Save Leichhardt Oval - www.stoptherot.org

[brook]

Just to clear some things up

the Wests Tigers own NO leagues clubs - the terms of the JV are very clear and the wests tigers is an NRL franchise owned in partnership by the Balmain Tigers and Wests Magpies, it has no control over either of these two teams which are independant bodies and neither does it have access to their funds - other than the set amount per year that both teams provide.

The wests magpies have two leagues clubs - wests ashfield and campbelltown who provide their money soley to the western suburbs magpies (although campbelltown doesn't even like doing that) - they do not directly contribute a cent to the wests tigers nor would they.

Balmain have one leagues club, which is struggling and making heavy losses due to bearing the full brunt of the state governments anti-gambling initiatives (which I support) while being located only 5 minutes away from the casino which is not subject to any of these laws - the leagues club hasn't had any major upgrades in recent times so I dunno what you mean there - there was some upgrading done about 5 years ago but even that wasn't extensive.

3 Rugby League clubs lease Leichhardt oval from the government - Wests Tigers (who have virtually no independant funds), Balmain Tigers (who are preparing to contribute a fair portion of the costs needed for the upgrade) and The Ryde-Eastwood Hawkes (who in truth are probably indirectly paying a lot of the money Balmain are setting aside for these works). None of these clubs own the ground or even have exclusive use - it is government owned and a community facility - it is only fair that the actual owner of the ground and not just the tenants bear a portion of the cost of making it safe and secure (at the moment it is neither). It is also, as Simon has refered to above, subject to a heritage listing, and so has been marked *by the government* as having historical significance worth preserving.

 

[JK]

If you expect the government to upgrade it to NRL standard then expect a big increase in the rent - only fair when the facilities are improved.

If you continue to excuse the selfish actions of the Magpies and Tigers leagues clubs in relation the the JV well...I can only hhope for your sake that other fans stand up against them and demand proper attention to the top grade team which they own. The pedantics of ownership are seriously weakening your club.

If it is a Balmain only issue then still the Balmain have to fund it - now or with increased rent.

I find it deeply ironic that a Doggie fan is calling us selfish.I suppose rorting the salary cap and other assorted disgraceful acts arent selfish.
If there is any bunch that look after numero uno its the dogs.

I find it disturbing that you have to resort to attacks on my club to try and excuse your attempt at grabbing tax dollars. Our board was sacked, our club paid the price and don't forget that our rorting of the cap has directly led to the payment of half a million dollars in fines to the NRL. To bring it up 2 years after the event in relation to this is pathetic - defend your tax grab on real grounds. :roll:

 

[Generalissimo Stalin]

I think a lot of people are misrepresenting the amount of money/work that we really do want done.

Noone involved wants leichhardt turned into a super-stadium or anything of that sort - we all love leichhardt as it is or we wouldn't be fighting to ensure its continued use, the work that is being asked for is actually rather modest and mostly involves making sure the ground is safe.

Then let the Tigers pay for it!!

The government has more pressing infrastructure concerns.

I loved going to Leichhardt on Sunday but if state funds are used to prop up a NRL clubs facility with 3 leagues clubs... :roll:

1 leagues club.

3 - balmain/wests (ashfield), wests (campbelltown) - sell of leichhardt,redfern,lidcombe,concord etc to property developers who can then build moderate income housing to some what eleviate the home affordability crisis.

wests - tigers can base themselves full time at campbelltown especially as 20 million was spent on upgrading the ground etc out there

 

[brook]

If you expect the government to upgrade it to NRL standard then expect a big increase in the rent - only fair when the facilities are improved.

As I have no clue about the current rent we are paying I can't dispute if an increase in rent would be justified or not

however if our current rents adequately reflect the current lack of repair the ground is kept in then an increase would be justified. I have a suspicion though that we are paying an equivalent amount for leichhardt as we are for campbelltown

 

[League Freak™]

These people have tryed to attack the club of anyone that doesnt agree with them. :roll:


If three clubs lease Leichhardt oval, and they are no happy with the current state of the ground, they can take their money elsewhere, they can pay for the upgrades themselves, or they can be glad that they have access to a stadium that can hold over 10,000 people in it.



