Heavy rain closes huge amount of Royal Adelaide Show carparks in parklands

The heavy rain that’s hit Adelaide has forced Royal Adelaide Show organisers to close huge amounts of parking in the parklands.

Showgoers today will face major parking hurdles after heavy rain overnight forced Royal Adelaide Show organisers to cut back on parklands parking.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, Adelaide is set to receive up to 20mm of rain on Thursday, making large sections of the parklands inaccessible.

One entire section of parking in the parklands is closed for Thursday, while another has been reduced significantly.

Park 21W, normally accessible from South Terrace, is closed for the day.

Park 22, accessible via Greenhill Road or Anzac Highway, has significantly reduced its parking capacity.

Park 23 remains open, offering some respite to showgoers.

Some of the Royal Adelaide Show parking in the parklands has been closed due to flooding from the rain. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Roy VanDerVegt

Showgoers can opt for alternative parking at the Netball SA Stadium Mile End, where a free coach service will transfer them to and from the Showground between 7am and 10pm.

The free coach service has increased its frequency and added a new pick-up point at the multistorey carpark at 33 Richmond Road.

Cath Symons, 42 from Christies Beach found her parking experience “hectic”.

“It took a lot longer than we planned,” she said.

“Because of parking closures, we ended up paying for more expensive parking, paying $40 for the day.”

Fritz’s Wieners food stall owner Nako Akashi said showgoers knew it was going to rain, and probably that’s why they came beforehand.

“By this time on all the previous days, we would have a long queue of 15 people and this morning, we had none,” she said.

Heavy rain has forced the closure of parklands for Royal Adelaide showgoers want to park. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Roy VanDerVegt

Parking on the parklands is closed for the Royal Adelaide Show. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Roy VanDerVegt

Due to the parking difficulties, show organisers are urging showgoers to make use of public transportation options.

These include the dedicated Adelaide Showground train station, temporary Royal Show bus routes, and the nearby tram station.

It comes as some businesses near the Showgrounds charge up to $40 a day for parking that’s normally free.

The Goody Hotel is charging “regular” pub users $40 if they also buy something from the pub when they go to the Show, while nearby business Ecotel is also charging the same amount.