Adelaide City Council seeks $40 million in Federal and state governments funds for aquatic centre redevelopment

Adelaide City Council has asked the Federal and South Australian Governments to contribute over $40 million towards the redevelopment of the ageing Adelaide Aquatic Centre or to fund a new aquatic centre in the city.

With the Adelaide Football Club having withdrawn their plans for a $65 million redevelopment of the Adelaide Aquatic Centre into a training and community complex as a result of the Coronavirus, the Council is now looking at an alternatives for the ageing facility.

As reported by InDaily, Adelaide City Council Property Associate Director Tom McCready has written to the South Australian Government on two occasions seeking “quite significant” funding for a new or redeveloped aquatic facility in the city or North Adelaide.

He said he had requested a similar amount from the Federal Government, but the Council was yet to receive a response from either Government.

While not disclosing how much money the Council had requested, McCready described the funding requests as “well north” of $40 million.

Speaking at a recent Council committee meeting, hed advised "we’re hedging our bets in regards to going in for full amounts from both parties, noting that there will be a negotiation point should they be accepted.

“Based on previous conversations, where estimates have been made on facilities, on 1 million to 1.3 million visitation figures … that’s where we’re pitching with both parties.

“We’re coming in at the high end with both parties, hoping that they can actually accommodate the majority of the costs.”

According to the Council, the existing Adelaide Aquatic Centre in North Adelaide, which runs at an annual operating deficit of $2.5 million despite attracting over 700,000 yearly visits, is reaching the end of its lifecycle and requires “significant investment” over the next 10 years to make it more commercially viable.

McCready said a new aquatic centre build aligned with the South Australian Government’s sports funding strategy, while the Council was attempting to convince the Federal Government to provide funding through its social infrastructure agency.

He added “ultimately, where we wish to get to is to understand the future of the aquatic centre in regards to the location, services and in regards to the scale of that centre.”

South Australian Treasurer Rob Lucas told InDaily that said the state Government had received a number of funding submissions from various industry sectors and groups in the lead up to the State Budget in November.

The Council has lost an estimated $2.8 million in revenue from the current Aquatic Centre since July.

That loss was driven by the Centre’s forced closure due to COVID-19 restrictions and a related 34% reduction in swim school enrolments.

Commenting on this, Macready went on to say "we’re waiting to see how restrictions impact on us and we’re waiting to see when warm weather comes in if patronage comes back.”

The Council lost $1 million in net costs from the aquatic centre last financial year.

In July, InDaily reported that the Council was considering either redeveloping the existing 50-year-old North Adelaide pool or building a new swimming centre next to Adelaide Oval.

Image shows the Adelaide Aquatic Centre.