[COM] Adelaide Oval Redevelopment

[Hooligan]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010 ... ion=justin

South Australia's Premier says he kept some details of his just-ended overseas trip a secret because he did not want other states pinching his ideas.

Mike Rann arrived back in Adelaide on Sunday from a solo trip to London and New York.

He says it cost $15,000 and he used it to lobby for a variety of events.

"I'm bidding for a sporting contest here which will be a fantastic international event, but if I give away what I'm doing then Melbourne will pinch it," he said.

Mr Rann says he also has an arts event in his sights and does not want eastern states to grab it first.

The Premier says he was also working to organise more thinkers-in-residence for South Australia.

He said he had meetings about defence, infrastructure and renewable energy.

Meanwhile, Mr Rann has given a guarantee the SA Government will not spend more than $535 million from state coffers on the Adelaide Oval redevelopment.

He previously gave such an assurance on the $450 million announced before the SA election.

The Government has since committed an extra $85 million, citing a blowout in costs.

Mr Rann has vowed there will be no further money from the SA Government.

"Cabinet is absolutely firm in its resolve that not one cent above $535 million will be spent, so here we go again - I'll make this very, very clear - we've announced the figure of $535 million. There'll be not one cent spent more than that," he said.

New concept designs for the proposed Oval redevelopment will be released on Friday.

[crawf]

I wonder what this new arts events and international sporting competition are?

[spiller]

"Cabinet is absolutely firm in its resolve that not one cent above $535 million will be spent, so here we go again - I'll make this very, very clear - we've announced the figure of $535 million. There'll be not one cent spent more than that," he said.

lol i can't believed he used the "not one cent more" line for a second time. priceless!

[Prince George]

I wonder what this new arts events and international sporting competition are?

Ooh, I think I know

400+ Bugs Killed in Record-Breaking Mosquito Hunt

If watching the World Cup isn't satisfying your love of sport, folks in Estonia have developed a game that may give you a new itch to scratch. Recently, thirty-seven brave participants gathered on a field in the city of Tartu to compete in a record-breaking mosquito-hunting championship. Not afraid to take their lumps, the competitors had 10 minutes to capture or kill as many of the winged-bloodsuckers as possible.

Working individually or in teams of up to three people, the participants were allotted space on the lawn to be their hunting ground. The strategies for catching the mosquitoes were varied: some folks tried to make themselves more alluring to their prey by shedding their shirts, while others waited with open palms to pick them off in flight.

When it was all said and done, at least 400 mosquitoes were sent to that great exposed forearm in the sky. The solo winner, apparent expert mosquito-hunter Rauno Luksepp, nabbed 38 of them all by himself, while the winningest team struck down 81. According to the Tartu Postimees, the winners will be awarded with a cruise on a lake in Estonia.

The competition resulted in the breaking of a mosquito-hunting world record. In Finland, where apparently the sport has a rich history, a record of eight mosquitoes killed in two minutes was set a while back. According to Reuters, the Estonians managed to top that.

To counter critics who might object to the mosquito hunt, contest organizers insist it's all in good fun. "We do not want to use the word 'kill'," one said, hinting that insects captured alive are eligible to be counted as well. Considering that a single bat can consume 600 mosquitoes an hour, however, just goes to show that the insects have little to fear when it comes to human predators.

While the mosquito hunt will have a negligible impact the insect population, it comes at a time when the bloodsuckers continue to wreak havoc in many parts of the world. Heavier than normal rains and unseasonably high temperatures contribute to a rise in the insect's numbers--carrying with it a greater risk of mosquito-borne diseases like malaria and dengue.

[Wayno]

AdelaideNow has Andrew Demitriou live (online) at 3:30pm this afternoon - probably related to the AO redevelopment proposal. See the banner on the homepage ==> http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/

[deano91]

It doesn't sound like it will be anything to do with AO, while waiting for the press conference to start they were saying they think it will be with some form of bailout solution for Port Adelaide.

