ApartmentsChris ThomsonThu 24 Sep 26
Port Adelaide’s First Planning Goal for Alberton Square Waved Through
Port Adelaide Football Club’s $250-million Alberton Square proposal has cleared its first approvals hurdle, with the South Australian government permitting it to start a rezoning process for the area surrounding its spiritual home.
TV personality, finance guru and club chairman David Koch said the project envisaged a world-class mixed-use precinct between Port Road and the club’s longtime headquarters at Alberton Oval.
“This development seamlessly integrates an Australian Football League club’s elite facilities with a dynamic, multi-use community environment where people will live, work and play,” he said.
“The approval ... is a major milestone for the project.
“It provides strong validation and confidence in the merit this development will bring, not only to our club but importantly to the community.”
The approval allows the club to start a rezoning process to densify an area mainly of detached houses that it has bought between Alberton Oval and Port Road.
Alinea Group will the scheme as commercial advisor and development project manager, supported by project management consultancy RCP.
The club anticipates the project will draw interest from developers, investors and capital partners across Australia.
The rezoning would lift maximum building heights across the precinct from two to 13 storeys, permitting between 250 and 300 apartments and up to 20,000sq m of commercial and retail space.
A focus on medical, allied health and wellbeing services would cluster around the high-performance sporting facilities at Alberton Oval, creating a health, sport and residential campus.
The club plans to use real estate to diversify revenue and reduce reliance on on-field performance, which it acknowledges can be variable.
In 2026, Port Adelaide finished 15th out of 18 teams in the AFL competition that culminates with a grand final in Melbourne this weekend between the Fremantle Dockers and Brisbane Lions.
A $205-million revamp of the area around the Dockers’ spiritual home, and plans to redevelop the Gabba ground that the Lions will likely vacate for the 2032 Olympic stadium after the Games are over, are also on the drawing board.
Port Adelaide and its advisors will now prepare a code amendment for public consultation. They anticipate the Alberton rezoning will take 12 to 18 months to negotiate.
