Wests Tigers' request for Leichhardt Oval upgrade dismissed by NSW Premier Chris Minns
In short: Wests Tigers chief executive Shane Richardson wants millions of dollars for an upgrade for Leichhardt Oval, but NSW Premier Chris Minns says it will not happen.
The Tigers beat Cronulla 32-6 at their traditional home on Saturday night, with long lines for facilities and concessions at the ground.
What's next? The Tigers' next game at Leichhardt is in June against the Gold Coast Titans.
Wests Tigers may have to deliver on their promise to vacate Leichhardt Oval at the end of the year after the NSW government refused their request to fund an upgrade.
The Tigers will play five of their 12 home games this season at Leichhardt Oval but have long held concerns for the condition and facilities at the hallowed inner west ground.
Leichhardt has insufficient change rooms to host NRL men's and women's double-headers, regularly features some of the NRL's longest queues for refreshments, and pales in comparison to other Sydney stadiums when it comes to corporate and media facilities.
Former Tigers premiership player Dene Halatau spoke on ABC Sport's broadcast of the Tigers' 32-6 win over Cronulla on Saturday night about the special place the ground holds in the club's history, while acknowledging its shortcomings.
"[The Sydney Football Stadium, Western Sydney Stadium and Lang Park] are phenomenal, but a fan comes here knowing what they're getting," he said.
"In terms of facilities there's work that could be done, [but] the players have got everything they need.
"It's not modern, it doesn't have all the trimmings, but when a fan comes to Leichhardt they overlook a lot of the rest of that stuff."
On Monday, Tigers chief executive Shane Richardson and Inner West Council Mayor Darcy Byrne banded together to request Leichhardt Oval receive 10 per cent of funding allocated to Penrith's stadium upgrade by the NSW government.
The home stadium of the three-time defending premiers will receive a $309 million face-lift in 2025 that expands the ground's capacity to 25,000 with an all-new western grandstand and refurbished eastern grandstand.
The Tigers, who finished last the past two years and have also hosted home games at Western Sydney Stadium, Campbelltown Stadium and Stadium Australia in recent years, have yet to commit to any home ground beyond 2024.
Richardson threatened to move the Tigers out of Leichhardt altogether if the request went unfulfilled, having relocated South Sydney's home games from Moore Park to Homebush during his time in charge of that club.
But on Tuesday, NSW Premier Chris Minns pointed to the state's financial situation as grounds for blocking the Tigers' audacious request.
"I appreciate that [the Tigers] have got to make a decision about their club and where they play their home games," Mr Minns said.
"But we, as everybody knows, have got $180 billion worth of debt in NSW.
"We've got massive pressure on the hospital system, education system, [and] we're rolling out the biggest public transport projects in the state's history."
Leichhardt Oval's status as a part-time NRL venue also influenced the premier's decision.
This season, the Tigers are playing five of 12 home games at Campbelltown Sports Stadium, one at Scully Park in Tamworth and one at Brisbane's Lang Park as part of Magic Round.
"I don't have spare dollars at the moment to pump into Leichhardt Oval, particularly as the Tigers' games are split between those two home grounds [Campbelltown and Leichhardt]," Mr Minns said.
"My real fear is that we put money into Leichhardt and the week afterwards they say now we need the money for Campbelltown.
"These things have got to be finely balanced and I'd love to have the spare revenue to pump into a suburban stadium at the moment, but I don't have it."
The Tigers return to Leichhardt on June 15 to host Gold Coast.
