Paul Starick: Thebarton looks good for new Adelaide Crows headquarters

Nothing will replace the original Crows Shed at West Lakes but Thebarton looks a decent new home, especially compared to the other options, writes Paul Starick.

Finally, after an interminable saga, the Adelaide Crows have found a nest away from West Lakes and produced plans that seem to tick all the right boxes.

Just about every conceivable site in the inner-city has been flagged for a new Crows home since The Advertiser in mid-2014 revealed a confidential proposal to build a new city headquarters in parklands just 300m east of Adelaide Oval.

The Thebarton HQ plans unveiled on Wednesday morning are significantly better for the club and fans than those for the revamped Adelaide Aquatic Centre, which collapsed in the face of stiff resident opposition and a Covid-19-induced financial crisis.

The football-first approach outlined by club chairman John Olsen in his letter to members was correct. To borrow a phrase, football clubs should exist to win premierships.

The 9.1ha Thebarton site gives the Crows room for two AFL-size grounds – one equivalent to Adelaide Oval and another like the MCG.

Adelaide Crows artist impressions of their new base at Thebarton Oval show two AFL-size grounds. Picture: City Collective

The Crows’ new base will make for spectacular night games. Shown is the Entrance Forecourt. Picture: City Collective

The ground styled after Adelaide Oval – complete with a Hill and Oval-like scoreboard – will become the AFLW home. Thebarton was a great place to watch AFLW when the competition debuted in early 2017.

The increased area, thanks to modified designs for South Rd tunnels, gives the Crows an advantage over cross-town rivals Port Adelaide, which is hemmed in to a 6ha precinct at Alberton Oval. A residents’ group objected to an Alberton upgrade, necessary for AFLW entry, that included soccer pitch and two indoor basketball courts.

The 9.1ha Thebarton site, by this author’s Google Maps calculation, is about a hectare bigger than the one-time training area/carpark west of the former Football Park stadium.

As Mr Olsen points out, Thebarton is about 30 per cent bigger than the previously considered Brompton site and does not have the latter’s land remediation issues. The Crows might be fortunate that the former Liberal government handed the site to Melbourne developers – a decision being assessed in a now-pointless independent review.

For fans, there is the intriguing promise of “more member and fan-focused areas, such as an interactive museum and cafe, along with greater on-site carparking options”.

Concept plans show more space for fans. Picture: City Collective

A museum to celebrate the club’s history and its SANFL heritage would be a fine idea. Unfortunately, you have to be middle-aged to remember the SANFL’s glory days.

Nothing will replace the original hay-bale-lined Shed at West Lakes, where fans first gathered in the glorious 1997 season as the club was surging towards it first AFL flag.

But Thebarton, with significant advantages for men’s and women’s football programs, looks like a pretty decent option for the new home of the Crows.

Paul Starick is an Adelaide Football Club foundation member.