ADELAIDE maintains its proposed new training and administration base at Thebarton Oval is still on track, despite a few near misses in recent years and a slow process to this point. 

The Crows have been based out of West Lakes since they entered the AFL in 1991 and have remained on the old Football Park site even since relocating home games to Adelaide Oval in 2014.

The club has been on the hunt for a new headquarters in the past handful of years. Adelaide Aquatic Centre in the northern parklands was the initial plan, then the Brompton Gasworks site was the focus before it was rejected in favour of a Melbourne-based developer.

But after identifying Thebarton Oval in Adelaide's west this time last year following an exhaustive search, the Crows have continued to develop a $100 million project that will include an oval that has the same dimensions as Adelaide Oval, plus a secondary oval, an indoor facility and aquatic centre, as well as an administration base for its off-field personnel. 

Adelaide hopes to commence construction by the middle of next year and relocate from its current base at West Lakes to the fringe of the city before the start of the 2026 season, but a complex deal that involves local and state government, plus the SANFL which has the lease on the site, is still yet to be given the green light.

In a wide-ranging interview with AFL.com.au at West Lakes, Adelaide CEO Tim Silvers said the Crows remain confident in the proposed redevelopment they have sold to members, supporters and the community 12 months ago.

"We've had a couple of missed chances. We had an opportunity at the parklands which we pursued and that fell over, then we tendered for the brickworks site which we lost to a Melbourne developer. They were the two misses," Silvers said.

"We've found a terrific site at the old Thebarton Oval where West Torrens played for a long time. They haven't played footy there for 30 years but we're in the works to take over the lease there from the SANFL and also getting a secondary training space, which is King's Reserve. 

"We're designing what will hopefully be the best facility in the country. That will house our men's and our women's teams plus all our staff. We are really focused on this project. It will also be our home for our AFLW. I think we have the best women's program in the country; we've three premierships in seven seasons and haven't had a home ground, we've been playing out of two different SANFL grounds and our girls deserve a home. 

"We want a home for AFLW, we want an elite training and admin facility that's the best in the country and we want to be a destination club. Our aim is to move our entire club to that new facility in 2026. Hopefully we can attract the best staff, players and coaches to our footy club."

Sydney has recently opened its new training base next door to the Sydney Cricket Ground which will become an attractive selling point for players on the move. Carlton completed its renovation earlier this year and now boasts one of the best facilities in the competition. Port Adelaide, Hawthorn and the Western Bulldogs are all in various stages of redevelopment.  

Silvers is at the business end of his third season as the Crows' chief executive after spending 17 years at Hawthorn, where he rose up the ranks to become the Hawks' chief operating officer, during a time when the club relocated from its spiritual home at Glenferrie to its current location at Waverley Park, a time when the club recovered from near financial ruin to win four premierships under the guidance of Alastair Clarkson.

Hawthorn is in the market for a new CEO following the departure of Justin Reeves earlier this year and Silvers is understood to be one of several former Hawks people, like Gold Coast CEO Mark Evans, to be of interest to the Hawks. But the Crows boss says he is settled in South Australia and committed to sticking the course with the club.

"I made the big move two-and-a-half years ago to move here, and it was a big move for me and my family. I was at Hawthorn for 17 years and love that club, but it was time for me to move on. I've found my new home here. I love it here. It is great footy club. we've made some terrific change in my first few years but I feel like we've got so much potential to take it another couple of levels. We've launched the strategic plan and I'm fully invested in South Australia. I want to see us succeed," he said.

"I saw the instability of Hawthorn when I first got there and to see that club with the right leadership and then commit to a rebuild, stick fat and saw that club win four premierships in my time. It was something that I loved being a small part of and I would love to recreate at this footy club. I think we've got the building blocks to try and emulate."

The South Australian powerhouse is close to breaking its membership record of 64,739 it set in 2018 on the back of the club's first trip to a Grand Final since their second premiership in 1998. 

Adelaide has enjoyed steady year-on-year improvement since Matthew Nicks replaced Don Pyke at the end of 2019 to become the ninth full-time senior coach since the Crows entered the AFL for the 1991 season. 

The Crows won three games in Nicks' first season, seven in 2021, eight last year and have now won nine in 2023 to remain in the hunt to return to September action for the first time since they lost the 2017 Grand Final to Richmond. 

