Tennis SA President Kent Thiele and CEO Steven Baldas were joined by the Hon Christopher Pyne MP, Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, and Federal Member for Sturt, to outline the redevelopment vision for Memorial Drive in Adelaide today.
Mr Pyne, along with David Colovic, Liberal candidate for the seat of Adelaide, announced a $9.79 million commitment to revamp the Memorial Drive sporting precinct.
“This redevelopment will be huge for the City of Adelaide, adding to the recent developments along the Torrens,” Mr Pyne said.
“Not only will it bring more tennis to this great state, it will serve as an entertainment hub for the city.”
Mr Baldas described the announcement as a very exciting day for tennis in South Australia.
“Today’s announcement will enable Tennis SA to pursue its strategy to get more people playing tennis more often, helping produce Australia’s next grand slam champion and attracting major events back to Adelaide,” Mr Baldas said.
The proposed redevelopment will transform Adelaide’s sporting precinct and ensure the heritage of Memorial Drive is retained for years to come.
Stage 1 fast facts
The $9.79 million Stage 1 project includes:
- A new outdoor show court and two new match courts to enable more world class events, such as Davis Cup and Fed Cup, to be hosted in Adelaide
- A state-of-the-art National Academy training venue with all three Grand Slam surfaces – clay, grass and hardcourt – so South Australia can continue to produce world class players
- A Walk of Champions profiling the historical position of the site and South Australia’s tennis legends
- Resurfacing of current match courts to ensure the venue can continue to host tournaments such as the World Tennis Challenge
Memorial Drive vision
The Memorial Drive redevelopment will bring life and energy to the area and the surrounding Riverbank Precinct 365 days of the year and includes:
- Australia’s newest tennis complex and a new destination for significant international matches, such as Davis Cup and Fed Cup, Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) events
- A desirable location for the world’s tennis elite to visit and compete in the lead-up to the Australian Open
- A preferred practice base for Australia’s tennis elite providing three of the world’s Grand Slam court surfaces, one of only two complexes within Australia to do so, enabling athletes to train in their home environment
- A high performance academy training environment
- South Australia’s first “all weather arena” with a state of the art “Wimbledon style” retractable roof and crowd seating design, creating the ultimate atmosphere to attract small to medium concerts and events to the Riverbank precinct
- Spaces for new cafes and offices, with potential to accommodate other sports or attract corporate headquarters from interstate or overseas.
Realising this vision will ensure Tennis SA’s financial sustainability by allowing the organisation to diversify revenue streams and become commercially viable, reducing its reliance on government funding for future operations.
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