Plans have been unveiled for a new multi-use sports and entertainment venue in the Australian city of Adelaide.
The Riverbank West project centres on a stadium that would house up to 15,000 fans in “court sports mode” for basketball and netball games, but this would be expandable to 22,000 for field sports such as football. Up to 30,000 fans would be able to attend music concerts at the stadium.
It is believed that the Riverbank West development would provide Adelaide and South Australia with significant growth opportunities. The proposed complex would include commercial space, food and beverage outlets, hotels and medical consulting suites.
A full video of the proposed complex has been published by the Adelaide Advertiser. The video, which has been produced by Adelaide Venue Management, argues that the existing venue infrastructure in Adelaide is “unable to maintain current socio-economic benefits” to create new growth opportunities in South Australia.
It is argued that the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, which seats up to 11,300 guests, is of “insufficient capacity” to attract major events to the city, while the video also claims that Coopers Stadium, home of A-League football club Adelaide United, is nearing the end of its lifespan.
According to the video, the state of South Australia requires a FIFA and rugby-compliant rectangular venue. Coopers Stadium, which has a capacity of 16,500, will be one of the host venues during Australia’s staging of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023.
The video also says that the 8,000-seat Adelaide Arena, which is used for basketball and netball games is at the end of its “useful life”. A similar assessment is given for the 3,200-seat Priceline Stadium, which is primarily used for netball.
Additionally, it is argued that a larger tennis venue than the current Memorial Drive Park is needed, although the video states that a new roof structure at the facility provides a “short to mid-term fix”. While the video accepts that the Adelaide Convention Centre is a “world-class facility”, it lacks exhibition space to host “major exhibitions of strategic importance to South Australia’s economy”.
The Advertiser reports that the video was developed in late 2019 and presented to the state government. The project would create 3,200 direct and 5,800 indirect jobs.
Image: Trentino Piori/Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0)/Edited for size
