Poll finds 26 per cent support for Crows takeover of Adelaide Aquatic Centre
On the eve of the Crows presenting their plan to take over the Adelaide Aquatic Centre, a poll reveals what the people of Adelaide think of their bid.
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Three in four people want the Adelaide Aquatic Centre to stay in public hands instead of being turned over to the Adelaide Crows to transform into their new headquarters, a poll has found.
The Adelaide Park Lands Preservation Association commissioned market researcher ReachTEL to run a poll of 763 people across the federal electorate of Adelaide.
The results come ahead of an Adelaide City Council meeting on Tuesday night where the Crows will present plans for a $65 million training and admin complex, which would maintain public pool access.
Of the poll options:
31 PER CENT said the council should upgrade the centre “at relatively high cost”;
17 PER CENT wanted “a smaller fit-for-purpose” public centre “at a lower cost”;
26 PER CENT wanted the council to partner with a suburban council for a new centre;
26 PER CENT said the council should offer the Crows a long-term lease to build their headquarters with a “privately-managed aquatic centre”.
Association president Shane Sody said the council’s majority faction was “totally out of step with its residents and ratepayers” by considering the Crows option, while the football club risked “alienating the majority of Adelaide residents”.
He said the Crows should consider Thebarton Oval instead.
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Asked if parts of the parklands should be “turned over to commercial redevelopments, 62 per cent of those polled said no; 30 per cent said yes. The council spent $18 million on the ageing centre over the past decade. A council report last week said investing up to $15 million more would do little to improve services or reduce its burden on ratepayers.
Deputy Lord Mayor Alex Hyde said everybody accepted the need for an aquatic centre, but the council could not pay for a full rebuild without going “substantially further” into debt.
Cr Hyde said he was happy to explore partnering with other councils or the State Government, and would “walk away” from the Crows option if its community benefit wasn’t great enough.
The Crows last week said its proposal would provide “benefits for all relevant stakeholders, including the local community”.