[COM] Memorial Drive upgrade

[rev]

6,000 lmfao what a joke. For that price..I guess when tax payers are expected to foot the bill may as well Gold plate every corporate facility aspect..no other way it could cost that much.


Patrick I’ve said for years the section of war mem. drive between morphett and king William should be removed, and next gen should make way for an actual tennis complex and indoor/roofed multi purpose venue that can host basketball netball tennis and small concerts or conventions.
A rectangular stadium should be built in the area as well, and although just as unlikely a new swim Center..for a true sporting precinct. The existing stadiums would make for great locations for high density housing the likes of which Norman would be thrilled with.

[Paulns]

Totally agree with the above sentiments re: 6000 seat capacity. It’s woefully inadequate if you’re looking to make Memorial Drive a multipurpose/multi-sport stadium. 10,000 should of been the starting point. However to put it in perspective for a tennis point of view, the Pat Rafter Arena in Brisbane’s only 5,500.


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[Kasey771]

Subscriber-only.

Grand new $150m vision for Memorial Drive. Exclusive A NEW 6000-seat, canopy-covered stadium proposed as part of a $150 million redevelopment of Memorial Drive would bring big-time tennis — including Davis Cup — back to Adelaide and complete the Riverbank sporting precinct.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/sout ... f76797285e

Only 6,000 capacity is disappointing.
The Clipsal Powerhouse or whatever it’s called now in Findon has an 8,000 seat capacity. Why would the 36ers want to move their home games to a lower capacity venue?


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Agreed. Far too small. Typical lack of Vision. Considering an expected increase in crowds from the central and PT accessible location(As seen with both AFL teams but especially Port), the proposal should be for a 10-12k arena.

[Vee]

Agree with others here. This 6k proposal is far too small.

Great location, needs to be multi-purpose for concerts etc and include basketball. Bulldoze Next Gen.

I hope the Tennis folk have a re-think, with a funding carrot, and see the opportunities with this site, so accessible to the city and public transport, adjacent Adelaide Oval and the emerging Riverbank precinct.

Not a quick fix to lure/host some tennis competitions and forever condemn the site to a small, limited purpose venue.
Some deal involving the Entertainment Centre could be the way to go.

This statement by Opp MP, Wingard does not give me much confidence. ... ‘keen to have discussions?...’etc.

Opposition sports spokesman Corey Wingard said the tennis upgrade was among competing priorities.

“We can see there is great upside (to the Memorial Drive project) but that’s just one of a list of facilities that needs work,” he said. “We were very supportive of phase one and we would be keen to have discussions about the next phase.”

Given the Liberals campaigned against the Footbridge and against the redevelopment of AO in preference to a new stadium in the west parklands, what is their position on this prize opportunity?

I would like to know what their policy is on ... infrastructure, public transport etc etc. The election is barely 2 months away.
Anyone know Xenophon’s?

[Matt]

Yep, joining the chorus - 6,000 is woefully inadequate.

If they’re serious about using this venue for basketball and/or as a concert venue, they should be looking at 10,000 as a starting point.

[Brucetiki]

As a tennis-only venue (ala Pat Rafter Arena, Ken Rosewall Arena etc), 6,000 is adequate for the events Adelaide will get (the odd Davis Cup, and probably a WTA event as I can't see the ATP leaving Brisbane/Sydney, though I can see us pinching the WTA from Brisbane if we have a half decent venue).

As a multi-purpose arena, 6,000 is far too small. Needs to be 12,000 minimum, 15,000 ideal. With that capacity, I reckon you'd get concerts and most indoor sports over in a heartbeat. Only sport I can see dragging it's heels will be basketball, as TSA management also own the 36ers and I can't see them giving the 36ers full blessing to move without a fight.

[timtam20292]

I agree that a bigger site is needed. I think it should be 25,000 -35,000 capacity to allow for future growth esp for concerts. I can’t belive it costs $150m for a 6,000 seat stadium.. so what will one 5x the size cost, $750m??! Also is there any examples around the world of an indoor soccer/rugby stadium that is shared with a basketball/tennis/entertainment centre? It may be worth considering to cater for as much you can to justify spending the big bucks. Btw Footy Pk/AAMI stadium starts its demo. today... obviously it’s too late but I’m curious to know what would it have cost to put a roof on it?

I agree with everything here that you have said.

Only 6000 seats? what a joke.

[how good is he]

Patrick, my suggestion of a 25,000- 35,000 was for a multi purpose enclosed stadium including soccer/rugby. We already have had 50,000+ crowds for Liverpool, the A-league grand final etc etc. Further it would allow the stadium to be used "one day" for World Cup/Commonwealth/Olympic/major events. Why would you spend many hundreds of millions of dollars only to find it still doesn't comply with the requirements to hold the major events?

[[Shuz]]

I like this proposal. 6,000 seats is a good capacity for the interim to tide us over for the next 5 to 10 years. If it is used to capacity for most events for 100 days of the year, the economic dividend would recoup the initial construction cost quite quickly. I think its a good compromise until we have the money and resources to be able to go one better with a bigger arena circa 2025. Think of it like what Margaret Court Arena or Hisense Arena is to Rod Laver Arena.

[ChillyPhilly]

I'd rather see a new rectangular stadium around that location.

[how good is he]

I agree Chilly and maybe add a retractable roof. Melbourne’s rectangular stadium (AAMI Park) has a capacity for 30,000 and cost $268 m in 2010. So add inflation & a retractable roof maybe $350m for a multi purpose indoor venue?

[ChillyPhilly]

What's a bonus about AAMI Park is that it's (apparently) engineered with a future upgrade/expansion in mind.

[fifty]

Yawn. Another WTC another redevelopment render. They're taking the piss if they think an uncovered 6000 capacity venue would even remotely interest basketball or netball. Not sure how else they get to 100 event days. 25 would be for afl game day support functions, maybe 30 for tennis, maybe 10 for concerts.... what else?

I hope Tennis SA is prepared to tradeoff some management rights in return for the public funds needed to make it something more substantial and usable, like SACA did with AO. Being realistic, a slightly larger (ie. 10,000) Margaret Court Arena is the model.

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[Paulns]

Excuse my ignorance but can someone please tell me what a “Canopy covered” roof is?
Does that mean it’s weatherproof? The renders look like it’s see through to let the natural light in.

Edit: Never mind, I think the ABC answered it for me!

“An upgraded Memorial Drive tennis centre would include an expanded capacity and a retractable roof in the style of venues such as Rod Laver Arena and Wimbledon Centre Court, allowing for matches in all weather conditions”.

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-0 ... fmredir=sm

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[Brucetiki]

Excuse my ignorance but can someone please tell me what a “Canopy covered” roof is?
Does that mean it’s weatherproof? The renders look like it’s see through to let the natural light in.


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Basically means you have a canopy over the playing surface. Still open air but allows matches to be played in most conditions.

Pat Rafter Arena is an example of this