The Tigers have a $24,000,000 stadium at Campbeltown. They dont need money spent on a second stadium so they can play 6 games a season there!


If people want upgrades to Leichhardt oval based on it being an historic stadium....they are barking up the wrong tree. Historic stadiums are either usefull facilities to play sport at, or they get torn down to make way for more usefull facilities.


With plenty of stadiums in the surrounding areas and with all parties involved strapped for cash as it is this upgrade to Leichhardt oval would be a waste of tax payers money.


Spending tax payers money so that someone can sit on a grass hill watching a financually struggling NRL team and think of the good old day is not on!

 

[simon says]

Yeah,lets pull down everything that isnt modern......


:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[super_coach]

leichardt oval must be saved--not only does the ground have tradition character and soul,but it also has huge potential,with great views down over iron cove,i think in cobination with the council and a private delevoper great things could happen.Although thats unlikley after liverpool councils venture with the dogs.
What ever they do the hill must be retained,with out doubt the best place to park your bum on a football day.Great for kids,great for atmosphere,and 90% of the time the crowd is good.I have been going their for about 40years and hope to be able to keep going.Sure the parkings not great,and the loos etc need updating--but most people i know who go to games want to sit on a picnic rug and enjoy the football,not sit in a plastic seat ----give leichardt a go--go yah tigaers-where your heart on your sleeve

 

[League Freak™]

Im wonder....if this stadium is as good as you say it is....


Why does it need an upgrade? :?

 

[Mighty Tiger]

It is not a Stadium its an oval, and it is as good as we say it is as an oval not a stadium!

We are not pushing for it to become a stadium or for some huge multi-million dollar stands to be built to replace the old ones let alone for it to become a stadium of the future!

We want to keep the oval in roughly the same resemblence as it is now except for 2 old stands that can not be used that could only seat about 500 people in them - 1 of which already has permission to be knocked down and would have been if someone didn't have a heart attack just before it was meant to take place.

See JK and nospam49 are making this out to be a "big deal" when in fact we have asked for less than what numerous councils have spent on other grounds scoreboards to be replaced, other grounds lighting to be fixed, other grounds carparks to be maintained, All of which the fans of the club they support have not asked for over the years :roll:

But what you guys fail to realise is that if these stands are not upgrade and someone does god forbid get injured - then infact it would be more tax payers money than what we are asking for that would be spent on legal costs let alone what would be spent on the payout that would be claimed by the victim!

The fact is that either the stands recieve an upgrade or the government closes the oval down and sells it which is something the government has made clear they won't be doing so that only leaves the 1st option!!!!!!

At the end of the day I am a fan like most of the people talking about the upgrade of the oval on this forum are, I am not employed by any club that plays there, I have not been approached by any person who works with the club to assist in having petitions signed - but I am assisting in getting petitons signed and I have got more signatures from people who are fans from other clubs and some that are not fans of any club but has over the years enjoyed spending some time at the great oval and want to see the oval upgraded and kept as on of the great ovals to have league played out of in many years to come!

 

[Southernsaint]

When does an Oval become a Stadium?? When it gets a Naming Rights sponsor!!

The common link between JK & LF is that their clubs play in soul-less "arena's". Give me Leichhardt, Brookie, or Kogarah any day.

Cheers,
Ben S.

 

[Rexxy]

As touched on elsewhere, the way to get funding is multiple use.

Apia Leichhardt play soccer at Lambert Park. Could they be persuaded to pull up stumps.

The other use that many clubs don't look at is office space or accom. Maybe new grandstands could have retail or office space included?

And living in a marginal electorate also helps.


