Pelligra buys baseball team, plots home base
Pelligra has snapped up the Adelaide Giants licence and is now seeking to build a home ground.
The baseball team was sold by Adelaide Crows football club after three years.
At the time the club was known as the Adelaide Bites.
The new owner, directed by Ross Pelligra, reportedly controls more than 40 sports facilities including arenas.
In Victoria, the group in 2018 acquired soccer team South Melbourne Football Club.
Giants Stadium
All Adelaide Giants players, coaches and staff contracts will be retained following the acquisition.
Mr Pelligra is now reportedly hunting an inner-Adelaide site to build Giants Stadium – a c5000-person capacity venue – not only to act as the home base but to host international baseball events.
The expected outlay is between $35-$40 million.
Ellis Park, Mile End, North Adelaide, the Riverbank Precinct and Victoria Park have been mooted by Adelaide Now as potential locations.
The 8000-seat Adelaide Entertainment Centre in Beverley, which Pelligra acquired earlier this year with plans to upgrade, is not an option (story continues below).
“We believe sport play a major role in people life and helps with creating discipline, mental & physical health,” Mr Pelligra said.
“Given the difficult times of COVID we believe sport will help bring communities back together and strongly as a team,” he added.
In 2017, Pelligra paid $55m for Elizabeth’s former General Motors Holden plant – now an industrial park.
Also in the city, the company last year acquired the ex-Cavalry Wakefield Hospital for $30m from Cromwell.
The group also holds office and retail product particularly in Melbourne where it is headquartered.
Last week it teamed with prestige car dealer Nick Theodossi to buy the Subaru Docklands dealership for $50.5m with plans to redevelop.
Pelligra also owns ex-Ford factories in Geelong and Campbellfield – the latter which has recently been part-leased as a COVID testing and vaccine hub.
Ten months ago it snapped up a 96-ha plot near Avalon Airport with plans for a fish farm.
It also recently acquired Moolap Saltworks, near Geelong.
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