Stacey Lee: Serious questions must be asked about Adelaide Oval hotel, but not by anti-development North Adelaideans

The Adelaide Oval hotel is just another excuse for the chardonnay-sipping residents of North Adelaide to kill off one more half-decent idea, writes Stacey Lee.

The Adelaide Oval hotel is just another excuse for the chardonnay-sipping residents of North Adelaide to kill off one more half-decent idea.

They’ve already taken a giant freshwater-pearl-shaped wrecking ball through O’Connell St – their main attraction – and now they want to ruin any other prospects of potential redevelopment in the area.

O’Connell St used to be a bustling hive of activity, rivalling Hyde Park’s King William Rd, and was almost as popular as The Parade in Norwood.

Cafes, restaurants, pubs and clubs filled with young and old wanting to spend their hard-earned dollars at any number of the area’s fine establishments.

It feels like a lifetime ago. When live music was a welcome sound not an annoyance to be complained about at every opportunity.

The Archer Hotel in North Adelaide closed last week. Picture: State Library of SA

Young people reading this on their telephonic devices probably won’t be able to comprehend that there was once a time when people used to make plans and venture into North Adelaide instead of just stopping at the 24-hour bakery on the way through.

Not that any of the residents would be caught dead woofing down a sausage roll at the famous establishment. Not a chance, darlings.

Now, the area is reminiscent of a ghost town and every week we have news of another O’Connell St venue closing down.

Last week it was the iconic Archer Hotel, this week it’s Paesano cafe.

It’s sad.

But standing there at the top of the hill looking down on the rest of us peasants will always be the residents of North Adelaide.

The big players from the top end of town who’ve retired from their day jobs and have now realised complaining to anyone that will listen is a great way to pass the day.

Only problem, people actually listen. So, the chorus grows louder.

Now the hymn sung by the North Adelaide choir is so loud it almost blocks out the dreadful noise pollution that comes from the bloody planes that rudely fly above their mansions every ten minutes.

I’m not saying there aren’t serious questions to be answered about the Adelaide Oval hotel. There absolutely are, and I’ll get to that in a minute. But listening to the cries of a loud and privileged few would be a huge mistake.

There are serious questions to be answered about the Adelaide Oval hotel, but not from those who simply oppose development.

It’s not going to impact the parklands, it won’t add any noise pollution and it won’t even require any trees be cut down – heavens to Betsy!

What the residents of North Adelaide (and the rest of us for that matter) can complain about is $42 million of our hard-earned money is being used to underwrite a loan for a privately owned hotel. And why is the State Government wasting time and money on a hotel when we don’t even have a functioning city hospital?

I’m all for encouraging growth and development in Adelaide but if the free market determines a hotel is required, a developer with their own money should be the one building it.

The State Opposition wants a parliamentary inquiry into the Stadium Management Authority’s finances to determine where its revenue is being spent and I think that’s a really good idea.

The SMA already charges $10.50 for a beer. What’s their rate for a hotel going to be? An arm, or a leg?

An aerial view of the proposed Adelaide Oval hotel.

And the timing of the announcement is interesting for the Government too.

The Treasurer’s had a rough couple of weeks as he continues his talks with embattled global metal giant Nyrstar, which is yet to pay back a $291 million loan, underwritten by, you guessed it, you and me.

It begs the question, what happens if the hotel doesn’t do well and shuts before the 30-year lease ends? How will we get our money back?

Those are the questions that need to be answered on behalf of every South Australian who is potentially paying for this hotel.

What we shouldn’t be wasting time on are the concerns about the impact that the building of the hotel will have on the bedtime of North Adelaide residents.