Moves afoot for new major concert venues in Adelaide and Canberra

Plans for new venues in Adelaide and Canberra to house major events are progressing.

Adelaide is getting a new 15,000-person multipurpose indoor arena called Riverside Arena to be built between the railyards and the River Torrens at a tentative cost of $700 million.

The news was announced by South Australian Premier Steven Marshall, who said the initiative will take recent government and private investment in entertainment and convention infrastructure along Adelaide’s riverbank precinct to more than $2 billion.

The new venue will replace the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, which the premier said limited the scope for entertainment and sports in the city in terms of its capacity and its location.

Marshall, speaking at a Property Council lunch, said Adelaide was losing too many concerts and conventions to venues in other states “because they are larger”.

“Too often, international artists are flying over the top of Adelaide because we can only get 7,500 or 8,500 people into the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.”

The Government will help pay for the new venue by selling off the AEC.

The new arena proposal has been developed by the Adelaide Venue Management Corporation, which operates the AEC, Adelaide Convention Centre and Coopers Stadium.

An underground tunnel below the Morphett St bridge will provide a direct link with the Adelaide Convention Centre, with construction to begin in 2025.

Pictured: Early proposal for Canberra Civic Stadium / Source: Supplied

The long-awaited Canberra Civic Stadium is moving towards a proposed mid-2027 opening.

A new Canberra Stadium Site Analysis report, commissioned by the ACT Government at a cost of $200,000, has suggested the 25,000-seat venue be built at the Civic Pool.

The other option, Exhibition Park in Canberra, will cost twice as much.

The study took into consideration that Canberra’s population would 500,000 by decade’s end.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the Government has outlined “an ambitious infrastructure agenda” to ensure it can “continue to provide world-class services and entertainment”.

He also said the infrastructure agenda will create more jobs and ensure “Canberra remains one of the world’s most livable cities”.