CONCERTS and community events will be staged alongside soccer at Hindmarsh Stadium as the State Government relinquishes its management.

The Adelaide Entertainment Corporation, which runs the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, will take control of the stadium from July 1 under a deal announced yesterday.

AEC chairman Bob Foord said the stadium had enormous poten-tial for new events, facilities and tenants, and the potential for the occasional outdoor concert, in addition to existing tenants such as Adelaide United Football Club.

"The stadium is a valuable South Australian asset and we are enthusiastic about its future," Mr Foord said. "There are synergies between the centre and the stadium and I'm confident we can work to make it profitable in the future."

The State Government approached AEC to take over the management after increasing the rent for Adelaide United last year in a bid to stem its losses.

It is understood the club owed up to $250,000 in back rent but Recreation and Sport Minister Tom Kenyon said all rents were now up to date.

"The Government has been incurring an operating loss of around $500,000 per annum managing the stadium," he said.

"This deal releases the shackles by relieving the burden on South Australian taxpayers of rising costs and leverages the Adelaide Entertainment Centre's expertise and event networks ... to get maximum use out of the facility."

Mr Kenyon dismissed suggestions the Government's losses indicated it was a poor manager.

"Stadiums are expensive, it is hard to make them profitable - and they need a lot of maintenance," Mr Kenyon said.

"People who specialise in running events and venues are going to be able to do it more efficiently than the Office of Sport."