Nicki Barnet column: Why a redevelopment of Memorial Drive is worth the risk
WHY is Adelaide the only mainland capital city apart from Darwin which doesn’t have a world-class tennis stadium? Nicki Barnet writes it is time to take a risk and spend the money needed to make Memorial Drive an international attraction.
Opinion
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WHETHER you like tennis or not — if you’ve been to the Australian Open in Melbourne recently you can’t help but be impressed by the incredible facilities which sit right next door to the MCG.
The tennis venue has three multi-purpose stadiums with retractable roofs, and they’re used year-round for sports like netball, basketball and concerts.
Believe it or not the first grand slam of the year used to be held in Adelaide — the last time being 1967 at Memorial Drive. Unfortunately for us our tennis stadium hasn’t improved much since. Sadly our facilities aren’t even up to scratch for hosting Davis Cup.
Next week’s tie which is captained by our very own Lleyton Hewitt, and headlined by Nick Kyrgios, will take place in Brisbane.
For someone like me who loves this state, grew up playing tennis and is passionate about sport — this isn’t good enough.
Why are we the only mainland capital city apart from Darwin which doesn’t have a world-class tennis stadium?
Don’t we want images of our beautiful city and state regularly beamed around the world on television, and featured in the social media accounts of superstars of world sport like Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal?
Don’t we want opportunities for our kids to watch the world’s best athletes in their own backyard, and aspire to be the next Roger Federer?
Well, it’s simple — we need a new multi-purpose tennis stadium at Memorial Drive.
Sure $150-$200 million is a lot of money — but not when you look at the bigger picture of this state.
Surely Adelaide Oval has shown us what it’s like to overcome the naysayers, take a risk, and to now have a world-class facility minutes from the city that we’re all proud of and has already hosted some incredible sporting events.
A new tennis stadium right next door would be another step in the right direction for our mini sports precinct, and give long overdue perks to sports such as netball and basketball and genuinely put us in the picture to one-day host a Commonwealth Games.
That long talked about SA Sports Hall of Fame Museum could also slot in nicely.
In tennis terms we have the chance to bring an ATP tournament back to Adelaide like the Sydney International which is a key lead-in event to the Australian Open.
There’s also a new tennis format currently being developed which is like a T20 version of the sport with ranking points up for grabs. The world’s best players will take part, and if Adelaide gets a move on we have the chance to host these events.
SA has a proud tennis tradition — who can forget a 16-year-old Hewitt beating Andre Agassi on his hometown courts and going on to win his first ATP tournament in front of family and friends right here in Adelaide.
That wouldn’t be possible with the facilities we have now.
Junior tennis is strong in this state, local player Amber Marshall was the best performed Aussie female in the Australian Open juniors, and we have a number of underage champions coming through the ranks.
We love our sporting stars, and there’s no denying that international events inspire and encourage kids to take part.
I, for one, am sick of settling for mediocrity in SA when we have so much potential sitting right in front of us.
Back in the ’80s Melbourne took a punt to build a new tennis stadium next to the MCG.
They now have a grand slam that attracts over 700,000 fans each year and is beamed into 900 million homes around the world.
Come on, Adelaide.
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