Adelaide Hills footy league slams ‘poorly run’ $23m Mount Barker Summit oval

The Hills oval was lauded during the AFL footy festival but has been engulfed in controversy after the local club said it was being forced to abandon the facility.

A local council has little understanding of the needs of its community sporting clubs and a new state-of-the-art $23m Hills facility will be under used after its town’s footy side moved out, according to the local footy league.

Mount Barker council has little understanding of the needs of its community sporting clubs leaving a new $23m Hills facility under used, according to the local footy league.

The Mount Barker Football Club announced it would be moving its home games away from the state-of-the-art venue, opting to invest in fixing up its old home ground.

Hills Football League president Joanne Purdie said the Mount Barker council’s licence fee and charges were unsustainable and had doubts other community leagues or clubs could afford them.

“Certainly not without being able to secure a major sponsor with associated naming rights to the venue, which required approvals from council to do so,” she said.

She said the HFL had concerns about the venue’s shortcomings and feared it would become underused, or at best nothing more than a training venue.

Mount Barker oval which is going to host an AFL game during Gather Round in South Australia. Picture: Nathan Baldwin,

“While the venue was centre stage during Gather Round, much of the infrastructure was bump-in and has not remained in place,” she said.

“The site has been poorly managed by the Mount Barker council’s SSRP Board and the lack of consultation with community football clubs in the Hills demonstrates that they don’t understand how HFL clubs operate.”

Ms Purdie confirmed that the HFL held a licence during 2022 for the use of The Summit oval for six months of the year (April to October), but the league found it didn’t have the demand for use of the oval from its clubs outside of the Mount Barker Football Club.

“Other HFL clubs used it for occasional training use during the months of July and August but nobody else wanted to host matches at the site on a Saturday as it was a logistic nightmare,” she said.

The HFL terminated their licence prior to the commencement of the 2023 football season.

“We have to act in the best financial interests of the league as a whole and maintaining the licence would have caused the league to incur financial losses,” she said.

Ms Purdie said issues with The Summit complex meant the league couldn’t even use the neutral venue for HFL finals.

“We received negative feedback last year on social media when we announced the venue for the grand final as being the Nairne Bremer Football Club,” she said.

Gather Round action between Brisbane and North Melbourne at The Summit Sport and Recreation Complex this year. Picture: Brett Hartwig

“There were comments made such as ‘why not use The Summit, isn‘t it the home of HFL’ – people didn’t realise that it wasn’t fit for purpose until we explained’.

“The major issues are a lack of fencing, carparking and spectator seating – HFL finals attract large crowds for finals and without the ability to secure the site, ticketing and payment from spectators becomes impossible.”

Ms Purdie said it was little wonder the local club was leaving with the reoccuring casual rate charges, as she understood were prohibitive for regular use by any HFL clubs.

Council’s fees and charges for 2023-24 have The Summit Sport and Recreation Park building adjacent to the oval, with access to upstairs area including kitchen and toilets, at $80 per hour and the football oval including changerooms at $70 per hour with a $35 fee for lighting per booking.

“HFL footy clubs operate on a volunteer basis and are not for profit, so their discretionary spend is not at a point that would be able to sustain those rates,” Ms Purdie said.

“Clubs generate income through the gate takings and their catering revenue in the canteen and the bar, taking that away from them would risk those community venues remaining viable … the loss of one home round makes a huge difference to these clubs.”

Mount Barker Mayor David Leach at Mount Barker oval which is going to host an AFL game during Gather Round in South Australia. Picture: Nathan Baldwin

On Tuesday, Mount Barker Mayor David Leach defended council’s management of the oval and said the facility was never intended to be a home ground for one club.

Yesterday, the Mount Barker District Council released a statement after the fall out from Mount Barker Football club’s decision.

“Council heavily subsidises the cost of operating and maintaining all sections of The Summit Sport and Recreation Park so that the facilities are accessible and affordable to local clubs in the district and region,” the statement said.

“We encourage all winter sports across the region to book the use of the SSRP with council for either training or games so that they can experience the exceptional playing surface of one of the best grounds in the region.”