Sydney NRL clubs are considering agitating for $200 million of NSW government funding for suburban grounds as part of a bold stadiums counter proposal that will result in scrapping plans to build a new Pirtek Stadium in favour of diverting resources towards ANZ Stadium.
There is a backlash from several clubs about the government's plan to spend most of the $1.6 billion of redevelopment funds on the levelling and rebuilding of Allianz Stadium. Instead, they want most of the money redirected to ANZ Stadium and are looking at ways to garner the support of other Sydney franchises.
The issues were debated at a gathering of club powerbrokers at Canterbury Leagues Club on Friday afternoon. It is understood the Bulldogs and South Sydney – the two main tenants at ANZ Stadium – led discussions and were hopeful their home ground would receive a bigger slice of the funding pie.
In an attempt to garner support, it was proposed the remaining eight suburban grounds – Pirtek Stadium, Leichhardt Oval, Kogarah Oval, Pepper Stadium, Brookvale Oval, WIN Stadium, Campbelltown Stadium and Southern Cross Group Stadium at Cronulla – receive about $25 million each in funding.
In grouping Pirtek Stadium in the "suburban ground" category, it was suggested Parramatta's home venue missed out on the $300 million the government had set aside to knock it down and rebuild.
The government is seeking a 65-game commitment from the NRL at Allianz, Pirtek and ANZ stadiums to ensure there is sufficient content at the stadiums it intends to rebuild or refurbish. It was hoped an agreement could be reached on Friday, but the deadline was extended several days as the clubs jostled for the riches set aside for the revamp of the state's stadium network.
There was a push at the meeting for the Eels to commit a minimum of two games at ANZ Stadium under the counter proposal, although that might not be as attractive a proposition, given they could instead have a new stadium of their own for all home fixtures.
It appears any push to prevent Pirtek Stadium from being rebuilt is destined to fail, as preparations to begin construction at the end of the NRL season have progressed too far.
Some Sydney clubs would prefer for Allianz to be refurbished rather than rebuilt, saving funds that could be redirected elsewhere.
But the government is keen on its original proposal and is hoping the NRL will guarantee the requisite number of matches to the "big three" stadiums.
Speaking at the launch of the State of Origin series at ANZ Stadium during the week, NSW Sports Minister Stuart Ayres said he believed the move would allow sports to increase their attendances and revenues.
"What we do want to do is provide a stadium network that allows all clubs, whatever sport they are in, to flourish," Ayres told Fairfax Media.
"We want them to be able to grow their fan and members base, we want them to grow the revenue that comes into their clubs. We think the best chance for them to do that is to have more of their content based in the network of larger stadiums.
"It provides better opportunities for fans, it provides better opportunities for corporate support. If you want to grow your product, grow your business and grow your club and take that passion and tribalism to a new level, we've seen around the world that better quality facilities let clubs do that."
By squabbling over how the funds were allocated, the clubs were jeopardising the release of funds.
"We've said right from September when we announced our stadia network, content needs to be part of the commitment," Ayres said.
"Without content, there is no cash flow through stadiums and, if there is no cash flow, there is very rarely a business case for it."
