#PRO: New Royal Adelaide Hospital | $1.7b

[Howie]

Well to be fair to him Norman, it's both a hospital and a stadium.

[bm7500]

Hmm, A Smaller Marj = More room for a 'South Bank' type precinct

[rhino]

This hi-lights one of the big problems governments have with announcements. People say they want a plan, but they want all the details up front. If all the details are not delivered, they complain that the Government doesn't really know what it's doing, so an announcement is made re what they would like to do. Then the nitty gritty planning starts, and the original announcement is proved to be not quite what the final outcome will be, and then we get "But you said..."

This is all part of running the state, and MHS knows this, but is out to get the most mileage out of it that he can. It's a tool for him - a tool for a tool. It's important that the rest of us realize what's going on. There's a lot of calling for a plan on these boards, but we have to recognise that if we want plans that are set in stone, we're going to have to wait a lot longer for them. If we can accept that the plan will evolve over time, then it's all cool.

[Kazza27]

What staggers me with all of the debate going on about the "Marj" (horrible name, shortened or full), as well as any stadium, is that the Rann Government is taking a huge gamble that South Australians will not vote at the next election on the mandate of a hospital vs a stadium/s. The relality, whether we like it or not, is that voters WILL vote on topical issues that they believe affects them today (regardless of how frivilous the Government thinks this is) and if you throw just a little emotion into the mix, such as Commonwealth Games, Soccer World Cup Finals, Concerts, AFL, etc., people will vote accordingly. It's a point of local pride. I am sure Martin Hamilton-Smith is banking on this emotion.

Looking at this whole railway yard precinct issue apolitically:

1. We already have a reasonable hospital, in a great location for patients; that is, next to the Botanical Gardens. Surely transforming it into a brilliant, world class hospital must cost less than building a totally new hospital. Has anyone really done the sums? Perhaps someone could speak with Gordon Pickard's people; look no further than the Air Apartments on Greenhill Road to see what is possible; remember the ESTA Building?
2. AAMI Stadium is in a poor location, with serious transport infrastructue upgrades required to justify its existence at West Lakes. Coupled with this, the fact that the stadium's design is basically an "old design", means that throwing any money at any upgrade will have a limited benefit, short of virtually rebuilding it. Combine all of these points with the fact that the land where AAMI stands must be quite valuable to developers, means that emotions set aside, this stadium should go completely. I would suggest that most of the residents of West Lakes would applaude such a move. Has anyone spoken to any major developers to see whether a deal can be brokered; that is, we give you the land in and around AAMI and you build us a World Class Stadium/s?
3. Ditto for Hindmarsh Stadium.
4. In my mind, the Adelaide Railyards are a less than perfect site for a hospital, as it seems far removed from where a hospital should be. Regardless of how good the design of the physical hospital is, it simply does not feel right and a hospital should be a place of healing, right? Placing it next to the noise of a railway line on one side, North Terrace on the other and the aircraft flight plan above, simply does not make a lot of sense. Once again, has anyone done any noise studies on all of this?
5. On the other hand, as a river fronted commercial precinct, which could house offices, appartments, waterside cafes, a casino (yes, move it away from the wonderful, but spoiled Adelaide Railway Station) and of course one or more multi use stadiums, the location is perfect. Transport infrastructure in the way of trams, buses, and trains is virtually there already, with minimal added cost required. Add the ability to design riverside access east and west for bikes, as well as car parking for weekday use and as weekend activities are all a bonus for enticing people into the CBD's under utilised West Side. In addition, these structures could be designed as a hub for solar power generation, catchment of rainwater, means that we can develop a multi use, self sustaining precinct that is used all year round for all South Australians. We could even link North Adelaide via walkway bridges over the Torrens!

At the end of the day, isn't this what urban development is all about? Just a few thoughts.

[Norman]

Well to be fair to him Norman, it's both a hospital and a stadium.

Yes, but can we afford both? If he's complaining about the cost of a hospital alone, what would the figures be for both?

[aussie2000]

i don't know why the media uses Hospital vs Stadium all the time, it should be Stadium vs no Stadium, Liberal are not just going to not do anything about the hospital situation, they are going to redevelop the RAH which will probably look like a new hospital once its done anyway.

However im still voting Labour, but only in state, I hate RUDD!!!

[Ben]

Very Sensible decison IMO:

Mike Rann drops Marjorie Jackson-Nelson name for new Adelaide hospital

February 18, 2009 02:15pm

THE State Government has dumped its name for Adelaide's new hospital because of "negative commentary", Premier Mike Rann has announced in a stunning backflip.

Mr Rann has just told Parliament that the Marjorie Jackson-Nelson name had been abandoned in favour of the old Royal Adelaide Hospital tag.

He claimed that attacks on the hospital had effectively been "deeply personal" attacks on the former Governor and Olympian.

[Shuz]

Halleujah.

[waz94]

This is an embarassment for the RANN government. Expect the Libs to run with this one for the next few days.
I wonder if the Mike RANN Memorial Hospital as a name had been touted.

[skyliner]

Halleujah.

Amen!

ADELAIDE - TOWARDS A GREATER CITY SKYLINE

[Professor]

Hi from Port Moresby

Great news that it will now be called the RAH. It will be a much better greenfield site than trying to rebuild and now that the silly name has been dropped I just hope that they get on with it.

It would also be good if they did something special with the existing RAH land, even making it a part of the Botanical gardens (after the demolition of those ugly buildings, of course).

[SRW]

It would also be good if they did something special with the existing RAH land, even making it a part of the Botanical gardens (after the demolition of those ugly buildings, of course).

It was announced some time ago that the most of the current RAH land will be turned over the the Botanic Garden, while the heritage buildings will be retained for alternative use, likely as additional facilities for the university or as cultural institutes.

[Omicron]

Despite the little saga we find ourselves in, the city shall end up with either a brand new hospital or a substantially-redeveloped one. Of all the debates that have occurred, that's not a bad one to be having. Of course, as Mono pointed out....somewhere.....it's hard to have a proper debate as observers to this issue without all the facts of the proposed building - if the medical schools and the like will be relocated, and so on.

On a side note, in the context of alternate hospital locations, I wonder how many of the buildings, fences and gates at the Keswick Barracks are heritage-listed. I'd imagine there are a few fronting Anzac Highway, but goodness knows what else is hiding in the middle of the site.

[Will]

Although I'm happy they have dropped the Marj as the name for the new hopsital, in the scheme of things this was just a trivial issue. The other issues regarding the relocation of the RAH still remain. However I wonder whether public opposition to the new hospital will now die down because of this decision?

And if the new RAH is built, I would hope the government would come up with something more creative for the old RAH site. The last thing this city needs is more parklands; don't we have enough already? Why not build something that will give tourists and locals something to do?

[Shuz]

How about a stadium on the old RAH site?