$450 Million Upgrade for Adelaide Oval - will host AFL/WC

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mattwinter
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$450 Million Upgrade for Adelaide Oval - will host AFL/WC

Post by mattwinter »

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/stor ... e-now-form

BREAKING NEWS: AFL matches will be played at a revitalised Adelaide Oval within three years under a deal brokered by the State Government with the SACA and SANFL.

The Government will provide $450 million towards the redevelopment with a formal contract involving all parties to be signed in July.

The new stadium will be administered by a new authority chaired by Ian McLachlan from SACA and with SANFL general manager Leigh Whicker as chief executive.

Premier Mike Rann, Treasurer Kevin Foley and sporting officials attended the announcement this morning in the Gil Langley Room at Adelaide Oval.

It is understood AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou was in Adelaide last night for talks with Mr Foley as part of the final negotiations on the ground-breaking deal.

The Government's $200 million includes the $100 million already earmarked for AAMI Stadium, $100 million from the Commonwealth and $200 million through the deferral of extending the tram line to West Lakes for two years.

The Government had already said that $100 million earmarked for stadium development at AAMI Stadium could be recommitted to Adelaide Oval if the SANFL and SACA could reach agreement on staging AFL matches there.

The Government move is being seen in political circles as an attempt to derail the Opposition's $1 billion city west stadium plan announced by Opposition Leader Isobel Redmond last week.

The Government has bitterly attacked the plan since it was announced and in Parliament yesterday used Question Time to give both Mr Foley, Environment Minister Jay Weatherill, Transport Minister Patrick Conlon and Sport Minister Michael Wright the opportunity to oppose the Liberal "vision".

mattwinter
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Post by mattwinter »

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/stor ... 01,00.html

THEY said we were mad, foolish and biased.

Those of us who urged the shift of AFL from AAMI Stadium to a city stadium were condemned by the decision-makers.

It was too hard, it would never happen. There was nothing wrong with AAMI Stadium, they said.

But the voice of the people was too strong. The everyday football fan has seen the MCG and Etihad Stadium and wanted something similar.

In a great sporting city, they are about to get a great new stadium, at one of the world's greatest sporting venues - Adelaide Oval.

This ground is renowned across the globe as one of the most spectacular venues for international cricket. It is about to become a superb venue for our home-grown sport, Australian Rules football.

Those decision-makers who have engineered this move deserve sincere and hearty congratulations.

People like Leigh Whicker and Ian McLachlan have buried decades of poisonous personal relationships between the SANFL and SACA.

Treasurer Kevin Foley has overcome hostility within his own party to the concept of a city stadium to engineer a suitable funding arrangement.

At the same time, Labor has slaughtered the Liberal concept of a greenfields city stadium. According to Labor, we can have a new hospital AND a stadium.

AFL chief Andrew Demetriou has helped bring the concept together, recognising the huge asset a redeveloped Adelaide Oval will be for the national competition.

A redeveloped Adelaide Oval will transform Adelaide into one of the world's great sporting cities.

It allows Adelaide to join Australia's bid for the soccer World Cup.

A series of Friday night AFL games brings huge crowds to the city's heart.

It opens up the prospect of a Southbank-style development of the River Torrens banks. It enlivens the North Tce precinct.

The State Government and Adelaide City Council now need to give thought to associated facilities - sporting complexes, fitness centres, cafes, restaurants, tram extensions to Adelaide Oval - the list goes on.

For today, however, we should celebrate a victory for sports fans, Adelaide and South Australia. It is a victory for the people.

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Dasher39
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Post by Dasher39 »

I put this in the Adelaide Stadiums thread, but it probably deserves its own thread.

Any word filtering through in Adelaide as to whether this will have retractable seating? If not, then Football has been royally screwed over especially given it'll be used for the World Cup bid and future Socceroos games.

Let's see if this one actually gets off the ground though.

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Cheesie-the-Pirate
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Post by Cheesie-the-Pirate »

Image

No signs anywhere that the ground will include retractable seating.
The traditional shape of the ground is also a casualty, as is the Bradman Stand.

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Dasher39
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Post by Dasher39 »

Looking at that picture and reading the officials Press Release (here) it seems to me that this cannot be used for the FIFA World Cup Bid for one very simple reason...they're keeping the grass hill.

Now I love the grass hill at the Adelaide Oval and have sat on it many times, but they're kidding themselves if they think this is a FIFA compliant stadium.

