THE state government has stamped a death notice on one of Sydneys favourite Sunday afternoon activities watching NRL games at traditional old suburban grounds. The days of getting rugged up on weekend afternoons to enjoy a pie and beer on the hill at the famous footy ovals are soon to be gone under plans to raise our sporting facilities to an international level.
Sports Minister Stuart Ayres said the government would no longer invest in the district venues where rugby league has been played for more than a century. Instead, money would be poured into major upgrades at Allianz and ANZ stadiums, including a *retractable roof over the Homebush Olympic venue.
Old favourites such as Leichhardt Oval, Shark Park, Brookvale and Kogarah will either be left to rot or become training facilities and multi-purpose venues for wider use, similar to Redfern Oval and Belmore Sports Ground.
Mr Ayres insisted all future government spending would be restricted to the bigger *facilities, ANZ and Allianz, plus a third, as yet undetermined, venue in Sydneys west.
He said nine Sydney NRL clubs can only survive in such a cramped market by generating more revenue from higher memberships and use of the bigger venues.
My long-term view ... is that we have to make the transition from suburban grounds to major stadium facilities, Mr Ayres said.
Sport in NSW will not compete *nationally or internationally if we restrict ourselves to suburban facilities.
If youre an NRL club driving towards 20,000 to 25,000 members, the suburban ground will not service your membership and wont have enough seats to sell to other customers as well.
Pressed about losing old favourites such as Leichhardt Oval, the minister stood firm.
Absolutely its special and important to that community, he said. But its role as a facility to play national sport in is limited to maybe one or two events a year.
I dont see it as part of our core strategy in NSW. It offers some nostalgia but not as a *financially viable sports base.
The biggest impact on Sydney crowds is the poor state of facilities and the *accessibility of these facilities.
People have been turning away from small suburban grounds ... because they dont offer the experience you get at home watching Channel Nine or Foxtel.
So they dont go as frequently as they would if they were offered a better product. If we offer good quality facilities they will turn up.
Mr Ayres is a fanatical Panthers fan, whose own home ground could be in the firing line under the new policy.
I love watching the Panthers at home, he said, But if its the 14th of July and youre sitting up on the northern hill on a Monday night, its pretty cold and the experience isnt all that hospitable.
The future of the Penrith facility will be the centre of *interesting manoeuvring in coming months, with the minister caught in a tough situation. He is the local member for Penrith and has formed a tight relationship with influential Panthers boss Phil Gould, who is furiously lobbying for the third stadium to be built on the site of their current home ground.
This is despite pressure on the government to do the more obvious redevelopment of Parramatta Stadium, home to the Eels and the Western Sydney Wanderers, who boast massive supporter bases.
Already, $29 million of federal and state money has been committed to Parramatta, which will only increase the venue by 4000 seats and *improve training facilities.
Sport has to pay its own way in the NSW budget, Mr Ayres said, adding that he was confident Sydney would eventually overtake Melbourne as the nations sporting capital.
