Port Pirie Sporting Centre

An

innovative

New

Hub

for

a

Sports-Proud

Community

SMEC was appointed the detailed design phase of the Port Pirie community sports hub in 2016. Our specialist team developed several innovative solutions to ensure the sports hub was architecturally pleasing while also functional and maintainable from an engineering perspective.

After nine years in the making, the project has paid off in more ways than one, with the Port Pirie Regional Council estimating the hub already injecting more than four million dollars into the local community. The vibrant sporting hub in the centre of Port Pirie has attracted major sporting events to the area, as part of Council’s event tourism strategy, and assisted in rejuvenating the Central Business District (CBD).

Port Pirie is a regional city and seaport town in South Australia made up of a community of sports-proud people. Its residents’ passion for sports was the catalyst for creating a robust economic drawcard for the region through the enhanced $25m Port Pirie Sports Precinct. During the initial stages of the project, the Port Pirie Regional Council faced complex geotechnical and drainage conditions that challenged the project and bold architectural visions that pushed SMEC’s design abilities.

Client

Port Pirie Regional Council

Year

2013 – 2018

Location

Australia

Expertise

Urban Design Urban Renewal

Project injected over $4 million into the local community

Innovative solutions

SMEC was commissioned to review and consider options for consolidating and upgrading the region’s ageing sporting infrastructure. Following our report findings, SMEC was appointed the detailed design phase of the project in 2016. Applying lateral thinking combined with strong civil and structural knowledge, our specialists developed several innovative solutions to ensure the sports hub was architecturally pleasing while also functional and maintainable from an engineering perspective. These included:

Intricate grading and site design to ensure maintainable and well-drained fields
A geotechnical system of piles combined with raft slabs to cope with differential movement caused by poor soil conditions in the area
A structural design of raking beams to ensure architectural features are showcased
Innovative usage of cantilevered steel beams to provide tiered seating with good sightlines.

Vibrant sporting hub

The detailed structural and civil design of the project successfully enabled the vibrant sporting hub to be created. The new facility successfully injected over $4 million into the local community.

SMEC successfully impacted the project positively with our project scope including the development and detailed structural & civil design work for a function centre, an aquatic centre incorporating a purpose-built gymnastics hall, squash courts, and a swimming facility; and realignment of two ovals hosting Australian Rules Football (AFL), soccer, cricket, and baseball. Features such as onsite parking, new floodlighting, new change rooms, canteen and toilets, and a connection to the existing heritage grandstand were required. Our team leveraged their knowledge of sports facilities and collaborated with traffic, geotechnical, civil, and structural engineers with the Port Pirie Regional Council’s Project Management team to deliver an outstanding facility that injected economic and social benefits back into the local community.