Wests Tigers submit plans for $57 million centre of excellence at Concord Oval
Michael Chammas
Published: March 31, 2017 - 7:40PM
Suddenly the future looks bright at the Wests Tigers. Just days out from announcing Ivan Cleary as the man to lead the joint venture, the club has submitted plans for a $57 million centre of excellence that will be the benchmark of sport in NSW.
Plans that revolve around the eventual demolition of the Concord Oval grandstands have been put forward to the state government as part of an initiative that will see $40 million invested into NSW sporting facilities.
The Wests Tigers are hopeful of moving out of their dilapidated Concord Oval headquarters into their new facility in 2019, which will also include a multi-purpose community facility as part of the designs submitted for approval on Friday.
The Tigers, who arguably have the worst training facility in the NRL, are expected to put forward in excess of $10 million which will be matched by the state government to build one section of the facility.
The club has also gathered financial commitments from several different bodies to fund close to $30 million needed to build the community-based section of the facility.
"This facility is paramount for the evolution of this organisation to remain competitive in the NRL, especially when it comes to attracting and retaining not only football talent but talented staff," Tigers chief executive Justin Pascoe said.
"As spoken about previously, we're diligently working towards establishing a winning environment and this facility certainly adds to that. We want to provide a world class training, administration and community facility that services the needs of the club, players, staff and community over the next 20 years and beyond. This is a vision we're feverishly working to turn into a reality."
NRL clubs were asked to submit their second final plans to government on March 31, with the Sydney Roosters and Manly Sea Eagles among a long list of NSW clubs trying to earn a piece of the $40 million pie on offer.
The Tigers have purposely included a community use section as part of their submission, which has the backing of rugby union club West Harbour Pirates.
The facility will include a Tigers-exclusive gym and a community gym, as well as three basketball courts, boxing facility and rehabilitation clinic.
"The proposed development is based on an exemplar model, bringing together elite sport, a community group with impeccable credentials in delivering facilities and programs to benefit the community, and local government," Pascoe said.
"The model delivers outstanding facilities, efficiencies across multiple users, a focus on sustainability, and commercial opportunities for the club previously out of reach."
The Tigers believe their facility will surpass the Panthers academy as the premium facility in the NRL, and will be bettered only by the Fremantle Dockers on a national scale.
The facility will also include a retail portion, cafe and childcare facilities. If approved, it's likely construction will begin in early 2018.
This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...cellence-at-concord-oval-20170331-gvb2js.html
