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https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/n...s/news-story/cc4e1eaa1b5cdec04c87314d68b9f16d
NRL chairman Peter Beattie urges Sydney to ‘get behind stadium rebuilds or lose big events’
EXCLUSIVE, Anna Caldwell and Rose Brennan, The Daily Telegraph
in an hour
NRL chairman Peter Beattie has issued a warning to Sydney saying it might as well give up to Melbourne and relinquish its “premier state” title if it doesn’t want to invest in bringing the city’s iconic stadiums up to scratch.
In the NRL’s fiercest comments yet on the stadium investment debate, new chairman Mr Beattie said NSW had to ask itself if it wanted Sydney to be a leader in sport, or if it was happy to fall behind Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.
In an impassioned call for “straight talk” to convince the “faint-hearted”, Mr Beattie said the investment proposed for stadiums was “chicken feed” when held up against the rest of the budget and would inspire a whole generation of children to value sport and become more active.
“The reality is Sydney is Australia’s largest city — it should be a world leader attracting events internationally and to do that it needs the best facilities,” he said.
“And if not, well, give up to Melbourne if you want to. That’s fine but don’t pretend you want to be a leader. You won’t be the premier state as you once called yourself.”
Calling on “every rugby league supporter in the state” to get behind the stadiums investment, Mr Beattie said it was not only good for the game but good for the community.
As a former Queensland premier, Mr Beattie drove the construction of two new stadiums during his tenure, an achievement which he said drove massive economic activity there.
Mr Beattie said he’d looked at the budget himself and the spend on stadiums was “chicken feed” compared to health and education budgets.
“Remember this — investing in sport and stadiums encourage a whole new generation of kids to play sport,” he said.
He also said Perth’s new stadium had captured the attention of the country and the NRL, after hosting a crowd of 38,824 on Saturday.
He added that other states were “hoping” Sydney’s stadia investment fell over so they could take over major matches.
“No one should be under any illusions about that.”
NRL chairman Peter Beattie urges Sydney to ‘get behind stadium rebuilds or lose big events’
EXCLUSIVE, Anna Caldwell and Rose Brennan, The Daily Telegraph
in an hour
NRL chairman Peter Beattie has issued a warning to Sydney saying it might as well give up to Melbourne and relinquish its “premier state” title if it doesn’t want to invest in bringing the city’s iconic stadiums up to scratch.
In the NRL’s fiercest comments yet on the stadium investment debate, new chairman Mr Beattie said NSW had to ask itself if it wanted Sydney to be a leader in sport, or if it was happy to fall behind Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.
In an impassioned call for “straight talk” to convince the “faint-hearted”, Mr Beattie said the investment proposed for stadiums was “chicken feed” when held up against the rest of the budget and would inspire a whole generation of children to value sport and become more active.
“The reality is Sydney is Australia’s largest city — it should be a world leader attracting events internationally and to do that it needs the best facilities,” he said.
“And if not, well, give up to Melbourne if you want to. That’s fine but don’t pretend you want to be a leader. You won’t be the premier state as you once called yourself.”
Calling on “every rugby league supporter in the state” to get behind the stadiums investment, Mr Beattie said it was not only good for the game but good for the community.
As a former Queensland premier, Mr Beattie drove the construction of two new stadiums during his tenure, an achievement which he said drove massive economic activity there.
Mr Beattie said he’d looked at the budget himself and the spend on stadiums was “chicken feed” compared to health and education budgets.
“Remember this — investing in sport and stadiums encourage a whole new generation of kids to play sport,” he said.
He also said Perth’s new stadium had captured the attention of the country and the NRL, after hosting a crowd of 38,824 on Saturday.
He added that other states were “hoping” Sydney’s stadia investment fell over so they could take over major matches.
“No one should be under any illusions about that.”
