Row heats up as Libs unveil stadium plan
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/798 ... adium-plan
By Larine Statham
South Australia's Liberal opposition has fired the latest volley in the row over the choice between a new hospital and a sports stadium for a key site.
The Liberals want to use Adelaide's disused rail yards for a new stadium and entertainment precinct, releasing detailed plans on Monday.
The Labor government has already earmarked the site for the Adelaide's new central hospital, which will be called the Royal Adelaide after plans to call it the Marjorie Jackson-Nelson Hospital were dropped.
The issue is expected to be a highlight of the next state election.
"This is one of the best pieces of the River (Torrens)...but it's denied to the public of South Australia because of its ugly rail yards and it's very difficult to access," opposition leader Martin Hamilton-Smith told reporters.
Mr Hamilton-Smith said the proposed entertainment precinct would transform the city.
It would include an amphitheatre, entertainment centre, restaurants, cafes, a science and technology centre as well as the multi-use sports stadium.
It would take between 15 and 20 years to complete with the Liberals refusing to outline what the project would cost, except to say that they would seek financial support from the commonwealth, sporting organisations, private enterprise and taxpayers.
"If you want to ... transform this city, this is the site to do it - it is the wrong place for a hospital," Mr Hamilton-Smith said.
"This is a plan for jobs, this is a plan for a new Adelaide after this global downturn.
"This will be the most significant infrastructure development this city has seen in the modern era."
However, South Australian Premier Mike Rann criticised the lack of costing detail for the Liberal proposal and said the Liberal party had already flagged several different sites as potential locations for the hospital.
"It's been more like an ambulance than a hospital," he told ABC Radio.
"It's had more positions than the Karma Sutra."
Mr Hamilton-Smith said the opposition believed Adelaide would be better served by redeveloping the Royal Adelaide Hospital on its current site.
He also pledged to release detailed costing on all Liberal proposals before the next poll, due in March 2010.