Food and beverage prices at Adelaide Oval will go up in 2020
Want a beer at Adelaide Oval at next year’s AFL season? It is likely to cost even more.
City
Don't miss out on the headlines from City. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Adelaide Oval food and drink prices rise (the previous time)
- How to get the most out of your Advertiser subscription
The price of beer and food at Adelaide Oval is set to jump even higher to help cover the cost of falling attendances at AFL matches.
Stadium Management Authority chairman Kevin Scarce today told a parliamentary inquiry that a “poor on-field performance” by the Crows and Port Adelaide had contributed to a 50,000 drop in football attendances this season.
The authority is now looking at food and beverage price rises for 2020, however, the amount of the increases will not be known until November.
SMA chief executive Andrew Daniels said price jumps were inevitable.
“The reality is that a fabulous asset like the Adelaide Oval is incredibly expensive … to run (and) to upkeep, so we have to maintain it to the standard SA requires,” Mr Daniels told the inquiry into the Oval’s 128-room hotel.
“All sporting facilities suffer from good years and bad years. What we hope is Port and Crows have much better years next year.”
Adelaide Oval had the most expensive mid-strength beer and burgers of any AFL venue this year.
Fans were slugged $9 a pint for mid-strength beer, up 10c on last year’s prices.
Opposition treasury spokesman Stephen Mullighan said fans would be disappointed with further rises.
“For a round of beers and a bucket of hot chips we are already above $50 — it looks like it will become even more expensive now to enjoy a day at the football,” Mr Mullighan said.
Stream over 50 sports live and on demand with KAYO SPORTS. Just $25/month, no lock-in contract. Get your 14-day free trial and start streaming instantly.
“We heard today attendances at Adelaide Oval are down. Perhaps the SMA should consider whether the exorbitant cost of feeding a family at the ground is hurting attendances.”
The Oval Hotel, which will cost $42 million, was labelled a way of “diversifying” the authority’s revenue streams.
Planning Minister Stephan Knoll said the hotel would help keep costs down, including the price of food and beverage.
“Another argument about why we need to support a hotel on the Adelaide Oval site is to make sure that the SMA is not just reliant on food and beverage sales, that they have another revenue stream in the form accommodation that will help them balance the books more easily,” Mr Knoll said.
MORE NEWS
Adelaide targeted by Melbourne investment fund
$13m wetlands plan to help fix the dirty Torrens
Ban the booze and cut the food
The hotel will include a five-level building extending from the eastern stand.
The project is on budget and on track to be open by September 2020.
The inquiry heard SACA and the SANFL would walk away with most of the profits from the hotel.
Mr Daniels said profits would first go towards paying back the authority’s $42 million loan to the State Government.
A guaranteed $600,000 per year would be put into Adelaide Oval maintenance, and the remaining profits would be split evenly between the SANFL and SACA.