The Adelaide Football celebrated a historic moment on Thursday with construction of the Club’s new training, administration and community headquarters at Thebarton Oval officially kicking off.

The momentous occasion was marked with 150 people gathering at the oval, which is now a construction site, and the soil being turned on the $100 million project.

Here is an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at how the Thebarton Oval development came about, and how the special day unfolded, with comments from key people who have helped bring the dream to life.

THE CHAIRMAN

As Adelaide Football Club Chairman John Olsen AO walked towards the podium at Thebarton Oval with dirt, excavators and construction workers behind him, it was the culmination of 3812 days of hard work.

Olsen was about to make one of the most monumental speeches in the Club’s 34-year history by announcing the official beginning of construction on Adelaide’s new training, administration and community headquarters.

In front of 150 people, including SA Premier Peter Malinauskas, State Infrastructure and Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis, as well as significant business and industry identities, Olsen stood behind the lectern, with a sense of satisfaction.

Behind that was years of back-and-forth on suitable sites for a new home base, setbacks, negotiations, plan changes and fundraising efforts - all of which came to an exciting head on a sunny Thursday in February.

Olsen, who joined the Crows’ Board as Chairman in 2020, addressed the excited crowd about what was an “intergenerational” project.

“It’s been 3812 days since front page news announced that the Adelaide Football Club was to secure a new headquarters in Adelaide,” Olsen said.

“There’s been many words written and spoken since then, many twists and turns in a complex set of negotiations which were almost daily negotiations and are now replaced by earthworks and demolition.

“It is the most significant and ambitious project in the Club’s history. We’ve overcome challenges, with goodwill, vision and a determination to deliver.

“While it took a lot longer than any of us expected, we are here today on the cusp of delivering.”

Olsen accepted the increase of the project’s cost over time was a price the Club had to pay to ensure the world-class facility was built.

“Yes, there’s been cost escalation over the journey and that has meant our fundraising efforts have had to increase substantially,” Olsen said.

“I want to thank those who are here today who have been prepared to stump up and support us financially going forward. Those fundraising efforts will be critical to us being able to complete this project in its entirety and as we want it to be.

“In footy terms, today is a bit like the start of a finals campaign.

“We’ve done the hard work to get there, now the real work begins. Much like a Premiership, the prize awaits and it will be worth the journey and certainly celebrated.”

THE PREMIER

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas doesn’t shy away from the benefits the Crows bring to the state when they are up and about - that is despite being a die-hard supporter of the Club’s crosstown rival, Port Adelaide.

A cheeky smile crosses Mr Malinauskas’ face as he admits politics in the state must be changing if a Labor leader and rusted-on Power supporter is agreeing to help fund the Adelaide Football Club’s new home base.

“This is a big deal,” Mr Malinauskas said.

“The Adelaide Football Club, and I say this as a Port supporter, is an important institution in our state, and when they’re flying high, the state is up and about.

“In a modern AFL world in a highly competitive environment, you’ve got to have these facilities.

“This sets up the Crows for the long term.”

Mr Malinauskas said the development of the Crows’ new headquarters would have wide-spread benefits, especially for women’s football and the local community more broadly.

“Undoubtedly when we start to see Crows women’s games being played here, that will have a big flow-on effect. Women’s footy is only growing and it’s going to be bigger and better in the future,” he said.

“West Lakes always felt like it had a temporary nature to it, this is permanent and it’s long term and it’s elite.

“A club like the Crows deserves it.

“Just as important, from my perspective, is that the local community in this part of the western suburbs is going to get access to a really high quality, community piece of infrastructure that they can use, so it’s a win-win.”

THE CEO

Adelaide CEO Tim Silvers has had a front row seat to all the trials and tribulations that came with finding a suitable location, as well as developing plans for the site.

Silvers sat proudly in the front row at Thebarton as Olsen spoke, and for the CEO, Thursday was a time of reflection, looking back at how far those involved in the process had come.

A sense of relief could be seen on Silvers’ face as he walked out of the construction site once all the formalities were finished.

Speaking to AFC Media, Silvers said Thebarton proved the perfect spot for the Club’s new home base.

“It feels like it’s been such a journey for us as a Club,” Silvers said.

“We tried other venues - we tried the Adelaide Aquatic Centre, we tried Brompton, but now we’ve got a new home at Thebarton.

“It’s been years and years of work, but it feels like it’s all come to fruition today.

“I’m excited to see our new home with a football-focused feel, a home ground for our women’s team, the best training and admin facility in the country.”

Silvers said dealing with the copious amount of organisations involved had sometimes been a tough slog but was proud of the end result.

“We’ve come here and the SANFL and the Adelaide Footy League, this was their home,” Silvers said.

“To negotiate their exit and to work with the City of West Torrens to achieve a lease, to work with the residents here and to be a good neighbour and make some compromises so they feel part of this journey and the State and Federal Government’s funding have been key.”

THE CAPTAINS

Creating plans for a new Club with football-first at the forefront has meant working closely with the players, including them in the design and bringing them along for the journey.

