Hotel integrated into Adelaide Oval opens beyond controversy in 2020 as another first for Australian stadiums
The Oval Hotel, integrated in the eastern side of Adelaide oval, had rooms facing out onto the parklands and Adelaide sights such as St Peter's Cathedral. The hotel's bars, such as the Bespoke; lounges and and restaurants were inside the stadium, allowing engagement with the oval fabric's blend of the historic and modern.
The $42 million Oval Hotel, integrated into the eastern grandstand façade of Adelaide Oval, was opened in 2020, financed by an Adelaide Oval Stadium Management Authority loan underwritten by the South Australian state government.
Adelaide city council was unanimously opposed to the project as affecting other hotels in the city centre while general criticism centred on the stadium authority needing, and getting government backing for, the loan. The authority, that subleased the oval from South Australian Cricket Association and the South Australian National Football League, who leased it from the state government as the oval's owners, saw the hotel as a better use of the oval asset to generate income 365 days of the year. The state government argued that taxpayers would get a return on the 30-year loan that was difficult for the stadium authority to get because it didn’t have an asset to secure it.
The 138-room boutique Oval Hotel set a benchmark as the first integrated stadium hotel in Australia.The project deflected any criticism of intruding on the Adelaide city parklands because it fitted into the scale and proportion of the oval, retaining views of the seating bowl and roof structure. It was built on two elevated pods that followed the external curves of the eastern façade of the stadium.
The seamless match of the hotel and oval was ensured by the Adelaide Oval Stadium Management Authority engaging COX Architecture, who guided the arena’s 2014 redevelopment, for the project. COX worked in partnership with Carr to develop an interior closely integrated with the architectural design principles.
Driving the hotel concept was the link between the oval and surrounding parklands. Rooms faced out to views of the parklands and city landscape. Rooms on the northern wing framed views of St Peter’s cathedral, the parklands, and the Adelaide hills beyond. The southern rooms looked over the parklands, riverbank and city centre skyline. The hotel’s bar, lounge and restaurant areas were within the existing stadium interior. This internal stadium experience allowed hotel guests to engage with the historic fabric of the ground itself, with views of the oval, northern mound and heritage-listed scoreboard.
