3 minute read
From the General Manager
by Boylen
The Arena – It’s a No-Brainer
IAN HORNE – AHA|SA GENERAL MANAGER
WATCH VIDEO UPDATE: https://youtu.be/3Bjg2aAE00g
From a hotel and hospitality industry perspective, the development of the Adelaide Riverbank Arena is an essential piece of infrastructure whose development must be a priority if Adelaide is to compete successfully in the new post COVID-19 world.
The promised new arena is to be first and foremost an outstanding contemporary live entertainment venue but importantly with much needed convention/ exhibition adaptability and additional capacity, that also provides unsurpassed facilities and match-day experience for professional court sports. Simply put it is a multi-faceted solution that give the greatest possible flexibility to ensure South Australia is able to bid for any and every type of business event, cultural, entertainment and commercial gathering and yes, even a range of professional court sports.
The Adelaide Riverbank Arena will significantly strengthen the Adelaide Riverbank Precinct’s competitive advantage and positioning as a world leading event, entertainment, and tourism precinct. It’s a crucial part of a bigger jigsaw puzzle that will place Adelaide as a competitive and desirable destination on par with any similar offering in the southern hemisphere, South East Asia and the world.
Just because South Australians think Adelaide is a great place to visit doesn’t make it so in the eyes of the world. Adelaide and South Australian has some massive competition from other Australian State capitals with bigger populations and easier access and a range of international destinations like Hong Kong. Singapore, New Zealand just to name a few. That’s why the Arena model as part of an expanded Adelaide Convention Centre offering is crucial.
Adelaide Riverbank Arena is a proposed 15,000-capacity multi-purpose indoor arena on the edge of Adelaide's CBD. Photo - www.austadiums.com
The Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Port Road is nearing the end of its useful life and its capacity is clearly too small to enable the world’s biggest entertainment acts to be commercially viable. It’s also completely isolated from the CBD, the riverbank and the multitude of other City attractions that make up a capital city experience.
If the Arena expansion does not proceed, Adelaide is going to increasingly miss out on more concert tours, the bigger business events and yes some outstanding professional sporting opportunities. That’s the harsh reality.
The value of national and international business events, cultural and entertainment and sporting events is a simple equation. It’s measured in greatly increased bed nights, further investment in infrastructure, greater appeal of Adelaide and South Australia as a state to invest and significant additional and permanent jobs. It’s a no-brainer.
Can we afford an expanded convention, entertainment, and sporting facility with our health system under such pressure?
Well of course we can and must.
The cost of the Arena is spread over a number of years, there will be the sale of the Port Road site and importantly the total Convention facility on the riverbank will generate significant additional annual value of around $69 million to South Australian economy when operational. Then there is the additional revenue from additional bed nights, tours, transport, and hospitality shared by a multitude of SA based services and suppliers.
The Arena is much more than a basketball court - it’s a crucial piece of infrastructure ensuring the Adelaide Convention Centre complex continues to maintain and create business activity and opportunity and so importantly additional tourism, entertainment, and business events revenue for the State Government and the tourism and hospitality industry and of course many more jobs well into the future!
It’s a no-brainer!