Not only will the men’s and women’s teams have access to state-of-the-art training facilities, but the AFLW team will finally have a place to call home, with games set to be played at the oval.

AFL Captain Jordan Dawson, as well as AFLW Co-Skippers Ebony Marinoff and Sarah Allan put their hard hats on and grabbed a shovel, turning the soil on their new home.

In a full-circle moment for Marinoff and Allan, the pair lined up in their first match with the Crows eight years ago at Thebarton Oval in front of a 10,000-strong crowd.

“I remember our first game here quite vividly, it was an amazing feeling,” Marinoff said, looking out onto the construction site.

“That day will always be a special one.

“It was so memorable and hopefully we get to make more memories here in a couple of years.

“It’s probably crept up on us that we don’t have that consistent home base, so it’s super exciting for us girls and more so the younger generation who are going to have this for so many years.

“To be able to finally have a home base, to train at the same oval we’ll be playing at, and to have our locker rooms that are for us, will be something so special.”

Allan agreed.

“To be able to play every home game at the same ground is going to be amazing for the team and also for our fans,” she said.

“We are really excited to get this opportunity.

“We had 10,000 people here at Thebarton Oval for our first AFLW game and it was quite amazing.”

Marinoff said she was looking forward to not only having a home base but also having access to new, word-class training facilities, which will help enhance performance.

“The changerooms and the gym facilities, we can’t go past those,” Marinoff said.

“I remember being shown the plans of our changeroom and it looks incredible, and with the pool and things like that, having a really good recovery centre, will be amazing.

“Naturally as an athlete you want the best facilities and you look around the world, a lot of athletes go to where the best facilities are.

“As a leader of this Club, you aspire to be a destination club and have really strong, sustained success. This facility will help both the men’s and women’s deliver a really strong program and connect as one club.”

Dawson described the day as “historic”.

“It’s massive for our Club,” Dawson said. 

“We’ve been in talks with John Olsen and Tim Silvers - they’ve been kind enough to ask us questions around what we think we need to get our feedback.

“That’s been really important for me as Captain, to know the hierarchy are really looking to us for feedback around what we feel we need to be elite players and an elite team.

“The shed floor facility, world-class gym equipment, the two ovals will all be incredible. To have two different size ovals to train on, depending on where we are playing that week, will be great.”

THE BUILDER

The Club announced in November that it had partnered with Commercial & General’s Tandem Building Group to bring the $100m bespoke facility to life.

Executive Chairman of Commercial & General Group, which includes Tandem, Jamie McClurg, said demolition and earthworks are underway, with significant progress already made on the site.

McClurg said the facility would “provide a vibrant community and sporting precinct, brimming with amenity”.

“It will also enhance local infrastructure with improved pedestrian and cycling paths, lighting, and landscaping,” McClurg said.

McClurg said significant work had gone into the design, with considerations made for local residents, players, staff and fans.

“The calibre of facilities and dual opportunity for the general public to engage with the precinct will ensure it not only fosters the talented players but enriches the broader community,” McClurg said.

“We are proud to be part of another major South Australian project, this time delivering critical sporting infrastructure for the Crows and the state.

“As a local business, supporting the community is fundamental to us, and this project is no exception.”

A DESTINATION CLUB

The Crows are first and foremost a football club, and on-field performance has been front of mind when discussions about a location and a master plan were taking place.

Once complete, Crows players, coaches, staff, members and supporters will have access to a 150m long, two-storey building that wraps around Thebarton Oval and it will be the best of its kind in the country.

The new sports precinct will provide a permanent match day home for Adelaide’s successful AFLW team, as well as a café and members lounge for all-day casual dining with indoor and outdoor seating to watch the Crows’ men’s and women’s players train.

There will also be a dedicated function centre and interactive museum allowing fans to immerse themselves in the Club’s history.

Both Olsen and Silvers stressed the Club was focused on ensuring the new headquarters was equipped with all the resources to help the Crows’ players succeed.

“It will be home to our W team, a training and administration facility second-to-none in this country,” Olsen said.

“Equal facilities for both men and women, indoor and outdoor seating, in addition to that, there will be a cafe and a lounge for our 75,000 Members to come and watch training here at Thebarton Oval, on a site that’s been a traditional football ground for over 100 years.”

Silvers said the Club’s aim was to be a “destination club” and was confident the new facility would deliver that.

“The best thing about our facility is that we’ve been able to design it with our men’s and women’s programs in mind,” Silvers said.

“That means equal facilities across the board. The changerooms will be exactly the same size, medical rooms, physios, meeting rooms, everything is equal. It’s customised for the future, which I think stands us in front of the rest of the competition.

“There’s a key indoor training space that will be 50x35m, which we haven’t had. We’ll have a Member’s lounge, we’ve got a function centre, it’s the biggest footprint in terms of a training and admin facility in the country, it stretches 150m long.

“We’ve built it for the future and we’ve built it for growth.”