Adelaide Hills town Mount Barker excited to host Gather Round AFL match at former sheep paddock
Premiership contender Brisbane will battle North Melbourne in the Adelaide Hills on Saturday, April 15. But how has the region prepared itself for such an occasion? Matt Turner finds out.
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A 38ha block of land at the top of a hill, just under 40km from Adelaide’s CBD, was home to grazing sheep and cattle a little more than three years ago.
In 12 weeks, that same site – now Summit Sport and Recreation Park at Mount Barker – will host an AFL game as part of the inaugural Gather Round.
Premiership contender Brisbane will battle North Melbourne at the Adelaide Hills ground on Saturday, April 15 in what the local mayor is calling “the biggest day Mount Barker’s ever had”.
The initial 5000 tickets sold out last month, hours after being released.
Football officials are still configuring the capacity and the council hopes it will increase to more than 7000.
Much work needs to be done to prepare the ground, which has never hosted a crowd in excess of 1000.
Mount Barker Council’s responsibilities include installing a new boundary fence, site gate and scoreboard, as well as upgrading the goalposts to AFL standard.
The AFL will provide temporary grandstands, food and beverage areas, and broadcasting arrangements.
Umpire change rooms and a warm-up space for players are also needed.
Mount Barker mayor David Leach was initially excited when the council secured hosting rights for the match during the AFL’s nine-game, one-weekend extravaganza in South Australia.
His thoughts quickly turned to “who’s going to do all this work?”
“There’s lots to do,” said Leach, who was about six weeks into the mayoral role when the game was awarded to the council.
Mount Barker has a population of about 40,000 people and is the fastest-growing region in SA, as well as one of the quickest nationally.
The council never expected to host an AFL premiership match so was surprised when the SANFL contacted it in late October about Gather Round.
Premier Peter Malinauskas wanted the Barossa Valley to stage the regional match but it did not have a suitable venue.
Mount Barker’s surface quality, size and space ensured it was chosen instead.
When News Corp visited the ground this week, its appeal was obvious.
The turf is in top nick, there is plenty of room to fit temporary grandstands, bars and food trucks, and the elevated setting is bucolic, bordered by hills and paddocks.
A white picket fence and Adelaide Oval-like mound behind the southern goals add to its charm.
The council purchased the land, bordered by Bald Hills and Springs Roads, in 2009.
Stage one of the redevelopment started 10 years later after a $21m investment between Mount Barker, the federal and state governments, the AFL, SANFL and Football Federation SA.
“Three years ago, there were sheep and cattle where we’re standing,” Leach said.
“We could only advocate so much, the ground speaks for itself.
“I’ve not seen an oval like that in country areas and I’ve been around all of the state.”
Leach conceded that he thought the Barossa would get the nod because it was more recognised by interstate visitors as a tourist destination.
Gather Round may put Mount Barker on the map, given 53 per cent of the tickets have been purchased from outside SA.
Local accommodation for the game is almost fully booked.
“We’re going to have hundreds of cameras here and are going to get very well known, very quickly,” Leach said.
“We’ve got Langhorne Creek and McLaren Vale to the south, Hahndorf, the Barossa is only an hour away, and the city is only 35 minutes away.
“Once people come here, they can see what Mount Barker has got to offer and some people will choose to live here.”
Leach said Hills locals, many of whom were involved in the region’s “very intense” country league, loved their football but even he did not expect the game to sell out so quickly.
“I’ve had more phone calls from people asking me if I’ve got any spare tickets,” he said.
“You could’ve filled this ground two or three times with people from Mount Barker and the district.”
The rapid growth of the town has led to infrastructure issues that will present challenges on game day.
One is public transport, which the council has asked the state government to help provide, both from Adelaide to Mount Barker and from the Hills to other regions.
Having two exits off the freeway means getting into the town should not be a problem.
But movement around Mount Barker will be tested.
“We will manage it,” Leach insisted.
The AFL is returning to reassess the ground next week as it finalises the seating plan.
There will be activities in the region leading up to the game, including both clubs holding open training sessions at Mount Barker on Friday, April 14 – the last day of the school term.
Leach said the event would leave a huge mark on the town.
“People are going mad for the game and the locals and the council are proud of it.”
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