New Stadium - an election threat
Premier Steven Marshall has become the largest threat to the Adelaide Park Lands after announcing a $700 million stadium (aka “Riverbank Arena”) to be constructed in Helen Mayo Park (Park 27).
Read the story below, then do three things:
sign the petition: “Save Helen Mayo Park”
contact the Premier, the Planning Minister and the Member for Adelaide to reverse the re-zoning that will facilitate the stadium, and
urge your friends to do the same.
The proposed arena would replace the Entertainment Centre at Hindmarsh, which the Government regards as TOO SMALL. The Government proposes to sell the Hindmarsh site of the Entertainment Centre, and simply take over your Helen Mayo Park for something much larger.
Image credit: Top right: Fiona Caulfield @lovetravel_australia
The Premier’s announcement of 19 March 2021 did not even acknowledge that this site is part of the world-unique, National Heritage listed Adelaide Park Lands.
The project would be yet another nail in the coffin of Park 27, which has already lost many hectares over the years to police, medical and university buildings.
Helen Mayo Park is named after one of South Australia’s most famous women - a pioneer in medicine and health education.
What would she have thought of the Premier’s plan to obliterate the Park named in her honour?
A campaign is under way to Save Helen Mayo Park.
STEP 1 - an online petition.
Have you signed yet? https://www.change.org/p/steven-marshall-mp-save-helen-mayo-park
STEP 2 - LODGE YOUR OBJECTION TO PARK RE-ZONING
Contact the Premier, the Planning Minister and the Member for Adelaide about the State Government’s plans to re-zone this land to facilitate the stadium.
Pioneering medical educator, Helen Mayo (1878-1967) and part of the Park named in her honour .
The Adelaide Park Lands Authority has expressed its concern and on 25 March 2021 sought an urgent meeting with the Venue Management Corporation.
“Noting that the Park Lands already hosts Adelaide Oval, Tennis Centre, two hotels, approximately 200 ha of licensed playing fields, a hospital, the Thebarton Police Barracks and the Road Safety Centre as well as other public infrastructure, the Authority is concerned about the impact of further built form on the publicly-accessible open space provided by the Adelaide Park Lands.”
The previous year's State Budget in November 2020 did not contain any funding for the proposed new stadium. Rather it committed funding to upgrade the Hindmarsh soccer stadium.
The State Sport & Recreation Infrastructure Plan, released in November 2020, did not mention any specific site for a new stadium. Nor did it mention the existing legal Park Lands Management Plan but simply said:
Inner City Stadium
A facility or facilities, centrally located and able to host any combination of court sport, field sport, convention and entertainment events would enhance SA’s ability to attract and retain international events, conventions and concerts.
SECRET HIT LIST OF POTENTIAL PARK LANDS SITES
A previously-secret report assessing six potential sites for a new stadium, was handed to the outgoing Labor Government before the March 2018 State election. The report was revealed on 13 February 2020 by InDaily in a Tom Richardson exclusive. The report assessed six potential sites without any recognition of their location within the world-unique, National Heritage listed Adelaide Park Lands.
Potential Stadium site “D1” near the corner of Montefiore Rd and War Memorial Drive
Potential Stadium site “D2” on the North Adelaide Par 3 Golf Course
Incredibly, out of seven potential sites, the only one that was NOT on Park Lands - i.e. the existing Entertainment Centre at Hindmarsh (Site "E") - was the only one that was ruled out by the former Government's consultants, even though it was by far the cheapest option, coming in under half the price of any of the six Park Lands sites.
Aurecon’s assessment of six Park Lands sites (and the existing Hindmarsh site) for a new multi-purpose stadium
Read the full story on InDaily:
https://indaily.com.au/news/2020/02/13/preferred-city-stadium-options-fail-to-measure-up-report-reveals/
The death of 1,000 cuts
Repeated Park Lands losses were once characterised as like "mice nibbling away at cheese". However the recent attacks seem more like a debaucherous feast with participants devouring whatever is available, while it lasts.
The rate of Park Lands loss seems set to ratchet up exponentially unless the public can be alerted to save what's really precious and priceless.
The previous Weatherill Labor Government sacrificed Park Lands to build a "Biomedical Precinct". This new proposal unfortunately seems consistent with moves by the Marshall Government to turn the River Torrens area into an "Entertainment Precinct".
Attempting to emulate the infrastructure of other cities by discarding parts of our priceless and world-unique asset is a short-sighted and self-defeating exercise.
In late 2018, the former Adelaide Lord Mayor, Martin Haese threw his support behind an alternative site - still on Park Lands but with less impact on existing green spaces.
This is an artist's impression, published in The Advertiser on 9 October 2018 ($) of former Lord Mayor Martin Haese's preferred site for a new Adelaide Arena.
The site would be partially over the top of railway lines, but would also partially overlap Helen Mayo Park (Park 27).
Ironically this is right alongside the site targeted by the CIty Council in 2017 for a proposed commercial helipad, and also recently mooted as the site for a proposed 27-storey hotel.
Publicity during 2019 characterised something like the artist’s impression above as being “inevitable” for Park 27.
Perhaps someone might like to propose something different for Helen Mayo Park - something like, well, a Park?
Notice from the two artworks above how little green space remains between North Terrace and the River Torrens!
Unlike any of the other suggestions, reclaiming all of Helen Mayo Park for public access would actually be consistent with the Adelaide Park Lands Act 2005 and management plans for Park 27.
If you think Adelaide can do better than this, then TAKE ACTION!
