MinterEllison has advised the Adelaide Oval Stadium Management Authority (SMA) on its new 138-room boutique hotel, which opened today.

As part of SMA's diversification strategy and to meet the evolving nature of stadia worldwide, the new hotel has been built into the eastern façade of the Adelaide Oval and interfaces seamlessly with the existing stadium. Servicing domestic and overseas tourists, as well as local patrons attending events, the new hotel will generate 120 new, full-time jobs.

Corporate partner and project lead, Jeremy Rees said: "We are delighted to have supported the SMA in this iconic development for South Australia. This project looks towards a post-COVID future where sport, travel and tourism will return."

The project involved complex arrangements including the overarching structuring, leasing agreements for the ongoing operation and tenure of the hotel, the construction contract with the builder, financing arrangements, the operations & services agreement covering shared services with the Oval (such as food & beverage and linen) and liquor licensing.

MinterEllison real estate partner Stephen Hill said: "South Australians have a special affinity with the Adelaide Oval. It was therefore critical in the development of the Oval Hotel that a number of important considerations were addressed, including historical, environmental, economic and social. We are immensely proud to have been involved in such an innovative project from its inception over two years ago. In the current environment, the Oval Hotel stands as a beacon of enterprise in South Australia".