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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-11-26 Daily Xml
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ADELAIDE UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (15:35): I rise to speak about the magnificent achievements of the Adelaide United Football Club. As honourable members may be aware, Adelaide United made the Asian Football Confederation Champions League final. It was the most significant achievement in the club's short history and, indeed, was the biggest game that any club side in Australia has ever played. Out of the 46 nations in the Asian Football Confederation, Adelaide had proven itself as one of the best teams and took on Japan's mighty Gamba Osaka Football Club over two legs to decide who would be champions of Asia.

As we all know, the millionaires of Gamba were, regrettably, far too strong. On behalf of all members of this place and, indeed, all South Australians, I congratulate Aurelio Vidmar, coach of Adelaide United, the captain, Travis Dodd, and the whole squad of players for making the people of Adelaide and South Australia so very proud in 2008. The support staff and everyone involved at the club, as well as all season ticketholders, members and supporters, must also be congratulated for their efforts in getting the team into the final.

Throughout both the group stages and the knockout stages of the Champions League, Adelaide United was the surprise packet of Asia. It declared that its mission was to shock Asia and defeated more fancied opponents in every game. This achievement is even more impressive when you consider the amount of travelling the club has done whilst also maintaining top spot in the A league for the earlier part of the season.

The only sour note was that more people were not able to witness this historic match in Adelaide because our city does not have a stadium befitting such a massive game. The groundswell of support for building a multipurpose stadium in the CBD, namely at the railyards site at City West, is reaching fever pitch. As members of parliament, we are elected to serve the people and act on the will of the people, and there is no doubt that the vast majority of South Australians are in favour of an inner-city stadium capable of hosting football matches such as the Asian Champions League final, AFL football and international rugby union fixtures, as well as concerts and the like.

The city deserves a world-class sporting venue and, if Adelaide is to play a part in future World Cup bids, building a new inner-city stadium that meets FIFA requirements is a must. Sporting infrastructure in South Australia is rundown and outdated. Investment in a new stadium in the city is not just an investment in sport but, rather, it would help revitalise the City of Adelaide overall and the City West precinct specifically. There would also be enormous flow-on economic benefits with people visiting the city's vibrant bars and restaurants both before and after sporting fixtures and concerts. The ease of travelling to an inner-city stadium via public transport is also a compelling argument as to why such a venue makes perfect sense for Adelaide. One of the main criticisms of AAMI Stadium is the difficulty in getting to and from the venue, whereas the city is the transport hub, making it much more hassle-free for people to attend sporting matches and concerts.

This is not a party political issue. However, the Rann government has turned it into one by not acting in accordance with the will of the people. Action on a new stadium must occur in the spirit of bipartisanship. It is a visionary idea that has a great deal of support among South Australians, especially younger South Australians who will benefit most from a new stadium in years to come, and it is an idea that the Liberal Party remains committed to.

Again, I congratulate Adelaide United on such an amazing achievement. It has made us all very proud and has played a huge role in growing the game here in Australia. Some of the TV audiences for the Asian games were just phenomenal and were a fantastic advertisement for South Australia. Tomorrow evening the Lord Mayor of Adelaide is hosting a civic reception at the town hall to acknowledge the endeavours and achievements of Adelaide United in 2008. This is thoroughly deserved and I look forward to attending as opposition sports spokesperson.

However, 2008 is far from over for Adelaide United. With the club sitting in second position we have every confidence that it can win an A league grand final this season and also have success in next month's FIFA Club World Cup. To everyone at Adelaide United, we are all right behind you and incredibly proud of you.

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