Torrens riverbank future wide open with Marshall arena pledge demolished
Prime land in Adelaide’s CBD now faces an uncertain future after Labor axed the previous government’s big plans. So what should happen now?
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It’s a prime piece of Torrens riverbank parkland that in any other city would be a prized public asset enjoyed by locals and visitors alike.
But Helen Mayo Park, stretching west from the Morphett St Bridge and including the area where the former Liberal government wanted to build a $662m Riverbank Arena, is bare, neglected and largely fenced off.
A large part is an ugly Adelaide City Council storage depot and Transport Department carpark.
Cut off by the barbed wire fences on the railyards side and by another fence on the river side, the only way into the parkis through the unsightly carpark and an access road for rowing clubs.
Over the railyards is Royal Adelaide Hospital and biomedical research precinct, so it could be a haven for recuperating patients,staff and visitors, if only there was a convenient way to get across the train tracks without the trek to the Morphett St Bridge.
The Adelaide Park Lands Association is today launching a campaign to restore the park. The first step will be for the state government to meet its pre-election commitment to overturn the Liberals’ rezoning to “entertainment precinct”.
The Association’s president Shane Sody envisages a “substantial park regreening and landscaping project” in honour of South Australia’s first female doctor, Helen Mayo, rather than a degraded site that “entices wanna-be park theives”.
“The Park Lands Management Strategy 2015-2025, endorsed by both the City Council and the state government, calls for a pedestrian and cycle bridge over the railway lines to better connect the hospital precinct with the riverbank,” he said.
“That would be a good start. We will be campaigning in this year’s City Council elections, to support candidates who will restore Helen Mayo Park.”
Carla Caruso, 43, of Hawthorn, said she would like to see the park transformed into one of those “secret gardens tucked between buildings” that feature in her favourite movies.
She said creating a park “where kids could play and wildlife abounds – a pocket of paradise in the city” would be a lovely way to honour Helen Mayo, who worked in infant health.
“Progress doesn’t have to mean more concrete,” she said. “I can visualise landscaping, little events held here, and a serene retreat for people from the hospital.”
Most of Park 27 is under Adelaide City Council’s care and control. Only those parts used for the Riverside and Pulteney Grammar rowing clubs and carparking fall to the state government.
Deputy Lord Mayor Arman Abrahimzadeh said Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor has written to Premier Peter Malinauskas, Planning Minister Nick Champion and Adelaide MP Lucy Hood to arrange a meeting to map out a plan,
“(We) look forward to working with the state government to consider the site’s future, as we want it to be accessible and enjoyed by everyone,” he said.
Mr Champion said the government was “committed to fulfilling its promise on Helen Mayo Park”.
“We will not be building a basketball stadium on the site and we will rezone the land to return it to community, not commercial use,” he said.
“There are several options under consideration by the department and we expect to be able to make an announcement on the approach to rezoning the land in the coming months.”
No Plan B for bigger conventions
By Brad Crouch
The new state government does not have a Plan B to attract larger conventions and exhibitions to South Australia after scrapping the Adelaide Riverbank Arena, which an analysis showed could have generated $300m a year from conventions.
Adelaide Venue Management, which runs Adelaide Convention Centre, found in an analysis released in February that the city is missing out on more than 80 major conventions and business events, each with between 3500 and 10,000 delegates, because it does not have a big enough venue.
The Labor government has scrapped the proposed arena – a key Liberal election pledge – labelling it a “basketball stadium” and redirecting its long-term $662m cost towards health promises.
The 15,000-seat arena was to replace the Adelaide Entertainment Centre and be integrated with the convention centre, allowing it to host larger events beyond its 3500-delegate capacity.
Tourism Minister Zoe Bettison noted in 2017 the then-Labor government invested almost $400m expanding the convention centre.
“We believe we have the capacity to host major conventions within our current facility,” she said.
“Through the Adelaide Convention Bureau, we are continually working on securing new and returning conferences, which will drive visitation to the city, fill our CBD hotels and restaurants and have the flow-on economic effect we know conferences bring.”
She cited Australasian Hotel Industry Conference and Exhibition, with 800 delegates, and the global CAPA Aviation Summit 2022, with 300 delegates, as examples of high-yield events scheduled this year.
Adelaide Venue Management Corporation chief executive Anthony Kirchner said the new
government had instructed Adelaide Venue Management to cease all work on the arena project after moving as soon as it took power to revoke funding.
“In time, we’ll have discussions with the new government about its plans for ensuring the state’s venue infrastructure continues to meet the long-term social and economic needs of South Australia, but for now the government has conveyed that it has higher priorities,” he said.
Adelaide Convention Bureau chief executive Damien Kitto said the bureau would continue to work with the available infrastructure.
“We will make the most of what we have,” he said.
“We will continue to work on behalf of members, the government and private sector doing all we can to attract business. The calendar for 2022 and 2023 is looking strong.”
Mr Kitto noted an average business delegate spends $632 a day including hotel costs, while an international delegate on an incentive package may spend around $1000 a day.
Examples of large conventions cited by the former government when promoting the arena included the world gas, water, energy, cardiology, and astronautical conferences, and the Land Forces convention. Land Forces Australia Indo Asia Pacific chief executive Ian Honnery said Adelaide was off its list as the existing centre was simply too small.
The government has not released any new plan for the dumped arena’s plum riverfront site.
Plaza upgrade, events get tick of approval
By Tia Ewen
The rejuvenated Festival Plaza has attracted at least 17,500 people to Renewal SA’s series of events and activities since it opened a month ago during the final stages of the state election campaign.
While the launch long weekend alone drew more than 7500 people, another 10,000 have visited on subsequent weekends for the program of pop-up bars, outdoor performances and children’s activities. The Festival Plaza Presents program ends later this month but a state government spokeswoman said that was “just the beginning of entertainment offerings”.
“The Festival Plaza has been designed to host a range of different type and scale of events and we anticipate it will attract major performing arts, entertainment, and sporting-related events on an ongoing basis,” she said.
“It has the capacity to host open-air crowds of up to 5000 people making it ideal for large-scale event infrastructure like the Cabaret Festival’s spiegeltent or pop-up installations such as Illuminate.”
The new plaza features a 20m long water feature and six sprawling arbours, with 10 more to come in future stages. Visitors who spoke with the Sunday Mail were generally positive about the changes.
Emmeline Mcardle, 26, who works in a landscape architecture studio, said the space had potential. “It would have been nice to see some more (real) trees, but I understand that it’s a bit hard to on top of a carpark,” she said.
“It’d be nice once the plants are actually established because at the moment it’s pretty bare. But I can see this place is like turning into a really nice space.”
Parents Kate McCarten, 37, and Shawn McCarten, 42, said their two young boys loved the interactive features.
“It’s pretty child friendly. (The boys) had a play in the water and the spinning teacups. We’ve done some games,” Mrs McCarten said.
“If we were in the city again, we’d come back.”
Sally and David Owen, from Strathalbyn, stumbled on the plaza after parking nearby before their dinner reservation with friends.
“There is nowhere near the amount of concrete that there was,” Mr Owen, 62, said.
Mrs Owen said: “I think it’ll be nice once it gets a bit established. It’s so much softer than it was and there will be more greenery.” Kingswood woman Kristy, who did not give her surname, said her daughter Cadence, 8, was “a big fan of the water features”.
“It’s a really nice space, they’ve done a good job,” she said.
Walker Corporation’s 29-storey Festival Tower next to the plaza is due for completion in late 2023, while its three-level retail, hospitality and entertainment building behind Parliament House will be ready in 2026.
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