The Adelaide Football Club is ready to commence construction on its new training, administration and community headquarters, after finalising an agreement with a respected and well known South Australian building company.

The Club has partnered with Commercial & General’s Tandem Building Group to bring to life a $100m bespoke facility, which will be a 150m long, two-storey building wrapping around Thebarton Oval, in Adelaide’s inner west.

Crows Chairman John Olsen said finalising the building contract was an important and final step in what has been a long and complex series of negotiations with numerous stakeholders.

“Perseverance has paid off and we’re excited to finally get on-site and as planned, begin works later this month,” Olsen said.

“This is an intergenerational project and we are determined to create a place which our members and fans, and everyone associated with our Club, can come together and call home.

“The building contract has been executed by Commercial & General’s Executive Chair Jamie McClurg and myself, and together we look forward to creating a state-of-the-art facility of which we can all be proud.”

The Crows have previously secured a 42-year lease, with an option of a further 42 years, with the City of West Torrens, acquired all relevant planning and development approvals, and procured funding from every level of government, along with the AFL. The Club is also currently undertaking a capital raising campaign.

“State Government endorsement has been important and I acknowledge the support of Premier Malinauskas and Minister Koutsantonis in achieving this outcome and thank them both, together with Mayor Coxon of the City of West Torrens,” Olsen said.

“In terms of the facility, we’ve gleaned ideas from around the world, taking in concepts from the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys and LA Chargers among others, looked in detail at what has worked and what hasn’t at other AFL and NRL clubs throughout the country, and then customised the design for our needs.

“We are working towards sustained on-field success for both the elite men’s and women’s programs and we believe our new home at Thebarton will set us up to be a destination club.

“We want our players, coaches and staff to have genuine high-performance advantages, and this elite sporting precinct will provide just that. We can look to the future with confidence, optimism and excitement.”