The Port Adelaide Football Club has released a fly-through of its proposed redevelopment of the Alberton Oval precinct.
The original plans were amended following a period of community consultation and feedback.
The fly-through shows the proposed upgrade to the training facilities, including two new basketball courts and a soccer field that will provide open green space for the community to use when not being used for training or matches.
Port Adelaide chief executive Matthew Richardson says that while the Club wants to stay at Alberton – its home since 1880 – the facilities desperately needed an upgrade.
“From a high performance perspective, it would be reasonable to say our facilities would currently be in the bottom couple across the AFL competition.
“Alberton Oval is where our club’s history and tradition has been built, but the reality is we now need the facilities that match our ambitions. We can’t afford for our facilities to become a competitive disadvantage in developing and retaining our players.
“At the same time, we understand our responsibility in the community and we take that very seriously. Through the consultation process already conducted with local residents we’ve understood what’s important to them and have integrated changes into our vision for the precinct,” says Richardson.
There will be 72 mature trees planted to replace the 36 existing trees, which need to be removed to optimise the green space on the precinct, and off-street parking will increase from 96 spaces to 162, which has been important to minimise street congestion.
The precinct redevelopment plan has support from all levels of government, because it will provide overflow training space for junior basketball teams from the West Adelaide Bearcats, and an overflow playing field for school teams from the North West Junior Soccer Association.
The City of Port Adelaide Enfield is currently undergoing a community consultation on two separate decisions relating to the parcel of land at Alberton Oval. These include a Council-proposed, updated Community Land Management Plan and a lease extension the club has requested to allow the redevelopment to occur.