Adelaide City Council ready to punt new Crows parklands bid

A new push to build in Adelaide’s parklands from the Crows’ new chairman is set to meet the same fate as the club’s aquatic centre plan.

The Adelaide City Council is about to vote to reject any approach from Crows chairman John Olsen about building new facilities in parklands. Picture: Brenton Edwards

Adelaide City Council will reject any bid by the Adelaide Crows to build new headquarters in the parklands.

A special council meeting has been called by its dominant faction for Tuesday night to rule out an approach planned by recently-appointed club chairman John Olsen.

Team Adelaide leader Alexander Hyde said he expected to get the backing of all elected members to refuse to meet with Mr Olsen to discuss a parklands site.

Cr Hyde said he spoke with the other four members of Team Adelaide after Mr Olsen wrote to Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor seeking a meeting with councillors.

A similar position has been adopted by independent councillors Greg Mackie, Helen Donovan, Jessy Khera, Anne Moran, Robert Simms and Phillip Martin.

Ms Verschoor, who chairs the Adelaide Park Lands Authority, also is opposed to any commercial development within the parklands.

Councillor Alexander Hyde. Picture: Morgan Sette

Cr Hyde said there was no support among elected members for another bid by the Crows to move into the parklands following an aborted attempt to upgrade the ageing Adelaide Aquatic Centre.

Tuesday’s meeting will be asked to vote for a motion making “it unequivocally clear that we will not support any proposal from the Adelaide Football Club that would include the construction of administrative facilities within the Adelaide Parklands”.

Councillors also will be asked to instruct the club to present any future proposals to the Adelaide Park Lands Authority before approaching elected members so they had the authority’s input.

Mr Hyde said he understood the latest proposal from the Crows involved the construction of a complex which included offices and indoor and outdoor training facilities.

“I gather the Club does not have a desire to separate their administrative and training functions so then we really are just talking about handing over a public asset to them,” he said.

A previous plan from the Crows to redevelop the council-owned Adelaide Aquatic Centre failed as well. Picture: Colin James

“We were prepared to at least consider the Aquatic Centre because it is a rundown facility and a rebuild would have really benefited the community, providing world class facilities while reducing the building’s overall footprint on parklands.

“But any proposal from the club that is just the construction of a stand-alone headquarters doesn’t hold up against these values.”

Cr Hyde said he believed it was important the council “does not waste the club’s time or council’s time pursuing an option that no elected member supports”.

“I wish them all the best in their search for a new home,” he said.

A spokesman for the club declined to comment.