UPDATE - The announcement is for a $5mil injection into PAFC and what he was saying is that the AFL is very confident that the redevelopment of AO will go ahead.

[rhino]

From ABC on line:

Redmond says parking to add $35m to Oval costs
Updated June 17, 2010 15:18:00

Opposition says $35m car park will add to Oval costs (Stateline South Australia)
Video: $535m is top price for Oval plan: Rann (7pm TV News SA) Map: Adelaide 5000 Related Story: SA budget in trouble, says Opposition
Related Story: Rann lobbies for 'secret' sports event
Opposition Leader Isobel Redmond says a $35 million car park is planned for Adelaide Oval, further increasing the likely cost of a proposed redevelopment.

Ms Redmond has met AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou and the SANFL's Leigh Whicker for an update on the Oval project.

She says the stadium will cost more than the $535 million the SA Government has earmarked when the extras are taken into account.

"We have concern now that in addition to the stadium $535 million there'll be $38 million for the footbridge across to the city which is an intrinsic part of the parking because everyone's going to have to walk across from parking areas in the city and then the building of an undercover park under the western cricket oval at another $35 million or thereabouts for car parking at that site," she said.

Ms Redmond says the football executives told her a public-private partnership was being considered to build the car park.

Back from overseas this week, Premier Mike Rann vowed that $535 million was the limit on the Government's contribution to the Oval plan.

"Cabinet is absolutely firm in its resolve that not one cent above $535 million will be spent, so here we go again - I'll make this very, very clear - we've announced the figure of $535 million. There'll be not one cent spent more than that," he said.

New concept designs are due to be released on Friday.

[skyliner]

looking forward to seeing the designs. No doubt another furor will occur - possibly causing another cost rise. Will have to wait and see.

SA - STATE ON THE MOVE

[flavze]

looking forward to seeing the designs. No doubt another furor will occur - possibly causing another cost rise. Will have to wait and see.

SA - STATE ON THE MOVE

if what Rucci wrote today is true it will be very interesting to see the drawings for the Northern end especially.

[stumpjumper]

Between them, SACA, AFL/SANFL and the SA government have managed to create such a confused balls-up of what should be a reasonably straightforward brief - to provide a decent sports arena for Adelaide - that comment is almost impossible, given the mass of contradictory information and half-told intentions they've spread around. Truly, these guys could not organise a beer in a brewery, let alone anything more exciting. I wouldn't employ them to install a hole in the ground. So far be it from me to say anything.

Off topic - world heritage listing of the Adelaide Parklands would not affect most people or businesses in Adelaide, yet could be a goldmine. Parklands may not turn everyone on, but there are a lot of cultural tourists roaming around the globe looking for destinations. We tend to take the Adelaide Park Lands for granted, but in world and historic terms they have no equal in urban planning. They are a unique survival of an incredible 19th century experiment in creating from scratch the perfect society (that worked well...) by providing the perfect urban structure.

Properly exploited, a world heritage listing can provide superb returns. The following is from a UNESCO paper on leveraging world heritage listing delivered in Georgetown, Malaysia - an otherwise unremarkable Asian city distinguished by a unusually well-laid out city plan (designed by the city's founder Captain Francis Light, father of Colonel William Light) with its original Georgian ambience largely intact. Not fascinating to everyone, but there are a lot of tourists in the world. Georgetown is a sister city to Adelaide.

Here's a description of what World Heritage listing has done for an otherwise out of the way place.

"The impact of becoming a World Heritage site on tourism is clear. For instance, in the town of Hoi An in central Viet Nam, there was a significant increase in tourist arrivals after the site was inscribed on the World Heritage List in December 1999. Tourism arrivals immediately jumped by 24 percent in 2000 and by then again by 82 percent in 2001. After the first five years, tourism arrivals had tripled, from 160,000 visitors in 1999 to almost 600,000 in 2004. This included gains in both domestic as well as international visitors.
Concomitantly, the revenue attributable to tourism in Hoi An also increased in the same period, from about US$2 million in 1999 to over US$15 million in 2004, both in terms of tourism services and production and sales of related goods."

