West Adelaide Hellas Soccer Club sued by suppliers to new stadium

One of SA’s biggest soccer clubs will unveil its new stadium on Wednesday, but a legal row has erupted over claims it failed to pay suppliers more than $100k.

Kilburn Sportsplex. Picture: Facebook

One of the state’s biggest soccer clubs will officially unveil its new stadium on Wednesday night, but a legal dispute has erupted over claims it failed to pay more than $100,000 to suppliers, despite receiving close to $6m in state government funding for the development.

West Adelaide Hellas Soccer Club - one of only three soccer clubs to represent South Australia on the national stage - played its first game at the new Kilburn Sportsplex last month and will host Adelaide United in a friendly match on Wednesday as part of an official launch event.

However two companies that worked on the stadium development are suing the club in the District Court, claiming they haven’t been paid for work completed over several years dating back as far as 2017.

Steel and precast concrete supplier HMV Structural and project management firm Carumag say West Adelaide breached contracts by not paying them for services provided during the early stages of construction.

According to their statement of claim, HMV says the club paid the company $100,000 for precast steelwork and seating supplied over the course of 2018, but still owes a further $91,400. Meanwhile Carumag is seeking $23,100 from the club over claims it failed to pay invoices issued in 2019.

One of the state’s biggest soccer club West Adelaide Hellas Soccer Club will officially unveil its new stadium tonight, but a legal dispute has erupted over claims it failed to pay more than $100,000 to suppliers. Picture: MATT LOXTON

A third group - bricklaying company Syberax - recently settled a dispute with West Adelaide over a further $51,862.69 it had previously claimed for an unpaid blockwork contract.

The legal row is the latest setback in a troubled history for the Kilburn Sportsplex facility on Churchill Rd, which has been heavily backed by the state government.

In 2021 West Adelaide was forced to implement a defect management plan after an audit uncovered a litany of safety issues at the construction site.

An independent financial investigation into the use of almost $4.8m in grants provided under the previous Weatherill Labor state government found no evidence of misappropriation. However the investigation did find the cost of the development had blown out to well in excess of $6m.

An additional $1m in state government funding was provided to complete the development following a Labor commitment made in the lead up to the 2022 election.

Lawyer Greg Griffin, who’s representing HMV and Carumag, said it was “appalling” that contractors had been left chasing money on a project backed by millions of dollars in state government funding.

“The cost of these building works have been paid for by the government with very generous grants - all the contractors should have been paid,” he said.

“Where’s the money that was given by government? I think it’s a disgrace.”

A state government spokesman said the previous investigation found the state government funding was spent “on the contracted purpose”.

“This is a legal dispute between a private club and its contractors,” he said.

West Adelaide is in the process of filing an amended defence with the court. The club declined to comment on the matter.

A directions hearing is scheduled for August 23.

Infrastructure Minister Tom Koutsantonis and Sport Minister Katrine Hildyard are expected to be among the 1500-plus crowd at Wednesday night’s official launch event.