There has been f*ck all consideration given to any rectangular sports, this is essentially a stadium for AFL and Cricket and that is all.

Not good enough.

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Post by gyfox »

Widest ground ever used as a World Cup finals venue is 124m. What width is this?

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Dasher39
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Post by Dasher39 »

gyfox wrote:Widest ground ever used as a World Cup finals venue is 124m. What width is this?
That image seems to suggest perhaps the same size as Docklands in AFL mode.

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Jeffles
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Post by Jeffles »

Adelaide Oval was around 124m before the redevelopment. t will be wider now. If it is used for a FIFA WC, I expect to see a massive temporary stand at the southern end. There won't be much room between the new northern stand and the tennis club but I think it will fit.

What will become of Football Park?

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Post by hot_dogma »

If the grass hill stays it can bugger off as a possible FIFA World Cup venue.

The conspiracy theorist in me thinks that the redevelopment of the stadium and making the venue oval was part of the masterplan all along to get their main priority of AFL matches scheduled there. To say it was just for cricket and only cricket is fluff.

If it was to be a true cricket/football venue the ground would have either stayed the same shape or been reconfigured to be a rectangular cricket ground a la some venues in England and New Zealand.

As it is in the above form it leaves no legacy to football. The question can be asked should it? Well if Adelaide wants to be considered as a host city then yes.
gyfox wrote:Widest ground ever used as a World Cup finals venue is 124m. What width is this?
Which ground was this?

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Post by gyfox »

hot_dogma wrote: As it is in the above form it leaves no legacy to football. The question can be asked should it? Well if Adelaide wants to be considered as a host city then yes.
gyfox wrote:Widest ground ever used as a World Cup finals venue is 124m. What width is this?
Which ground was this?
Maracana. Grassed area is less than this but that is the distance between the fences in front of the first row of seats. I am not sure whether the complete redevelopment required for the World Cup 2014 will reduce this.

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hot_dogma
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Post by hot_dogma »

gyfox wrote:
hot_dogma wrote: As it is in the above form it leaves no legacy to football. The question can be asked should it? Well if Adelaide wants to be considered as a host city then yes.
gyfox wrote:Widest ground ever used as a World Cup finals venue is 124m. What width is this?
Which ground was this?
Maracana. Grassed area is less than this but that is the distance between the fences in front of the first row of seats. I am not sure whether the complete redevelopment required for the World Cup 2014 will reduce this.
So the moat is included in this distance not just the oval grass ground surface?

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Dasher39
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Post by Dasher39 »

HD, I don't think there is any doubt this is done purely to get AFL.

I'm just hoping the Fed Government tell them, "Sorry, not FIFA compliant, so you're not getting any funding". That'd screw up their plans nicely.

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Post by gyfox »

Jeffles wrote:Adelaide Oval was around 124m before the redevelopment. t will be wider now. If it is used for a FIFA WC, I expect to see a massive temporary stand at the southern end. There won't be much room between the new northern stand and the tennis club but I think it will fit.

What will become of Football Park?
The "ovalising" project at Adelaide Oval increased the width to 132m. I am not sure from the image whether this has been further widened.

With a width of 132m only the first 30 rows of seats will be within the maximum distance for optimal viewing (90m from the centre of the pitch). An elliptical ground 170 x 132m will fit approximately 22,000 of its seats within this distance. A ground like Emirates Stadium fits its entire 60,000 capacity within this distance. Larger grounds of course have seats outside the 90m radius but a modern 50,000 seat football stadium should have none outside the 90m.

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Post by gyfox »

hot_dogma wrote:
gyfox wrote:
hot_dogma wrote: As it is in the above form it leaves no legacy to football. The question can be asked should it? Well if Adelaide wants to be considered as a host city then yes.
Which ground was this?
Maracana. Grassed area is less than this but that is the distance between the fences in front of the first row of seats. I am not sure whether the complete redevelopment required for the World Cup 2014 will reduce this.
So the moat is included in this distance not just the oval grass ground surface?
Yes, the moat is included.

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Post by gyfox »

Dasher39 wrote:HD, I don't think there is any doubt this is done purely to get AFL.

I'm just hoping the Fed Government tell them, "Sorry, not FIFA compliant, so you're not getting any funding". That'd screw up their plans nicely.
The press release says that they are seeking Fed money to make it FIFA compliant so they might be going to ask for the $50M or so it costs to change seats to retractable. The problem with this is that the upgrade that is going on now does not include retractable seating so work would have to stop while it is redesigned.

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