Designs for Adelaide Football Club’s Crows headquarters at Thebarton go out for public comment

The latest version of the Adelaide Football Club’s Thebarton plans have finally reached an exciting new stage.

Adelaide Football Club (AFC) has taken another step in establishing a headquarters at Thebarton Oval in the inner-west suburbs with its $100 million designs now open online for public comment.

In what has been a process with hurdles at each turn, including the concerns voiced by local residents about the impact the facility would have on the area, a design has now been published on the PlanSA website.

On Thursday, the AFC said that it was an exciting time for the club and that the new headquarters had been brought together for all those associated with the AFC.

The proposed Adelaide Football Club HQ at Thebarton would see the clubrooms and high-performance centre facing west from the South Rd side of the oval. Source: City Collective.

“Today marks another important milestone in the club’s pursuit of a new headquarters,” the Club said.

“We are excited by the way our design has evolved and it’s a project with upside for not just our players, coaches and staff, but our members, fans and the broader community.”

Since February last year, six meetings have been held by the City of West Torrens Master Plan Advisory Group (MAG), who are responsible for informing the development of the site.

Planning has proposed a second oval for training which would be built at Kings Reserve on the northern side of the oval, while the new training, administration and community precinct will face towards the west from the eastern side of the ground.

The most recent changes to the designs include shifting and shrinking the size of the secondary oval after local residents raised concerns that it was too close to the western boundary of Kings Reserve.

The project would also see a second training oval built at Kings Reserve which connects to the northern end of the oval.

Kings Reserve which connects to the northern end of the oval. Picture: City Collective

A depiction of what the clubrooms and grandstand would look like from the oval.

Local residents also raised concerns about the number of car spaces that would be reserved for AFC staff and left for residents who lived locally, which was also changed by the MAG who reduced the number of carparks for AFC staff.

The AFC also said that it would commit to creating a primary vehicle access point from South Road to reduce traffic on secondary streets, while also creating another access point to Kings Reserve.

The AFC are now waiting for the State Commission Assessment Panel (SCAP) to make a decision that will determine the fate of the club’s proposed new home base, which is expected to come before the end of March.

Currently, Thebarton Oval is not open for general community use, but that would change if the proposal goes ahead, with the club planning to keep the facility and use of the ground open to the public when it is not in use by the AFC.

The plans and designs for the AFC headquarters will be open for public comment for the next fifteen days on the PlanSA website.