Memorial Drive

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA (Hartley) (12:28): I move:

That this house—

(a) notes the significant improvement at Memorial Drive in recent years;

(b) acknowledges the long and extensive history of Memorial Drive Tennis Club as one of Australia's oldest tennis clubs; and

(c) commends the former state Liberal government for its commitment to transforming Memorial Drive into a state-of-the-art tennis icon of South Australia.

It gives me great pleasure to talk about Memorial Drive because, as we know, it is alive and thriving. How good is Memorial Drive?

Mr Pederick: It's great.

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: It's excellent. In fact, tomorrow I am hosting in this chamber a good friend of ours from Victoria, Sam Groth, who is a member of the Victorian parliament. He is looking forward to, I am sure, hearing about all the good news in the state budget—hopefully there is some, because he has come a long way to hear it. I would like to acknowledge the long and extensive history of Memorial Drive.

We know that the former government ensured that the tennis precinct and heritage of Memorial Drive was retained, and we know that this venue now has a roof. It was the former government that had the foresight to ensure that this venue had a proper roof, and now what we are seeing is a renaissance at that centre. We are seeing rock concerts that continue to flow in that venue. It is being hired out to the private sector and the public sector. It is being utilised as the space that it truly should be. It is absolutely attracting world-class events, world-class tennis events, which is exactly what it should be doing.

It was a $44 million development. That facility is now complete and that project, of course, included demolition; construction of new northern and eastern stands; upgrades to the existing southern stand; court platform upgrades, including a new centre court rebuild; upgrades to existing roof works; and additional site provisions to cater for enhanced communications and also visual display.

Because the venue now has a roof, you can actually train at the venue all year round. You can play at the venue all year round. You are not constrained by, say, a cold wet winter as you once were. As I have pointed out, it also allows for festivals and events all year round, no matter what the weather. The new spectator stands are actually fantastic. They incorporate community and also corporate facilities.

We have been able to deliver a multifunctional multisport facility and platform for these community events, concerts, festivals and commercial activities. I have been delighted, like members right across the chamber, to attend many of these events, and it is fantastic to see that it has really re-energised the Adelaide International and also that part of the precinct.

We know that the Adelaide International is a staple on the Australian summer of tennis calendar, and of course we know that, during COVID, Adelaide was in fact utilised as a safe jurisdiction. Athletes could come here, where they were welcomed and they were supported, and they would do a lot of their training in the lead-up to the Australian Open.

During COVID, it was home for many international stars as they prepared for the Australian Open, and of course many participated in the Day at the Drive. Many world-class tennis players called Adelaide home for a short period of time in the lead-up to the Australian Open, for example, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal, Naomi Osaka, Jannik Sinner, Ash Barty and, of course, Venus Williams. What a line-up!

These players were able to call Adelaide home thanks to this facility. The former government had had the foresight to invest in Memorial Drive, put a roof on Memorial Drive and ensure that Memorial Drive can now host world-class events, not just sporting events but also entertainment events and local events as well. The Drive is becoming a staple for these world-class events.

Who can forget the wonderful Tom Jones concert playing there only a few months ago. I was unavailable to attend the concert that night, but I am sure many in this chamber may have attended it. There was a full house watching the live stream of the Matildas' triumph during the World Cup recently as well. We commend the former Liberal government for its commitment to transforming Memorial Drive into a state-of-the-art tennis icon in Australia, and I commend the motion to the house.

Ms HOOD (Adelaide) (12:33): I move to amend the motion as follows:

Delete (c) and substitute:

(c) notes the investment in sporting venues across South Australia to provide state-of-the-art facilities for South Australians.

I, too, rise to speak on the motion. The completed Memorial Drive Tennis Club redevelopment is another jewel in South Australia's sporting landscape. The Drive, adjacent to the Adelaide Oval and Southern Plaza, has seen the vibrancy of the precinct continue to grow and be a place for all South Australians to enjoy and be proud of. Stage 2 of the Memorial Drive centre court redevelopment put the finishing touches on the redevelopment and saw the demolition of the north stand and construction of new northern and eastern facilities linked by a concourse level with enhanced patron amenities and food and beverage facilities.

The northern facility includes a media and sports technology centre with broadcast facilities, media lounge and space for high-performance sports research and development. The eastern facility was integrated with the Adelaide Oval southern plaza, incorporating high-performance training facilities and premium multipurpose event and function spaces.

The northern and eastern facilities, importantly, are fully accessible to all levels and there is the addition of rigging points on the roof and feature lighting. I would like to acknowledge the former Liberal government's work on this project and we are also very proud of our government's extensive work on multiple sporting and community venues across our state, in particular, in my own electorate of Adelaide.

Other projects that are complete or are currently underway in various forms of planning and delivery include, of course, our Adelaide Aquatic Centre. I am very excited to see earthworks underway on that project, which will be a game changer for our community; indoor and outdoor pools; a dedicated rehabilitation pool; dedicated learn-to-swim facilities; and, importantly, also increasing Parklands thanks to the design of the brand-new Adelaide Aquatic Centre.

We also have the South Australian Sports Institute, just over $68 million, including $20 million for UniSA funding; the National Centre for Sports Aerodynamics; and also the SAALC that was funded with $23.5 million in last year's state budget. We have the netball stadium upgrade, a $92 million upgrade which I know is so welcomed by many netballers in my community. I cannot wait to see that occur. There is also the Hindmarsh Stadium upgrade, $53 million; the SA Athletics Stadium renewal and upgrade, $6 million; the State Centre of Football, $26.5 million; and the State Basketball Centre, $15.8 million.

At a local level as well, in my community I am delivering on my election commitment of $5 million towards bringing back a community sport and rec hub at 39 Smith Street, the former Walkerville YMCA site. These projects all sit alongside an extensive range of grant programs being delivered by the state government—programs that focus on including more people in sport and recreation through growing community infrastructure and programs.

I also want to thank all the volunteers in local clubs who helped progress this infrastructure and the various programs. Thank you to Tennis SA's CEO Debbie Sterrey, President Philip Roberts and all of the Tennis SA team for what they deliver at The Drive, including the remarkably successful Adelaide International, which was a highlight over summer and part of a suite of events our government is very proud to support.

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA (Hartley) (12:37): Obviously the opposition took great time drafting this motion to put some what we would consider are very substantial facts on the record. The government has moved an amendment. We will not be supporting that amendment.

We invested substantial funding in this project to make sure that we now have a world-class facility at Memorial Drive and we think it should be highlighted that it was the former Liberal government that had the foresight and invested in this facility, because without doing that we would not have a roof at Memorial Drive and we know that it is the roof at Memorial Drive that has now allowed it to become a world-class facility that can host not only sporting events but also entertainment and local events right throughout the year. We commend the original motion to the house.

Amendment carried; motion as amended carried.