Adelaide Festival Centre Announces the Next Phase of the Bridge Project and Riverbank Development

The Adelaide Festival Centre today announces the opening of "The River Deck", a new outdoor bar overlooking the River towards the Adelaide Oval, in time for Saturday's top eight clash between Port Adelaide and Fremantle.

"The River Deck" is on the north side of the Dunstan Playhouse on a new outdoor area built as part of the Torrens River Bridge Project.

Douglas Gautier, CEO and Artistic Director of the Adelaide Festival Centre says, "This is the next step in the Adelaide Festival Centre's integration in the Riverbank Redevelopment. The River Torrens Bridge and the redevelopment of Adelaide Oval has had a positive impact on the Adelaide Festival Centre. We are marketing ourselves and our events to the huge number of people passing by our door step. We have set up outdoor café facilities that are proving very popular with game-day crowds. And now The River Deck will be the best place in Adelaide for fans to soak up the atmosphere and get a drink and a bite to eat before and after games."

Minister for the Arts Jack Snelling says, "We have seen over the last few months thousands of sports fans descending on the Riverbank Precinct every weekend on their way to the football. But we plan to make it much more than that, the Riverbank Precinct will be a destination in itself, as an integrated arts and entertainment, business and sports precinct for South Australians and visitors alike. The Government's $46.5 million investment to build a new Festival Centre car park and make a start on creating a Festival Plaza will be the centrepiece of the new precinct. An on-going development of the Festival Centre is the obvious next step."

The bridge project has also delivered expanded office space which has been built below the bridge for the Adelaide Festival Centre. $2.5 million was provided for the office fit-out as part of the 2013-2014 Budget.

Mr Gautier says, "The expanded office space has allowed our sales, marketing and programming teams to be located within the same building for the first time. This will allow our staff to work closely together and bounce ideas in formal as well as informal settings. We are seeing the benefits already and it will help us to continue to reach all sectors of our community."

The bridge project has also provided a new and expanded Bistro in the Dunstan Playhouse which is operated privately by The Food Business. Once the bridge project is complete, Bistro patrons will enjoy direct access across the bridge, directly to a further outdoor licensed dining venue.

For more information visit: http://www.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au

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