Adelaide Railway Station dining hall to become SkyCity casino sports bar as part of $330m redevelopment

A WORLD-CLASS sports bar at the Adelaide train station will help Adelaide become a global destination, casino operator SkyCity Entertainment believes.

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A DINING hall that once graced the main concourse of the Adelaide Railway Station will be converted into a mecca for Adelaide sports fans as part of the $330 million redevelopment of Adelaide Casino.

Casino operator SkyCity Entertainment will spend $6 million revitalising the site into a “world class” sports bar, inspired by the style of bars made popular across the US, to cater for visitors including train commuters and Adelaide Oval match day crowds.

Adelaide Casino general manager Luke Walker said a local designer had been engaged to progress plans for the bar, which will open to the public in October.

“We think Adelaide needs an international calibre sports bar and we’re going through the design phase for that at the moment,” he said.

“If you think of the way they do it in the United States, they do the sports bar really, really well, and we’re going to do an authentic Adelaide version of that.

The Adelaide Railway Station Overland Dining Room as it once appeared. Picture: Supplied

“In keeping with us being an international destination by 2020 – not just Adelaide but the casino as well – we believe an international standard sports bar down in that space is the best fit. We’ve got some really cool concepts that we’d like to release early in the new year.”

The former dining hall is beneath the casino’s marble hall, on the concourse level of the railway station. It opened in 1928, and was described in The Advertiser at the time as “one of the finest in Australia”.

“It’s been used as storage for years and years but when you walk through it there’s some beautiful heritage features in there and it's quite a big space – it’s nearly 1000sq m,” Mr Walker said. “It hasn’t seen the light of day for decades so what we’re looking at doing is bringing it back to life.

“It’s a dead space at the moment ... you’ve got 15,000 commuters a day, you’ve got game days at the oval so an average of 40,000-45,000 people, you’ve got the Convention Centre and we have 35,000 visitors a week as well, so with all that critical mass of people around a sports bar would do really well down there.”

Adelaide Casino general manager Luke Walker at the casino. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

Mr Walker said the final designs would be completed early in the new year, with construction due to start in July.

EXPANSION UPDATE

Meanwhile, tenders for construction of SkyCity’s $330 million expansion closed last week, with the successful builder set to be announced in February.

Three tier 1 builders, including Hansen Yuncken and Multiplex, are in the running for the contract, which will be awarded in the new year ahead of project commencement in March.

Adelaide Casino general manager Luke Walker said the project remained on track for completion in the middle of 2020.

He said disruption caused by construction works at the Riverbank precinct was being managed through a number of initiatives, including by rebranding Station Road to Station Lane - the casino’s own laneway with a series of food and beverage outlets.

“It has been difficult operating but what we’re doing is rolling out a number of initiatives to mitigate that and it’s mainly for us been around food and beverage activation,” he said.

“Backyard Bar has morphed into Cricketers Arms - we did that in time for the summer and that will stay there until the head contractor takes over.”

“We’re not just waiting for the expansion to be opened in two and a half years. For that to relaunch the casino and create its position as an international destination, all of these food and beverage activations along the way will bring the building to life between now and then.”

Last month, Todd Roydhouse joined the casino as food and beverage manager after a stint in Dubai working in senior management roles with the InterContinental Hotel Group.

He will help shape the casino’s plans for three new signature restaurants, a function and events space catering for 750 people and a range of new bars throughout the precinct.

While bullish about Adelaide’s tourism economy, Mr Walker said there were a number of proposals that should be progressed to capitalise on the growing market.

He supports the Downer group’s light rail proposal to link Adelaide Airport with the city, and has written to the Adelaide City Council outlining the casino’s support for a helipad in the CBD.

“If you look at our competitors around the country they’ve got access to helicopter facilities very close for their high end clients so it would definitely be an asset for the town,” he said.

“In my last employment (Crown Melbourne) we used it daily.”

Another missing piece is the city’s lack of high end accommodation, Mr Walker said, which the casino is capitalising on with its plans for a 123-room luxury hotel.

The hotel will feature a “hero suite” for visiting celebrities, heads of state and dignitaries and will be branded with a new name by April.

“The luxury accommodation that Adelaide desperately needs, that suite of bars and restaurants, the function and events, the day spa, the pool - I think there’s a really nice addition to Adelaide’s accommodation sector,” Mr Walker said.