Nathan Day which spoiled the party at a pristine Bob Jane.

"I recall Danny Allsopp scoring his first NSL goal, which was a cracker," said Panopoulos. "It was disappointing that our first ever game there was a loss, but more importantly it was the start of an era that was the most successful era in the history of the club with two national championships.

 "It was a great stadium to play in, and the dressing room facilities were fantastic. Hopefully South  can say goodbye to BJS with a win."

After South played in the Club World Championships in Brazil in 2000, Panopoulos stayed and  now owns and runs Stellar Brasil, which represents around 70 footballers around the world.

South moved to Bob Jane after many years at Middle Park, a stadium that also holds special memories for South fans.

The move to BJS was prompted by the state government's decision to build the F1 Grand Prix track at Albert Park.

But through it all, South Melbourne and Heidelberg United have enjoyed an enduring rivalry built around the fact that both clubs relied on the hard work of Greek migrants in their respective early years.  

It turned into one of the great derbies in Aussie football - a rivalry that was as big as Sydney Olympic and Marconi or the Adelaide derby between City and West.

Attendances of over 10,000 were not uncommon for South and United fixtures at Middle Park and at Heidelberg's base at the Olympic Village during the 1980s.

To mark Sunday's farewell game, South has a pre-match cocktail party in the Hellas 100 Room. And junior teams comprised of a wide spectrum of multicultural backgrounds will parade around the ground which has also been used as a training base by the Socceroos.

Past  South legends will also be on hand after the match in the Champions Bar.

Leo Athanasakis, South President, told au.fourfourtwo.com that Sunday's match will be a day of celebration.

He added: "The State Government is investing $50.3 million into this redevelopment, which will bring with it a number of commercial benefits and improved infrastructure which will guarantee the club's future."

To celebrate, the club has launched an online promotion where they are giving away free double passes to the match.

Head to www.smfc.com.au/promo.Simply submit your name and a valid email address and automatically receive a free double pass sent to the email address.