"There have been some ups and downs this year," Silvers said. "We aimed to come into the season and challenge the best teams. I think we've done that. We wanted to challenge for finals and I think we've done that. We wanted to be more consistent. Our consistency has let us down at times. We've played a red-hot, exciting brand of footy, especially at home, but there has been times in games where we haven't been as consistent as we'd have liked to be. 

"We feel like our building blocks are coming together. We feel like we've got a team and a list that can really be successful in finals, in a contested brand of footy, but these things take time. We've got a challenge to make finals now. Our destiny is in our own hands over the next few weeks. We've had a few losses that we'd love our chance again, but maybe that's just part of our journey. Those losses might give us the sting to be successful later this year and into the future."

The Crows host Gold Coast at Adelaide Oval this Saturday ahead of a trip to Brisbane, before a home game against Sydney and then a round 24 fixture against West Coast at Optus Stadium. They will need to win at least three, possibly four games, to play finals football. 

Silvers is hopeful the Crows' on-field improvement in 2023 will result in a better fixture next season. Adelaide hasn't been handed many prime time slots this year. It had one Thursday night fixture, no Friday night slots and three Saturday night games outside the two Showdowns, with one in the Northern Territory. Put simply, the Crows hope that changes. 

"There is no doubt we are looking for a more prime time fixtures. We believe that we are playing an attractive style of footy. We are lobbying the AFL for more night games in the Adelaide market. We don't necessarily want to play all these off-Broadway venues, but we understand it's part of the AFL system. We think we should command more games at the MCG, more games at Marvel and more marquee fixtures," he said.

"The last few years, we've played only two Thursday or Friday fixtures. Our last Thursday night game was the launch of Gather Round and it was a great success. We played Carlton and it was a sellout, but we haven't got another one for the rest of the year. We'll lobby the broadcasters and we'll lobby the AFL. That's a wish of ours. We know on-field success drives that, but we think we've got the players to drive that."

Adelaide has been hit hard by injuries to key defenders during a 2023 season where the club lost former pick No.6 Fischer McAsey during the pre-season after he decided to walk away from the game. Since then, Tom Doedee and Nick Murray have both undergone knee reconstructions, while Jordon Butts has also suffered a season-ending foot injury.

After enjoying club-shifting success in the past two free agency and trade periods after luring Jordan Dawson away from Sydney and Izak Rankine out of Gold Coast, Silvers said the club would be aggressive again this off-season.

"We've been ecstatic by the performance of those two. Jordan Dawson has been unbelievable, who would have thought within 12 months he would be our captain and such a terrific midfielder, given we picked him up as a wingman and a defender who was an elite kick. Izak is an excitement machine that puts bums on seats and complements our forward structure really well. They've been two terrific outcomes, we're not going to rest on our laurels," he said. 

"We've been hit with a few issues over the last couple of months with some long-term injuries to key players. Our strategy has been over the last couple of years to bring in the best players available through the draft and then bring a sprinkling of free agents and traded targets to help top-up our list. 

"Our plan for this year was to target what we thought were needs, whether that be a midfielder or defender. Our focus is sharply going to move to a key defender with the most recent injuries. You've got to be flexible and agile in this game. We certainly have had some targets for this year."

Adelaide made the bold decision to extend 2021 draftees Josh Rachele and Jake Soligo all the way through to free agency at the end of 2029, less than 18 months after arriving at West Lakes. 

Silvers said the long-term commitment was reflective of the club's confidence in the pair who moved from Victoria as teenagers and are viewed as key pillars in what is to come at the Adelaide Football Club.

"We flipped it on the head, really. We saw those two as great, talented players from Victoria that have been really invested in our club. we signed them both for an extra two years before their first game – that's how confident we were – and then a year-and-a-half in we see them as key pillars of our footy club," he said.

"It was an aggressive move, it was a little bit different to the norm, but we're so confident they are going to be part of what we're going to deliver over time so we thought we would be aggressive and lock them in until free agency. We got proactive there and got the result we wanted." 

Adelaide extended Taylor Walker for one more season last week and has commenced talks with Rory Sloane for a new deal for 2024. 

After winning Showdown 54 last Saturday night, the Crows have their destiny in their own hands at the start of August. If things go to plan, they will still be alive next month. Hopefully a commitment to Thebarton Oval isn't too far away, either.