The Advertiser Editorial: Tennis serves up top plan for stadium
THE major redevelopment of Memorial Drive is well overdue and news of the latest plans should be the blueprint to secure a much-needed multipurpose sports stadium for South Australia.
THE major redevelopment of Memorial Drive is well overdue and news of the latest plans should be the blueprint to secure a much-needed multipurpose sports stadium for South Australia.
The venue has hosted the greatest legends of the sport at top tennis tournaments, including the Australian Open on 12 occasions and the Davis Cup Final but has been in urgent need of an update for several decades.
Even when 16-year-old Lleyton Hewitt launched his spectacular career 20 years ago to claim the Adelaide International ATP tournament, beating Andre Agassi, on his way to the title, the Memorial Drive seats were less than comfy and the entire venue was in a desperate need of a decent refit.
Losing the Adelaide International to Brisbane’s newly built Tennyson Tennis Centre in 2009 was a slap in the face the stadium was no longer up to scratch.
A decade on and Tennis Australia has virtually guaranteed top-level professional tournaments will return to South Australia if the 6000-seat canopy-covered stadium as part of a $150m redevelopment is built.
The Adelaide Oval redevelopment has transformed the CDB and another addition to complete the Riverbank sporting precinct would be welcomed.
Other sports including basketball, boxing, netball, and major rock concerts could all use the facilities.
Memorial Drive has seen several proposals for an significant upgrade disappear in recent years. A $30 million refurbishment, featuring a retractable roof, as part of the Adelaide Oval development was jettisoned while a $25 million plan back in 1999 was dogged by legal threats and downgraded.
In 2016 the Turnbull Government gave $10m for Tennis SA to upgrade its outside courts but the current proposal is unfunded.
Within three years and with the backing of the state and federal government Memorial Drive could be returned to its heyday as a major sporting venue in time for the centenary of the first tennis courts being opened in 1921.
Aussie spirit at best
WHILE crime, racism and social disharmony are often the focus of media coverage, the response to two major fires in South Australia in recent days should be cause for relief and pride in the Australian spirit of mateship.
The Murray Bridge region was last week thrown into uncertainty with the huge blaze at the town’s main employer, Thomas Foods International — leaving 1400 employees to worry about their immediate futures, including hundreds of migrants who rely on the abattoir for their livelihoods.
Competitor Teys Australia yesterday offered workers temporary jobs at the company’s Naracoorte plant, while businesses and private citizens have made generous offers to help workers survive the coming months.
Further east, residents of the Upper South East pulled together to help each other after Saturday’s bushfire near Sherwood.
One family lost virtually everything, but by lunchtime yesterday a volley of offers of support were already flowing.
It is times like these that should remind us that such care for our mates and neighbours is a cornerstone of our national identity.