Adelaide Oval launching grandstand roof climb tours to take tourism to new heights
ADELAIDE Oval visitors will from March enjoy an experience that will take them to whole new heights, modelled on those at famous overseas arenas.
ADELAIDE Oval visitors will be able to walk atop its renowned grandstands from March, when stadium operators launch climbing tours modelled on those at famous overseas arenas.
RoofClimb Adelaide Oval is pitched as providing patrons with “a breathtaking climb adventure that will take them to the very top of Adelaide’s famous icon”, in day and night tours.
Patrons will walk atop the western and Riverbank stands, taking in unrivalled views of the Adelaide CBD, suburbs and surrounding parklands.
The Stadium Management Authority, which will operate and fund the business without public money, has examined similar operations at London’s O2 arena and Dublin’s Croke Park stadium.
RoofClimb patrons will don jump suits and be attached by ropes and harnesses to rooftop safety cables, and be guided by professional climbing instructors. A new bridge, at the stadium’s southwest corner, will connect the stands.
Stadium Management Authority chairman John Olsen said the exciting initiative would elevate the Oval and South Australia even further in the national and international tourism scene.
“Around 2.5 million people have come through the Adelaide Oval’s gates since its redevelopment, now we’re going to offer people the chance to literally take their Oval experience to new heights,” said Mr Olsen, a former state premier.
“This will be something you will want to share with your friends, your loved ones, something you’ll want to tell the grandkids, that you climbed the famous Adelaide Oval.”
Tour participants will meet at a RoofClimb centre office, just inside the southern gates, then ascend to the western stand rooftop via a central lift well and staircase.
Existing maintenance walkways will be expanded and others added to enable panoramic views of the Oval and surrounds.
The tour will initially head north along the western stand, then reverse south, crossing over the new walkway to the Riverbank stand, where they will walk along an existing walkway at the front of the roof. A small deck will be built in this walkway’s centre, allowing patrons spectacular views over the Oval.
Since reopening in 2013, Adelaide Oval has attracted more than 60,000 people to tours and a further 200,000 to functions and events.
Day and night tours at the O2 arena, in southeast London, take participants up to 52m high for views of historic Greenwich, Canary Wharf and the Olympic Park.
Similarly, Croke Park rooftop visitors ascend to a 44m-high, 600m walkway, taking five stops to view key landmarks of the Irish capital.
Prices for the RoofClimb Adelaide Oval tours and other details will be revealed from 12.30pm on the www.roofclimb.com.au website. The O2 climbs costs between $60 and $75, while Croke Park costs about $42.