Sensational-Adelaide.com

omada wrote:This is the type of forward thinking that we need in SA, I like it! Magill Road has some excellent shops as it is: good second hand shops (Rockin' Rustic),antique shops, big star records..

I would like to see it happen sooner than 10 years!

rhino wrote:What's your point?

Somebody wrote:

rhino wrote:What's your point?

Please don't tell me "but trams r better" or "but it wont b classy without trams" or "more peoplell use tramzors".

Somebody wrote: What's the advantage over buses?

A FIVE-storey retirement village, two-storey medical clinic and a 90-place childcare centre are key features of a $45 million plan to reinvigorate the western suburbs.

The master plan for the Thebarton Oval precinct, which can be revealed by The Advertiser, also has provisions for Adelaide United shifting its headquarters to the site and developing state-of-the-art training facilities.

The Thebarton plan offers two options - one a smaller-sized alternative worth $5.4 million and the other a $44.5 million plan to transform it into an integrated community hub.

Under the plan, construction will start in April, 2010 and be completed by September, 2011.

Other key developments for the precinct include a community centre, two-level car park, playground, skate park and relocating existing organisations in the area, including the Hindmarsh Bowling Club.

West Torrens council are expected to release it for an eight-week public consultation period, starting on October 13.

The plan, which has been worked on since April, says the Adelaide United Football Club "has indicated a strong desire to develop a training facility away from its current base (at Hindmarsh Stadium)."

A new administration centre for the club, tipped to cost $4.56 million, is also outlined in the plan.

Adelaide United chief executive Sam Ciccarello said shifting to Thebarton "was one of many options the club is looking at".

"We need the right facilities to cater for our senior, youth and women's teams so it will depend on the options the developers can come up with," he said.

A new administration facility for the SA Amateur Football League is also proposed for the site.

Among the conclusions of the report is that the precinct:

PRESENTS an ideal environment to create a community hub given its prime location and available space.

THE oval should be maintained to a state league level standard to allow for the expected increase in use by existing and future user groups.

THE facilities associated with the oval should be retrofitted to a suitable standard to allow for use by an increased number of user groups.

The master plan says the $45 million redevelopment is the preferred option.

It would be funded by the West Torrens council, commercial contributions through public-private partnerships, state sporting associations, and the state and federal governments.

A BOLD master plan to revive South Australia's horse racing industry has been revealed, based around a dramatic transformation of the Morphettville track.

The $20 million upgrade of Allan Scott Park – drawing inspiration from courses in Hong Kong, Dubai, Singapore and Ascot – aims to coax back a public that has deserted the sport in the past decade.

SA Jockey Club chief executive Steve Ploubidis said the redevelopment would include a new betting ring, track lighting for night racing, upgraded corporate, owners' and trainers' facilities, and a synthetic all-weather training track.

And in what he believes to be a world first, Mr Ploubidis said entry to the betting ring would be free, with views of the mounting yard.

The groundbreaking move is being closely monitored by racing clubs across Australia, which may duplicate it, if it proves successful.

The full plans and drawings will be presented to SAJC members during a special meeting on October 28.

The overhaul is being bankrolled by the $85 million sale of Cheltenham Racecourse this year – on an advance of the expected funds.

Mr Ploubidis said the plan would dramatically change the face of racing in SA and would reclaim the state's spot as a racing stronghold.

"It gives you a new lease on life," he said.

The key plank of the redevelopment was positioning racing in the entertainment business, he said.

That would increase the racing industry's ability to make money – which would be used to offer more prizemoney and the return of bigger races to SA.

In recent years, SA has slipped to fifth in the pecking order of racing behind Victoria, NSW, Queensland and Western Australia.

The ultimate insult was the downgrading of the Adelaide Cup to Group 2 status, along with the fiasco over the mothballed Victoria Park track.

"Racing all over the world is facing some serious challenges," Mr Ploubidis said.

"From the Diva Lounge, which is basically a nightclub at the track, to the convention centre – we didn't necessarily build all of this for racing. It's about entertainment and that's the industry we're in.

"You look at Flemington (in Melbourne) . . . it's a supermarket approach and for people to pre-purchase tickets the way they do.

"Our sole aim is to further improve our revenue stream, provide more for our patrons and ultimately continue to increase prizemoney."

He likened the change in SA racing to the development of football in Victoria – with the key word being "consolidation". Main features of the redevelopment include:

• * AN enclosed, climate-controlled betting ring with views of the mounting yard featuring multiple plasma TV screens, bars and food outlets. Entry will be free.
  * A PERMANENT double-storey trackside function facility. Worth more than $2.5 million, it will negate the need to hire temporary structures for big race meetings.
  * DOUBLING the size of the chairman's room, the most sought-after spot at the races.
  * PROVISION of lighting for night racing, which is likely to be scheduled in a combined effort by all states.
  * A SYNTHETIC all-weather training track and a new 25m-wide grass track inside the main track.
  * A TRAINERS' and owners' room on level one of the grandstand, looking over the mounting yard in a bid to reward horse ownership which has been singled out as the core growth area of racing.
  * A REVAMPED members' area on the second floor, which will provide a pillar-less ballroom accommodating up to 1500 people.

Mr Ploubidis said the range of initiatives could one day bring the return of Group 1 status for the Adelaide Cup.

"The end result could be that, with more prizemoney attracting better horses," Mr Ploubidis said.

"This is all about increasing revenue and profitability, which will bring an increase in prizemoney." The new training track is expected to be finished within a fortnight, while the whole redevelopment should come after next year's Adelaide Cup.

The SAJC has made arrangements to ensure race meetings will not be disrupted during the extensive building works.

Mr Ploubidis also predicted some of the state's 20-odd country and provincial clubs would struggle to survive as more consolidation took place in the industry.