• Enemies under the same roof
• The redeveloped Adelaide Oval in pictures
A KEY concession won by the SANFL during the negotiations for the redevelopment of Adelaide Oval is set to underwrite the health of South Australian football for generations to come.
During a tense bargaining session in late 2009, the SANFL was able to secure a commitment that its assets at West Lakes, including AAMI Stadium and 23 hectares of land in and around the stadium, would not be used to fund any part of the $535 million redevelopment of Adelaide Oval.
Others involved in the negotiations, which mostly took place in Melbourne, were the AFL, the South Australian government and the South Australian Cricket Association.
SANFL CEO Leigh Whicker said it was a non-negotiable clause as far as South Australian football was concerned.
The SANFL was angered that the initial discussions about bringing football back to Adelaide Oval took place without its knowledge, and fought hard to make sure its nest egg was secure.
It was under the leadership of Max Basheer, president from 1978-2003, that the SANFL turned its initial leasehold at West Lakes into a freehold arrangement.
"I thought owning the freehold and playing every AFL game there put us in a very powerful position," Basheer told AFL.com.au.
"The future of football was secure. Not just our two AFL clubs but the state league as well."
Chastened by the lack of revenue it earned at Adelaide Oval before the move to West Lakes in 1974, the SANFL ensured from the start that it controlled all revenue from the stadium, including membership, parking and catering.
There will be no fire sale of AAMI Stadium and its surrounds, even though games will no longer be played there and the SANFL itself has relocated to plush new offices inside Adelaide Oval.
The Crows will remain based there until at least 2048 in an arrangement similar to the one Hawthorn has at Waverley Park in Melbourne’s outer south-east. The Hawks use the main oval as their training base, with their administrative headquarters also located on-site.
"We have expressions out there far and wide with national companies who want to develop the land for residential and commercial purposes," Whicker said.
"We will work the asset and the revenue off the asset will be the future fund for football. It is a secured asset, just as Max intended it to be."
It is estimated that it might take up to 10 years to dismantle the stadium and 25 years to fully redevelop the area.
Port Adelaide CEO Keith Thomas said AAMI Stadium would leave an enormous legacy for South Australian football.
"It gave the sport independence and financial power and as the precinct gets redeveloped it will provide for South Australian football for years to come.
"The SANFL commissioners from the days it was built and developed should be justifiably proud of the role they played in South Australian footy," he said.
