How Parramatta lost major asset Eels to Kellyville
It’s a brand which is intrinsically linked to the city of Parramatta’s identity. If you ask a punter at any interstate pub what they know about Parramatta, it’s unlikely to be about how it’s one of the fastest growing cities in Australia, or the local cultural-heritage attractions. You can bet that, more often than not, it’ll be about NRL club the Eels. For all their whacks with the wooden spoon since 2012, the Parramatta Eels remain part of the city’s fabric as many locals ride a rollercoaster of emotions based on the team’s results. Last week, however, the club announced it was relocating to Kellyville, outside of the Parramatta local government area, in search of more open space to build a $40 million high-performance centre. And while no one is blaming the club for looking for the best possible deal to set up a new world-class home, there is a deeper story to how Parramatta lost one of its greatest assets. An Advertiser investigation can today reveal how Parramatta Council has been caught napping by a neighbouring council after letting slip a deal with the Eels in 2014 to support a major upgrade of the Old Saleyards site at North Parramatta. Back then, the council approved plans for a $26 million high-performance training centre, which included a gymnasium, player recovery facilities, coaching and video rooms, a theatrette and office space for club administration.
But fast-forward five years and, despite some improvements to the Old Saleyards grounds, the project has not come to fruition. Attempts were made by council and Eels representatives in 2014 and 2015 to attract funding commitments by the state and federal governments for the upgrade, but it never happened. And, as Parramatta Council fell asleep as the wheel, Hills Council courted the Eels in recent months and, with the support of its state and federal MPs, made an offer too good to refuse for the Eels. In this special report, we reveal why club made the move; how Parramatta’s leaders couldn’t convert a golden opportunity; and reaction from an Eels great and a diehard fan. THE CLUB The Eels’ boss says the deal with Hills Council to move to Kellyville, a 30-minute drive from the heart of Parramatta, came about “pretty quickly” on the eve of last week’s Federal Election. “There was some great support from Hills Council and Mayor Michelle Byrne, (Mitchell Liberal Federal MP) Alex Hawke and (Baulkham Hills Liberal State MP) David Elliott,” Eels chief executive officer Bernie Gurr said. “So we had all levels involved and it all came together pretty quickly. They all saw the macro opportunity and how it could benefit both the local community and the club.” The new $40 million facility — backed by a $15m funding commitment by the Coalition Government — will include a 5000sq m community and high-performance centre and an NRL-standard match venue with a 1000-seat grandstand. It will also be home to junior rugby league, touch football and league tag teams, the Canterbury Cup and host elite women’s rugby league fixtures. Stage one of the project will see the club transfer its elite programs to a modular training facility later this year. It’s a plan not dissimilar to the one which was approved in 2014 by Parramatta Council, but the extra land at Kellyville allows for a bigger state-of-the-art base.
Mr Gurr said the decision to move out of Parramatta was not put to a vote by its 25,000-strong members. “No, it was the board and senior management working on a project that we think will be a key pillar for this club going forward,” he said. “Our goal is to produce a strong professional, ethical club. And part of that is having the facilities to do that. “We’ve had good feedback from our members and they understand what we need to do to prepare our teams in the best possible way. “We’ve been at this for two-and-a-half years now with the new board and management team and it’s certainly been on our radar.” Asked if the club had any regrets about leaving Parramatta, he said: “The reality is that we’re staying inside the Parramatta rugby league district. “Since 1947, NSW Rugby League has allocated this district from Liverpool in the south to Homebush in the east to Blacktown in the west and to Wisemans Ferry in the north. “I think people would understand that there’s just no space available in the broader Parramatta city region that would satisfy the land needs that we have (to build a high-performance centre). “Our stadium, the best rugby league stadium in Australia, sits right in the middle of the city. This will have a monumental economic impact to the city of Parramatta. “And the Parramatta Leagues Club, our owner, will stay where it is in Parramatta in the stadium precinct.” He said the club would not completely walk away from its current home base in North Parramatta. “With the Old Saleyards site, we want to still be involved there, whether it’s through coaching clinics for kids or whatever we can do to help promote healthy lifestyles,” Mr Gurr said.
