The Port Adelaide Football Club’s proposed re-development of the Alberton Oval precinct is currently progressing through a prescribed consultation and planning process with the City of Port Adelaide Enfield.
Alberton Oval has been the home of the Port Adelaide Football Club since 1880, when it relocated from ‘Bucks Flat’ at Glanville. The proposed redevelopment will provide the upgraded training and administration facilities for the Club’s AFL, SANFL and AFLW teams whilst importantly also providing improved community junior sport facilities for the western suburbs.
The proposed re-development includes;
- Upgrading player changeroom facilities in the Fos Williams Family stand to cater for women’s football and AFLW training and match days
- Upgrading and enlarged player training, gym and rehabilitation facilities to provide space and dedicated facilities for women’s sport
- Expansion of the indoor training space to include the provision of two indoor basketball courts, which will be used by junior basketball teams (West Adelaide Bearcats Basketball Club) out of PAFC training hours
- In line with Council/other relevant body requirements, more off-street parking to ensure all PAFC player and administration requirements are off-street and also inside the precinct to minimise resident disruption
- The dis-used croquet club, reserve and existing car park upgraded to a soccer pitch to provide additional formal training space for the football club. This pitch will be used by the North West Junior Soccer Association on Saturday mornings for primary school soccer. On event days at Alberton Oval (SANFL or AFLW) this space will be used as car parking, as it is currently. Outside of these uses, it remains open green space for the community, but improved
- Landscaping and vegetation will be updated to include mature trees
- The Lone Pine monument is not impacted in any way.
- Upgrade of the social club to:
- Include an interactive museum which captures the 150 year story of the Port Adelaide Football Club and its connection to the local community
- Provide an expanded retail experience
- Enable relocation of the sports bar, bistro and conference / function room upstairs to capitalise on the views out over Alberton Oval, with the city and vista of the Adelaide Hills in the background
Port Adelaide CEO Mathew Richardson said the re-development will not only benefit the Club’s football programs but will also provide important community junior sport facilities which are desperately needed in the western suburbs.
“We worked closely with Council to provide for their greatest junior sport and recreation needs, and they identified basketball courts and soccer fields as their two greatest needs,” Mr Richardson said.
“As a high performance sporting club our professional athletes leave our facility most days by 6pm, which enables broader community use of our facilities. The two basketball courts and soccer field provide important facilities for our athletes, but when they leave it makes sense to optimise use for the community.”
FAQs: Alberton Oval precinct re-development
The development has been welcomed by the president of the Bearcats, Geoff Dodd, who expressed the need for this facility.
“The reality is, our sport and our club has grown so much that there is a genuine risk that a lot of young people will miss out on getting to play basketball, and certainly miss out on the sort of development this facility will allow us to provide.
“With a significant and well-documented shortage of court space in the area, this project is really important to our club and to a lot of young athletes in the western suburbs.
“Port Adelaide really is to be commended for initiating this sort of community partnership.”
It was a similar message from the Chairperson of the North West Junior Soccer Association Lou Tramontin, who explained how the additional soccer pitches would allow his organisation to help meet the demand in the western suburbs for primary school aged players.
He said NWJSA currently had 24 pitches at West Lakes Shore and St Clair but that was not enough.
“Our association is growing like the sport is. In the late 90s we had around 350 junior playing members and these days we have just under 3000 participants,” Mr Tramontin said.
“We keep our fees very low to make it a cost-effective option for local primary-school aged children, but to do that we need volunteers.
“If we can finish the day off a lot earlier, especially at our two larger venues then people are more likely to want to stay on board and help the organisation.
“At the moment they’re lengthy days when we finish at two or three o’clock which deters a lot of people from volunteering so by spreading out to a separate venue, we will be able to get through all of our games quicker and make it a more attractive prospect for volunteers.”
Mr Tramontin said he expected the pitches at Alberton to be used on Saturday mornings for a four hour period and hoped the pitch could also be used to train referees once per month.
The club will continue to engage the local community with regards to the development and is currently exploring funding options with key stakeholders.
