Riverbank Arena could unlock $300m worth of conventions: Analysis

New analysis provided by the Liberals shows their proposed Riverbank Arena could unlock more than $300m worth of conventions.

Adelaide could tap into more than $300 million a year, linked directly to 320,000 hotel bed nights, if the Liberals’ $662 million Riverbank Arena goes ahead, new analysis reveals.

Analysis by Adelaide Venue Management shows the city is missing out on more than 80 national and international conventions and business events, each with between 3500 and 10,000 delegates, because it does not have a facility able to cater for them.

Premier Steven Marshall said the $300 million figure was “conservative” and it did not include the additional cash injection expected from visitors spending money at local businesses.

An impression of Adelaide’s proposed Riverbank Arena. Picture: Supplied

Mr Marshall also said Adelaide had been overlooked for too long by big international acts “simply because we do not have a big enough arena to make it viable for them to play here”.

“It’s about time they landed here and South Australians got to benefit from the vibrancy and economic boost these acts bring with them,” he said.

The government says examples of conventions and business events that Adelaide may be able to attract if the arena goes ahead includes the Land Forces convention, International Astronautical Congress, World Congress of Cardiology, World Gas Conference, World Water Congress and the World Energy Congress.

Adelaide Venue Management board chair Bill Spurr said it was important to expand the city’s convention facilities to capture “lost economic opportunities”.

What the Riverbank arena might look like inside.

“Conventions and other business events deliver significant benefit to the local visitor economy, but it’s also our ability to attract the world’s thought leaders and decision makers to Adelaide to see the opportunities that exist in South Australia that delivers lasting economic legacies long after the events themselves,” he said.

As revealed by The Advertiser in March last year, the proposed 15,000-capacity Riverbank Arena would be a multipurpose venue for sport, entertainment and conventions.

It would be built between the Adelaide railyards and the River Torrens.

An underground tunnel below the Morphett St bridge would provide a direct link between the arena and the Adelaide Convention Centre.