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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-09-18 Daily Xml
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Parliamentary Committees

Public Works Committee: South Australian Netball Centre Redevelopment

Ms HOOD (Adelaide) (11:02): I move:

That the 149th report of the committee, entitled South Australian Netball Centre Redevelopment, be noted.

Opened in 2001, the South Australian Netball Centre, commonly referred to as the SA Netball Centre, is the host venue for the Netball SA Premier League, Adelaide Metropolitan Netball Division, City Night Division and other regular competitions, drawing approximately 500,000 visitors per annum. The centre also serves as the administrative headquarters for Netball South Australia, from here on referred to as Netball SA. Netball is one of the state's most popular activities, with as many as 35,000 people regularly participating. The project, proposed by the Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing, seeks to provide a contemporary fit-for-purpose facility to support the continued growth of netball in South Australia.

The SA Netball Centre is located at the Mile End sports centre, which it shares with multiple other prominent South Australian sports facilities, with frontages on Railway Terrace and Sir Donald Bradman Drive. The site is under the management of the Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing and is leased to Netball SA.

In 2021, the Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing commenced planning for an $18 million redevelopment. However, initial options revealed that a meaningful scope of works would require a larger budget. In June 2023, the state government made a commitment to invest a further $80 million, with the aim of upgrading the 26 existing courts, increasing the number of indoor courts as well as upgrading associated infrastructure and amenities.

The commitment adds to existing investment in the Mile End sports precinct as well as South Australia's sporting reputation nationally and internationally. The project is a staged development, with stage 1 comprising the renewal and upgrade of the existing outdoor courts and stage 2 developing a new indoor stadium. The works will include all required car parking and public realm areas.

Stage 1, the outdoor works, will include: resurfacing of the 26 existing full-size netball courts, including all required regulation run-offs; provision of shade and seating to all outdoor courts; lighting upgrades from halogen to LED; construction of a food and beverage facility; construction of a combined trailer and first aid room; creation of a pre-game marshalling area; and upgrades to stormwater drainage.

Stage 2, the indoor stadium works, will include: increased indoor space from four to six courts; installation of retractable seating and courtside seating; installation of a netting system to separate courts for multiple uses; courtside amenities, including change rooms, staff and leadership rooms, an anti-doping room, first aid facilities and storage; general spaces, including cleaning, kitchen, meeting rooms, offices and staff spaces; food and beverage facilities; and a ticketing and service centre.

The centre upgrades will also include office space for Netball SA and Volleyball South Australia. Construction is expected to commence in March next year, with the anticipation to be practically complete in February 2028. The state government has approved a budget of $92 million and the project received a $6 million commonwealth Community Development Grant. The Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing will be responsible for operation and management of the SA Netball Centre and has an annual budget provision of approximately $1.5 million.

The Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing expects the SA Netball Centre to generate approximately $1.9 million per annum in facility-related revenue and is working with Netball SA in preparation of an operating model that will include relevant distribution of additional revenue opportunities between the two parties. The project also anticipates the creation of 380 construction jobs.

The Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing states that project implementation processes will govern the delivery of the project and, as a prescribed construction project, it will be managed and delivered by the Department for Infrastructure and Transport. The general building contractor will be selected utilising general conditions of contract, and tenders have been sought from construction contractors registered in the applicable DIT pre-qualification system category.

The Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing, the Department for Infrastructure and Transport and Netball SA share responsibility for risk management and mitigation and report to the project control group and executive steering committee. Risks include:

inefficient design principles, for which design is tested at all phases;

operational continuity of existing users of the centre, for which the project team is in ongoing communication with stakeholders;

budget and scope alignment, for which cost advice will be sought at all stages of design;

program alignment for least disruption, for which the master plan considers staging plans, mobilisation zones and other non-construction spaces;

and latent conditions and site constraints, for which the project team has engaged relevant consultants during the design development process.

The project will include ecologically sustainable development strategies, which will be developed with reference to the state government's building sustainability guidelines. Proposed initiatives will include: a nominal plan for a 1,000 kilowatt photovoltaic system; localised lighting with separate controls, including sensors, switches and scheduling; the use of durable and reusable materials where possible; and consideration of water efficiency.

Existing trees impacted by the works will be assessed by an arborist in conjunction with relevant guidelines. The Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing states that a search of the central archive identified no entries for Aboriginal heritage associated with the location. A search of the SA Heritage Places Database also confirms no state or local heritage places at the site.

The Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing and Netball SA have led several consultation sessions at relevant netball competition events to inform and hear feedback from the community. Together they have also developed an operational continuity framework to minimise unavoidable disruption to netball programming at the site. The project team has also consulted with stakeholders and sporting organisations that use the SA Netball Centre as well as relevant government departments and agencies.

The committee examined written and oral evidence in relation to the South Australian Netball Centre redevelopment. Witnesses who appeared before the committee were Abigail Parry, Director Building Projects, Department for Infrastructure and Transport; Chelsee Crawford, Manager, Major Projects, Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing; Adam Trottman, Director, Infrastructure and Planning, Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing; and Ben Luppino, Director of DesignInc. I thank the witnesses for their time.

Based on the evidence considered and pursuant to section 12C of the Parliamentary Committees Act 1991, the Public Works Committee reports to parliament that it recommends the proposed public work.

The SPEAKER (11:09): I would just like to add a little bit to the member for Adelaide's report. This is going to be fantastic for the sport of netball, which is one of the most participated-in sports in South Australia, but it is also going to be a great thing for the sport of volleyball. We have been home to the AIS beach volleyball program since before the Sydney 2000 Olympics, and we continue to host the men's program here. In November this year, South Australia is going to play host to the Beach Volleyball World Championships at Memorial Drive in the member for Adelaide's electorate, which will be a terrific.

Talking to Adam Trottman of the Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing, who does a really good job on infrastructure and the facilities for sport, there are going to be 10 volleyball courts when it is configured for volleyball and then a show court with 3,000 seats. That actually gives us the opportunity to host national and international volleyball here when they have the indoor volleyball tournaments, so that is another good thing for our major events calendar. If we can use this new facility come February 2028 and beyond in the lead-up to the Brisbane Olympic Games in 2032, it is going to be terrific.

I know Craig Carracher, who is the national president of Volleyball Australia, Andrew Dee, the CEO, and also Karla Della Pietra, who is the head of Volleyball South Australia, are very keen on this investment by the government. I think volleyball is one of those great sports. It is one of the most watched Olympic sports in the world. We are obviously going to be tapping into that when the Beach Volleyball World Championships are held here in November. I should give a shout-out, too, to Jenny Mann, who is the CEO of the world championships. I know they are all getting very excited; it is only a few months away.

Motion carried.

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