https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/n...s/news-story/fb1e95609e6c5ca96b4c1fb1f77f6292
South Sydney Rabbitohs asks their fans to ‘show their public support’ for the stadium rebuilds
EXCLUSIVE, Anna Caldwell & Rose Brennan, The Daily Telegraph
in 40 minutes
SYDNEY’S biggest rugby league club will write to its 30,000 members urging them to “make their support public” for the government’s plans to rebuild its two iconic stadiums in a grassroots campaign to sell the benefits.
It comes as Labor leader Luke Foley
declared yesterday he would not rebuild either of Sydney’s ailing stadiums, leaving them to languish at the back of the pack nationally.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal Rabbitohs CEO Blake Solly will write to the club’s members next Tuesday, activating loyal mum and dad sports fans to get behind the investment in sports infrastructure.
It is a concerted effort to spread the message, with an expectation other clubs may follow, seeing more than 100,000 fierce league supporters turning into foot soldiers in the stadiums sell.
NRL chief Peter Beattie said the Rabbitohs were playing a “leadership role” in activating “people power”.
Mr Foley’s move to finally settle on a policy position that effectively leaves NSW with two substandard stadiums that are among the worst in the country sets the scene for a fierce battle in the community over the issue in coming months.
He made the declaration despite KPMG economic modelling for the government showing a mere refurbishment of Allianz Stadium offered little to no economic value.
Mr Foley wouldn’t say how much he wanted to spend on the stadiums and would only invest in “modest refurbishments”.
“We won’t be knocking down and rebuilding either Moore Park or Olympic Park stadium. There are much greater priorities for New South Wales,” he said.
“We will release costed and detailed policy before the election.”
He also won’t say what he will do with a flattened ground at Moore Park, with the government planning to knock down Allianz Stadium before the election.
Yesterday the NSW government agreed to release within three weeks a stack of documents relating to its spend of more than $2 billion on stadiums.
By agreeing to the demand, the government avoided MP Matthew Mason-Cox crossing the floor over the call for documents.
Government ministers are urging Premier Gladys Berejiklian to make a final decision on the plan before the document drop, saying the indecision is “death by a thousand cuts”.
Ms Berejiklian has been using MPs close to her to canvas backbenchers. Many believe a backflip would be politically poisonous, while others believe there is a middle ground to be found of delaying the ANZ refurbishment.
The Daily Telegraph can also reveal Mr Beattie has received personal assurance from Deputy Premier John Barilaro that he supports the knockdown and rebuild of ANZ stadium, but wants the case to be made adequately to voters.
Mr Solly’s email to the Rabbitohs’ vast membership on Tuesday will specifically compare NSW facilities with those in Perth, which now far outstrips the state.
“The NSW government is right to invest now before the state falls behind its competition for major events, with the resulting damage to the economy,” the email will say.
“Members want to see ANZ upgraded.”