Former long-serving club CEO Dennis Fitzgerald endorsed the move to Kellyville. “There is more available land at Kellyville — and you’ll find this sort of move is not uncommon in world sport,” Mr Fitzgerald, who started with the club 50 years ago playing as a second-rower in third grade before making the move into the administration ranks, said.
“Most big English soccer clubs are a long way from their home ground, and it ensures the stadiums are kept in pristine conditions for games. “This is a matter of the club looking at the future and its growth.” THE COUNCIL Past and present Parramatta leaders have blamed all levels of government for letting the Eels slip out of the city. The council had five years to lock in the NRL club, after it approved redevelopment plans for the Old Saleyards site in North Parramatta. Along with the club, it sought funding assistance from Parramatta’s state and federal MPs, as well as the NRL. However, it came up empty. As the council lay idle, neighbouring Hills Council pounced. It’s left Parramatta Lord Mayor Andrew Wilson feeling “a bit annoyed”. Asked if he knew the cashed-up Hills Council was planning to cut his council’s grass, he said: “Not really. “I was a little bit surprised, but I got the courtesy of a phone call from the Eels two hours before they signed the deal. “The club has obviously done some hard bargaining, and that’s their right to do that. “But we still get the cream with the Eels by the leagues club staying here and they’ll play home games at Bankwest Stadium. They will remain a great asset to our city.” Two former Parramatta leaders lamented the loss of the Eels. Paul Garrard, who was mayor in 2015 when attempts were made to get all three levels of government on board to keep the Eels, said he was aware of Hills Council’s secret move “more than six months ago”.
“Yes, they were in talks for some time,” Mr Garrard said. He stood up for what council did five years ago to improve the Eels’ training base at the Old Saleyards. “The Eels must have had the worst training facilities in the competition before we fixed them,” Mr Garrard said. “I would have loved for the Eels to stay here, because I know how much work went into improving the Old Saleyards. “We lobbied the State Government for funding in 2015, but it fell on deaf ears. And we also made attempts to get money from the NRL, and this didn’t happen either.” John Chedid, the mayor from 2010-14, said council was part of “collective lobbying” to help put the Eels into top-class facilities. “But it obviously didn’t happen,” he said. “The Eels have always had a lot of support from this great city and I would have been delighted to have seen them stay here.” Mr Chedid turned up the heat on Parramatta State Liberal MP Geoff Lee for “not completing the stadium/Eels package deal”. “The State Government has spent $360 million on a new stadium at Parramatta and an extra $15 million for a state-of-the-art training facility would have complemented it,” he said. Mr Lee hit back, saying the government needed to “build facilities for everyone”.
Asked if he had any recollections from the meetings in 2015, Mr Lee said: “Only slight ones. “They were asking for around $30 million for the upgrade. I actually tried getting the Eels moved into the old King’s School, but they didn’t want that and it then it became a school.” He said the matter “comes back to council, because it’s their grounds”. “The reality is that Hills Council was able to respond much quicker than Parramatta Council to what the Eels were asking for,” Mr Lee said. “I said to (Eels CEO) Bernie (Gurr) that ‘we will miss you’, but if another council is willing to give you the land and fast-track the development process, then that’s understandable.” Long-serving Parramatta Labor councillor Pierre Esber conceded that his council had been caught napping. “Very much so. I’ve got my ear to the ground and I didn’t know the Hills Council was courting the club,” Cr Esber said. “We don’t have the greenfield space like the Hills Council does, but if Geoff Lee really wanted the Eels to stay here, he would have made it happen years ago.” For her part, Hills Mayor Michelle Byrne is having the last laugh over her rival council. “We look forward to finalising the designs of the project together (with the Eels) and working with all the relevant parties in delivering this great vision,” Cr Byne said.
