West Adelaide Hellas Soccer Club got a big boost this week, with the state government offering them a cheque for $500,000 to secure the club’s future in Adelaide.
The grant is earmarked for the re-development of the redundant Kilburn Primary school. This will be the new home of the West Adelaide Hellas Soccer club in 2015. The club was promised $1 million by the Labor government but missed out after the election. The now $500,000 will help build a main pitch and upgrade change rooms on the site.
Minister for Recreation and Sport Leon Bignell, Minister Tom Koutsantonis, and FFSA CEO Michael Carter were on hand to personally deliver the cheque.
Many of the club members were overwhelmed with emotion, including club chairman Alex Alexandrou, who characterised the event as “the day that dreams do come true”.
Club board member Con Babaniotis says with the grant West Adelaide will have a vibrant future ahead of them.
“The money provided will go a long way to building a footprint within Kilburn,” he tells Neos Kosmos.
“The club’s very excited, it was a blue ribbon day.”
West Adelaide has just come off winning the 3XY cup last week, travelling to Melbourne to battle the likes of South Melbourne, Oakleigh Cannons and Bentleigh Greens.
It was their first time travelling to Melbourne since 1999, and had the hosts running for cover.
Their sister club, South Melbourne (Hellas) couldn’t even get a competitive edge on them.
“To play such sister clubs as South Melbourne Hellas and Heidelberg Alexandros, it was a great feeling,” Mr Babaniotis says of the Cup.
Their stellar performance under coach Ross Aloisi last season has seen the team catapulted into the South Australian National Premier League (SA NPL).
They took out the state league premiership at the end of the season, remaining undefeated with 28 wins and two draws.
Founded by the local Greek community in 1962, the club became National State League greats but lost their way, falling into the lower leagues. Now the
future seems bright for the club, entering the SA NPL and with new digs to come.
It’s not hard to see why the team is raring to go and prove themselves and restore their name in the community.