Adelaide Crows win planning approval for new Thebarton home base

The Crows have won planning approval for a new home base at Thebarton Oval. But there are some conditions they need to meet for the plan to proceed.

Adelaide has won planning approval for its move to Thebarton Oval, as the Crows’ long search for a new home reaches its conclusion.

The State Commission Assessment Panel has granted the Crows planning consent for their $100 million plan to establish a new training and administration base for the club, and new home ground for their AFLW side.

The Crows had previously tried to move from their current West Lakes home to North Adelaide and then Brompton but were knocked back on both occasions.

But now the dream of a new home at Thebarton Oval is all but a reality for the Crows after they got planning consent.

However, there were some conditions on the proposal for the new home at Thebarton Oval, as well as a new training oval at Kings Reserve and upgrades of the site’s state heritage listed entry gates and ticket stand.

The Crows’ move to Thebarton is on.

The lights at the Crows new home cannot be operational past 11pm when a game is scheduled, and 10pm for every other night.

Adelaide will have to plant two replacement trees for every regulated tree it chops down, and three replacement trees for every significant tree.

The Crows will remove six regulated trees and four significant trees as part of their application.

Chairman John Olsen told The Advertiser that now two-years after he first announced Thebarton Oval was the location the Crows wanted to move to, the club could now find a builder to realise the dream.

“We have approval to proceed at Thebarton Oval,” he said.

“We now have all the development approvals as it relates to Thebarton Oval to proceed.

“All our designs are now 100 per cent complete, so a lot of the heavy lifting has been done and we are now engaged with builders with the intention to soon select a builder to realise our vision for Thebarton Oval.”

Adelaide Chairman John Olsen. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

Mr Olsen has said the Crows were hoping to begin construction in September with a view to move into the facility by late 2026.

Now the Crows need the SANFL to finalise its plans to exit Thebarton Oval.

The SANFL is hoping to move into the West Lakes facility the Crows are based in and spend $26.9 million on redeveloping it into a hub for its under-16s, under 18s, First Nations and multicultural talent programs.

The Charles Sturt Council has yet to grant the SANFL its 42-year non-exclusive license of what used to be called Football Park because of council concerns over a lack of open space.

“We have an agreement with SANFL that matters relating to them exiting Thebarton will be resolved by the 30th of June,” Mr Olsen said.

Emma Dawes, a member of the 5031 Community Facilities and Greenspaces Action Group, said the work of local residents had retained community parkland at the western end of Kings Reserve.

“We are extremely proud of what we have been able to accomplish for our community, and grateful for the assistance of our local member Tom Koutsantonis in ensuring that the western end of Kings Reserve was excised from the lease and retained as community parkland,” she said.

“With regards to today’s decision we are grateful to the SCAP panel for granting us such respect as we voiced our concerns.

“We are gratified to see conditions imposed, and will continue to watch the reserve matters closely, hoping that AFC will be able to provide real solutions to the unresolved matter.

“We hope to continue to work with state government to limit the periods where access to the site is via residential street, particularly during construction.”