Anyway OKI proved you can get a ground up to a bare minimum for as little as 1.8 million. Pretty sad that's all that could be found.

If people want world class facilities they need to accept council amalgamations, which allow councils to take Whole of City view when it comes to planning and resources.

Kogarah cant raise 2 million, yet the Bronx get 35 million to upgrade Land park when :-

1) It didnt need it
2) There are plenty of other facilities in the City.

Amalgamation also gets rid of a whole tier of nutty gnome schoolteachers and corrupt ethnic developers posing as alderpersons.

 

[JK]

Good points Rex. Much better than Southernsaint who feels the need to attack rather than justify. Somewhere he missed the fact I actually attended Leichhardt last Sunday because I like the ground.

The whole campaign stil should be focussed the the respective JV partners. They are allowing the Tigers to stay mediocre with their divisions.

There are a few points that need to be addressed before any state money is handed out
a) how much money is required
b) can the JV afford it
c) can it be justified when safety concerns are dealt with by demolishing the offending stands
d) can the NRL afford to kick in if old grounds are so desirable
e) is it in the community interest (not just ours - the league fans)
f) what about playing at other grounds?

 

[brook]

As touched on elsewhere, the way to get funding is multiple use.

Apia Leichhardt play soccer at Lambert Park. Could they be persuaded to pull up stumps.

I think thats actually the reasoning behind seeking to get the ground leveled - Apia cannot use it currently but would like to

 

[Rexxy]

As touched on elsewhere, the way to get funding is multiple use.

Apia Leichhardt play soccer at Lambert Park. Could they be persuaded to pull up stumps.

I think thats actually the reasoning behind seeking to get the ground leveled - Apia cannot use it currently but would like to

From watching the R2K campiagn from the sidelines, the lesson is, I think, these things only happen if someone makes the happen. If you are looking for a couple of mill, ask ALL the stakeholders for money. Fans, Leagues Clubs, Councils, Club Sponsors, NSW Government and Federal Government etc etc. I think OKI is still waiting for the PM's answer but at least representation was made.

And if you think back to the glory days, Leichhardt was at the peak when they played the mid week Amco-Panasonic-KB Knockout cup there.

MAybe that's what a revival can be based around. A boutique well lit, inner city field that could be home to a National FA Cup style comp. The TV Rights would be seperate to the Nine Deal so could be auctioned to 7 or 10.

You should buy Lachlan from R2K lunch and pick his brain. As I said OKI is still a bit of a dump, but at least we're in the running to play 6 games there when the current agreement with Graeme Wynne Stadium, Wollongong expires.

 

[Sincas]

Leichhardt Oval is by far my favourite ground to watch ANY game at. To be on that hill watching a game of footy surrounded by footy fanatics would be enough to get any league supporter to sign this petition- no matter which team you support.

I will be collecting as many signatures as possible to help improve/save this great old ground. Good Luck :alcho:

Thanks Joey, much appreciated.

Look out for some coverage in Big League over the next few weeks too.

We have also got some newspaper articles and testimonials on the website which is updated every couple of days.

Rex, your ideas were great. Thanks for the input.

 

[Rexxy]

posted in the sharks forum....by Ali. Maybe all games could be played at LO?

The excellent monthly newspaper, Rugby League Review, has reported that if a proposed national under 20 competition is to get to goahead for 2005, we will be linking up with Newtown for our reserve grade.

The new national competition will be run in parallel to the NRL, and sides may be able to field a couple of open age players. Premier League will most likely be replaced by a state cup with promotion and relegation, possibly featuring 2 or 3 divisions. NRL Clubs may or may not decide to run reserve grade sides in this new comp, and it looks as though we will do away with reserve grade and sent our excess players to Newtown.

Clubs are supposedly split on whether to go ahead with with the under 20 NRL, but our club is totally in favour of the concept.

"We are supportive of the Under 20's competition and that is why we have held talks with Newtown about a feeder relationship" said Steve rogers.