Unley Oval upgrade long-awaited by Sturt Football Club approved by Unley Council development assessment panel
THERE’S more good news for Sturt Football Club, with a long-awaited upgrade of their home ground being approved by the local council.
- Sturt win SANFL grand final in gritty, gutsy victory
- Sturt is back from the brink and ready to be great again
- Unley Oval’s multi-million dollar revamp scaled back – again
AFTER years of planning, multiple redesigns and last-minute opposition from local residents, Unley Oval’s multi-million dollar upgrade has finally been given the green light.
Sturt Football Club was last week “extremely pleased” after Unley Council’s development assessment panel unanimously approved plans for a $2.9 million revamp of its home ground.
The upgrade includes new women’s changerooms in the Harry J McKay Stand and an internal refurbishment of the Jack Oatey Stand.
A new kiosk will also be built next to the McKay stand.
Double Blues president Jason Kilic told the Eastern Courier Messenger the upgrade would be the “biggest thing the club has done in 40 years”.
“(The council’s vote) was a common-sense decision that will benefit not only Sturt but the greater Unley community,” Mr Kilic said.
“It has been my personal vision as president for the past seven years to see this project become a reality, so this is a proud moment.”
Approval of the plan comes three years after the Double Blues unveiled designs for a $8.25 million revamp of its two grandstands, including a VIP bar.
Those plans were last year scaled back to a “more sensible” $4.6 million option – featuring a function room and club offices – before the Double Blues in June decided to split the project into two stages, focusing first on the changeroom upgrades.
The revamp last week faced opposition from local residents over concerns about the kisok “encroaching” on the oval and the “Soviet grey” colour scheme for the stands.
Friends of the City of Unley Society spokeswoman Val Nairn told the panel of the “conflict of interest” between residents who believed Unley Oval was a sporting precinct and those who considered it a public park.
“We are concerned that as more and more infrastructure is added – at the request of Sturt – less access will be available for the local community,” Mrs Nairn said.
Planning consultant Amanda Price-McGregor, who spoke on the club’s behalf, said the 23sq m canteen would result in a loss of “zero usable space”.
Sturt facilities director David Reynolds also addressed the panel, saying an upgrade of the ageing grandstands was “essential to the (club’s) future”
“It will bring matchday and training facilities in line with AFL standards and will rectify facilities that do not comply with the building code,” Mr Reynolds said.
Unley councillor and panel member Rob Sangster said an upgrade was long overdue.
“To the hundreds – or maybe thousands – who use Unley Oval, these 1960s or earlier structures are due for an upgrade,” said Cr Sangster, a former Doubles Blues player.
Mr Kilic expected work on the upgrade to start in the “next few months” and be completed by the middle of next year.
He said the club – which will contribute $500,000 to the project – was applying for State Government grants and would lobby both major parties ahead of the state election to fund the second stage of the revamp.
Unley Council has committed $1.8 million to the project, while the AFL has kicked in $250,000.