Families fear merger between University of South Australia and The University of Adelaide will destroy their soccer club

Volunteers and families fear that their children will have no place to play sport due to the SA university merger.

Members of an eastern suburbs soccer club fear its future is under threat by the merger between University of South Australia and The University of Adelaide.

The future of UniSA FC is uncertain as members say the Magill Campus Oval used by about 200 junior members to play matches, can be subject to redevelopment with only months’ notice.

Renewal SA purchased the 16ha Magill campus site and two smaller parcels of land to the east of St Bernards Rd, as part of the government’s funding package to support the university merger.

The government then leased the land back to the university for 10 years, but UniSA can terminate the lease with three months’ notice, sparking fears for the future of the soccer club.

Charlotte and Michael Reimer with kids Bruce, 10, Chelsea, 7, and Luigi, 2. Picture: Tom Huntley

Charlotte Reimer, 35, whose 10-year-old son Bruce has played for the club for about three years, said it would leave “a big hole” in the young players’ lives if they had nowhere to play.

“It would be absolutely devastating,” Ms Reimer, a business owner from Magill, said.

“He thinks it’s (the soccer club) the best thing in the world.”

UniSA FC president Srecko Joksimovic said the club, which is run by about 20 volunteers, currently “just has one small oval” and no guarantees about its future.

Club members are nervous about the merger and what the future holds for their club. Picture: Tom Huntley

“We’re doing this because we want those kids to get out and play but we can’t plan for longer than this season,” Dr Joksimovic said.

“It’s heartbreaking because you have several people around the club who have been investing their time, and it’s a lot of time, to make this work.

“All of a sudden, that’s just going to go away.”

Last month, Renewal SA released a tender for planning consultancy to masterplan the campus.

The tender said the “project vision is to create a largely housing development with a mixture of housing typologies”.

It said the procurement process will “support the timely delivery of the master plan” in the second quarter of 2025.

“Proponents must confirm that they have the capacity to immediately commence preparation of the master plan work and complete the final master plan no later than April 2025,” it said.

Vincent Tarzia, Liberal MP for Hartley, which takes in Magill, said he wants “to make sure the community is brought into the conversation” around the future of the site.

“We want assurance from the government that certain space is preserved for sports facilities,” Mr Tarzia said.

Minister for Housing and Urban Development Nick Champion said the Magill campus represented a “unique opportunity to create a new community”.

Mr Champion said the master plan for the project would occur “in consultation with the community and other key stakeholders”.

“The provision of public open space and the potential for sporting facilities will be explored,” he said.

A UniSA spokeswoman said the university “has not changed its current plans to maintain its teaching and research presence at the Magill campus”.

“We have not commenced any planning in regard to relocating Magill programs, nor is this scheduled to commence in the short term,” she said.

“We have occupancy rights to support teaching and research on the site until 2034.”