Now with Beer Garden for our smoking patrons.
Too many of Adelaide's premier venues/facilities are too far from the city centre. The proposed swimming centre is just the latest addition to a long list.
AAMI Stadium is one such venue. A 50,000 seat stadium and is miles out of the city where there is not much transport servicig it and nothing around it. While West Lakes is a nice area it is nothing more than suburbia. Not where the city's premier sporting arena should be.
Would Melbourne ever do such a thing as build a premier stadium well out into the suburbs? Well they did, it was called Waverley Park and they realised the mistake and demolished it in preference for a city arena.
Adelaide has a brilliantly located arena in the heart of the city - Adelaide Oval. Yet it doesn't get used nearly as much as it should. And that is mainly due to the fact it is virtually a museum, a relic, and people are too scared to bring it into the 21st century. People are too scared that modernising the venue and increasing capacity will ruin it. Well despite the fact that it looks shocking now anyway with the new eastern stands modern does not have to mean ugly. The MCG is a hallowed arena, like Adelaide Oval, but unlike Adelaide Oval, the MCG has been constantly improved and is still relevant for more than two or three events a year. The MCG is considered a greater venue than Adelaide Oval, and that's because it has moved with the times. I'm all for preserving heritage and I'm sure something could be done tastefully. Imagine this - the facade of the western stand of Adelaide Oval kept as part of a new larger grandstand. A large grandstand that joins all the way around the oval. Some might ask "what about the beautiful view of the Cathedral, or the Adelaide skyline? Won't grandstands block the wonderful views Adelaide Oval currently enjoys?". Well my answer is to design something that incorporates all that is good about Adelaide Oval currently. Picture a grandstand circling Adelaide Oval, but with a large gap where the cathedral is, which at night would be lit up beautifully. Picture a grandstand that dips in height at the southern end to allow in the view of the city skyline from inside the stadium. A 50,000 seat stadium that would be beautiful, modern and functional, right in the heart of our little city. A night of AFL football would attract 40,000 to games on a regular basis. Imagine the city population increasing by 40,000. We're talking about probably doubling the amount of people that are in the city at such times currently. And unlike West Lakes, people will have something to do, somewhere to go, afterwards. The city and the traders/venues would benefit immensely. As would the general atmosphere and vibrancy. Adelaide needs all the help it can get in that department.
Now on to some other venues (sorry I got a bit carried away
). The Entertainment Centre and Hindmarsh Stadium. They are close to the city, but not close enough. They should be in the city if possible. For many of the same reasons I've mentioned above. Not only to draw people into the city. But because the city also far better caters for public transport and parking facilities. As close as these venues are to the city they are not really walking distance.I've seen it mentioned before (as recently as last week by Rex Jory I think it was) but the area above the traintracks on North Terrace is a prime development area, as was the area alongside Sir Donald Bradman Drive near where the train tracks are, but has since been used for a small athletics stadium. An ideal location for an Entertainment Centre would perhaps be along West Terrace somewhere near Grote Street.
It is frustrating that such venues in Adelaide are always built so far away from the city. It is no wonder that Adelaide's transport culture gives such a high priority to cars, and the city centre itself is not always the hub, or hive of activity that it should be. Having such venues so far from downtown Adelaide (to use an American term) really undermines the city itself.
So in my opinion Adelaide has really made some big errors with locating the above mentioned venues and with the latest announcement of a new swimming facility to be constructed at Marion I wonder whether this trend will ever change, let alone be rectified.
