Adelaide City Council reconsiders opposition to Riverbank West Arena

Adelaide City Council will do a complete one-eighty and support the proposed $662m arena on the banks of the Torrens if one councillor gets his way.

Adelaide City Council is poised to back down on its opposition to a proposed $662m entertainment arena in the parklands.

Elected members will debate a rescission motion on Tuesday night which would overturn a decision to oppose the arena.

The motion has been proposed by Cr Jessy Khera, who said he wanted the council to work with the state government on returning other areas of parkland to open space so there was no net loss from the arena.

“The motion explicitly seeks to protect the parklands, whilst not seeking to block an arena, as that may well be an important piece of social infrastructure for the people of South Australia,” he said.

“That is clearly a matter for the state government, not the council.”

The proposed Riverbank West arena. Picture: Supplied

The earlier motion had passed on the casting vote of Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor, the presiding member of the Adelaide Park Lands Authority. Ms Verschoor expressed concern about proposed zoning changes which would allow buildings up to 20 storeys high to be built near the arena, including apartments.

Cr Khera said his motion sought to clarify that the council’s primary objection was to the planning code amendment and not the arena in Helen Mayo Park.

An aerial artist’s impression of the Riverbank Arena beside high-rise buildings. Picture: Supplied

“The real issue at play is the size and height of buildings allowable within the proposed (planning) code amendment for the Riverbank entertainment precinct,” he said.

“It’s not what is currently planned to be built, but what could be built there in the future. This motion states our opposition to that.” Cr Khera said he objected to the earlier motion “which was just to say no” to the arena, even if other parklands were returned.

“It harks back to the old naysaying council,” he said.

“It’s unnecessarily divisive and confrontational, and worst of all it leaves us with no ability to influence the final outcome.”