There are literally tens of millions of tourists wandering around the world at any one time, looking for places to go and spend money. If we stopped worshipping and giving up land to every developer regardless of quality who lobs in here and looked to the renewable resource of tourism, we might all live better.

[Nathan]

Maybe if all the parklands were of high quality - but while 75% of the parklands are brown scrubland, I can't see it being worth much to 'cultural tourists'.

Anyways, back on topic.

[stumpjumper]

Given the benefits that could accrue from the Park Lands, it might just be worth renovating the asset.

As you say, back on topic.

[stumpjumper]

A few simple questions:

If we go ahead with the '$535 million' development at the Adelaide Oval, having pared down the design to keep within the budget, an easy task according to football manager Paul Demetriou, then who pays if the cost blows out?

What happens if we get the World Cup in 2022, and if the federal government tosses $200 million at the project? Do we redesign it? Or should we not start it until after the 2022 decision, just in case? But then the cost will be harder to estimate, and our $535 million will buy less anyway, maybe about 20% less...

It's not easy.

[AtD]

Adelaide oval parking: Your local train station. $35m saved.

[Will]

The final plans have been released!

From the Advertiser:

New plans for Adelaide Oval stadium rebuild released

MICHAEL McGUIRE From: The Advertiser June 17, 2010 8:53PM









THIS is the first look at the face of a rebuilt Adelaide Oval. The image is of the view of the oval's new southern stand, which spectators will reach on a new footbridge and through a plaza to be built over War Memorial Drive.
The Advertiser was the first to see the designs, which have been more than six months in the making, and further details will be released today by the Stadium Management Authority.

The footbridge, which is not part of the $535 million budgeted to rebuild Adelaide Oval, will stretch from the Festival Centre to the new plaza.

It is expected as many as 20,000 fans could use the footbridge in one evening when the stadium hosts big games.

No roof has been planned for the Memorial Drive Tennis Centre, but there are plans to house an equivalent of the Crows Shed in a new indoor cricket training centre to be built behind the tennis complex.

The designs are for a 50,000-seat stadium - despite speculation the oval's seating capacity would need to be reduced to meet the project's $535 million budget.

Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
Related CoverageAndrew Demetriou: Move to Oval or perish
.End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
After more than six months of frantic activity, political bluster and controversy over the increase in the project's budget, the Stadium Management Authority's Ian McLachlan and Leigh Whicker will today hold a media conference to outline the size, scope and design of the project.

The SMA has until August 31 to determine whether cricket and football can live together at the revamped oval. Many questions remain unresolved including the SMA business model, how much the project will finally cost and car parking.

In an interview for tomorrow's SA Weekend , Mr McLachlan and Mr Whicker refused to make predictions on the odds of the two bodies finding a harmonious position after almost 40 years of division. They maintained they were committed to making the project a success.

"We have done this on the basis of trying to manufacture an outcome," Mr Whicker said. "The end result will take care of itself and will be the result of diligent and clear thinking work by the SMA."

Mr McLachlan also said he believed Sir Donald Bradman, who was at the centre of the dispute in the 1970s that saw football leave Adelaide Oval to build its own stadium at West Lakes, would have approved of the game's return to the city.

"He was in favour of the Bradman stand and it wasn't even going to be called the Bradman stand then. He said, `Look, times change, you have to get on with it'," Mr McLachlan said.

Stadium architect Darryl Jackson, who also designed Etihad Stadium and the new northern and southern stands at the MCG, said the $535 million budget was achievable.

Opposition Leader Isobel Redmond yesterday again raised questions about the final cost of the stadium.

She claimed a new car park was being planned for the Adelaide Oval No.2 ground which would add another $35 million.