Crows Shed (Adelaide Football Club): Keith tests his fitness at the new facility in the Adelaide Coast region of South Australia

Most Crows supporters agree that after a big game at AAMI Stadium it's great to go down to the Shed to meet the players. From next season, they won't have to go far - the Crows have just opened a new $20M shed - attached to Football Park.

It covers more than 2,000 square metres of open space where the players will warm-up before matches. Supporters will be lucky enough to watch the warm-up from the balcony of the Nineteenth Floor, which overlooks the shed.

Players will be able to drill the ball 65 metres on the diagonal in here. Not to mention a 40 metre running track complete with built-in stopwatch. It's all part of big money 21st century progressive sport. A 'kick and a catch' on the shed floor will be part of the club's new packages for match day, training, schools and so on.

We smuggled in Crows legends, the Birdman Brett Burton and duel premiership veteran Matthew Robran to sneak their first kick in the shed.

Brett Burton: "This new facility is unbelievable. Ten years ago when we had the existing facility we were at the top of our game in the AFL. And I guess over time people build things and get ahead of you so for us to be able to have a world class facility to be able to train in - also to be able to entertain our supporters and get close to our fans is a fantastic opportunity."

For Brett, the Shed means a lot more than swish training 'digs' - he'll be operating Adelaide Fitness Solutions on another floor. Sign up here and you'll be able to work out while watching the Crows train on Max Basheer Reserve below.

The new facility includes a plunge bath. Brett Burton: "We've been going up to about our waste and now we're going to up to our armpits so the boys are going to have to get their heads around that. They say the water temperature is about 8 degrees so that's pretty cool."

The Shed includes a Crows Museum that tells the story of the club's relatively short but successful history including of course, those two flags. For Facilities Manager, Trevor Jaques who's been with the club from day one, it's been a labor of love.

Trevor Jaques: "In the museum we're trying to give people information about football - like how to become an AFL footballer. How to become involved in the game, what it feels like to have someone kicking or hand-passing to you in a game. We've also got a fair bit about our members, how they contribute, who they are and the sort of things they buy and very importantly, how they support the players."

There's a special film which takes you behind the scenes and into the coaches' box on game day. The museum even includes a replica locker room where you can sharpen your footy trivia skills about who played when and in what jumper. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards-sa.com.au

The New Crows Shed
AAMI Stadium
West Lakes

Published 25th October 2009