The completion date of Adelaide Crows’ new Thebarton Oval home has been pushed back to 2027

Crows chairman John Olsen is adamant the club’s new headquarters at Thebarton Oval will be the AFL ‘benchmark’ – but it won’t be ready for the 2026 AFLW season as planned.

The completion date of Adelaide’s new training ground and headquarters at Thebarton Oval has been pushed back to 2027, but Crows chairman John Olsen says it will be the “benchmark in Australia”.

The Crows had planned to move into their new $100m home at Thebarton Oval in time for the 2026 AFLW season – which would give their women’s side their own home ground for the first time ever.

But at a ceremony that saw the soil officially turned on the massive project on Thursday, Olsen said it had been pushed back so the Crows could get a fixed price contract on the project.

“We are due to hit opening in February 2027, that has slipped a couple of months because of negotiations,” he said.

“Project cost approximately $100 million because of delays and construction costs but we have increased our fundraising to offset that.

“Hopefully there won’t be any further cost escalations.”

Jordan Dawson and Ebony Marinoff marking the official commencement of construction on the club’s new headquarters. Picture: Brett Hartwig

Crows chairman John Olsen and SA Premier Peter Malinauskas were also on hand. Picture: Brett Hartwig

As part of their development of their plans for Thebarton Oval, the Crows looked at what other clubs such as Brisbane and West Coast did with their new headquarters.

Olsen said the Crows’ new home – which features a 150m long, two-storey building that wraps around Thebarton Oval – would be the best of its kind in Australia.

“There is no doubt that the facility will be a benchmark for the AFL competition,” he said.

“The AFL has had visibility on the plans and it is a benchmark, especially in terms of the women’s competition and the men’s competition and having equal facilities in the headquarters so we will be the benchmark in Australia with this facility.

“We would have liked to move in at the start of the AFLW season in 2026 but it was important for us to complete those negotiations and secure a fixed price contract so the club wasn’t exposed to unreasonable escalation in costs.

“One of the issues for us is a $100m bill is a very significant outlay and we are intent on not putting the financial health or the viability of the club at risk.”

The new facility will also feature a cafe and members lounge for all-day casual dining with indoor and outdoor seating to watch the Crows’ men’s and women’s players train, as well as a dedicated function centre and interactive museum.

A glimpse of Adelaide’s proposed new home at Thebarton Oval.

Crows AFLW co-captain Ebony Marinoff said it would be exciting for the team to have its own home and wasn’t too disappointed about the completion date missing the 2026 season goal.

“It is super exciting, obviously we have been hearing about this for a long time,” she said.

“As long as we get there when I’m still playing I will be happy, but obviously a lot of work has gone into this facility and I am so happy we have a state of the art facility for all teams.”

In December the Crows ordered an “immediate review” of the planning documents for the development after four trees were wrongly removed during construction.

The club also pledged to plant 13 extra trees in the precinct.

Olsen said the Crows were confident there would be no such similar hiccups for the rest of construction.