$350 MILLION ADELAIDE CONVENTION CENTRE EXPANSION GATHERS PACE

The $350 million expansion of the Adelaide Convention Centre is gathering pace with civil works on Stage One now well underway.

The Stage One extension on the western side of the Centre includes an additional 4,300 square metres of multipurpose convention floor space, associated pre-function spaces and multiple meeting spaces with future delegates and guests to enjoy expansive views across the River Torrens.

It’s due for completion in time to host the World Aquaculture Conference in May, 2014.

Adelaide’s Riverbank precinct is now a hive of activity as major works are also being carried out alongside the Centre with the redevelopment of Adelaide Oval into a world class sporting stadium and the construction of the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute.
Despite all the work, business at the Centre remains unaffected as the strategic capital works program allows for continuous operation – including hosting the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) Conference this month.

APPEA attracted 3000 delegates from across the world and injected nearly $10 million into the South Australian economy.

Adelaide Convention Centre Chief Executive Alec Gilbert said the major redevelopment of the Centre will again position South Australia as a leader in the international convention market by providing one of the largest, most flexible and up-to-date meeting places in the world and removing existing capacity restraints.

"The Centre has already opened its first new meeting rooms after relocating Regattas Bistro + Bar to the ground floor of a $3.86 million purpose built complex right on the Riverbank."

On the first floor, the complex houses the Panorama Suite - a new meeting and function space which boasts sweeping views over Adelaide’s River Torrens. The site of the old Regattas has been redeveloped to house two new meeting spaces and a new office for Professional Conference Organisers.

Stage Two of the redevelopment, replacing the existing Plenary Building (home of the original Centre in 1987) with a multi-purpose, state-of-the-art facility with plenary capacity of up to 3,500 seats, is scheduled for completion in June, 2017.

Completion of Stage Two will both increase the Centre’s total capacity and deliver maximum flexibility, realising the most substantial financial and economic benefits of the redevelopment.

"Over the past twenty-five years, the Centre has generated over $1 billion in direct economic benefits to the South Australia from delegate spend and associated tourism," said Mr Gilbert.

"Notwithstanding its success to date, the Centre operates in a highly competitive global convention and exhibition industry which is required to provide larger and more multi-purpose space with the latest in facility quality and service."

Key features of the expanded Adelaide Convention Centre will include:

• A striking built form shape, roof structures and facade inspired by the South Australian landscape, particularly the layers, striations and colours of the cliffs, rock formations and escarpments of the Flinders Ranges;
• Three distinct and individually iconic buildings which also flow seamlessly internally to host one single major event or three separate events concurrently;
• The Stage One extension includes an additional 4,300 square metres of multipurpose convention floor space, associated pre-function spaces, multiple meeting spaces and 1000-seat ballroom built on a "bridge-like" structure over the railway tracks up to Morphett Street Bridge;
• Demolition of the existing plenary building constructed in the 1980s and its replacement with a more functional, highly flexible multi-purpose facility as Stage Two of the redevelopment including plenary capacity of up to 3,500 seats or 3000 square metres of flat floor space. This venue can be subdivided and configured within minutes as pre-function space, ballroom, exhibition or plenary space – all of which realises the primary financial and economic benefits of the redevelopment.
• A new alternative main entry including pedestrian and vehicle drop off from Morphett Street Bridge;
• A new urban boulevard (Montefiore Road) linking North Terrace to the Riverbank Promenade and the Adelaide Oval in the north;
• A new main loading dock accessed from North Terrace;

The redevelopment is being undertaken by a multi-disciplinary consortium including Woods Bagot, Baulderstone, Aurecon, Bestec, Rider Levett Bucknall and Thinc Projects.