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A-League teams receive big boost with new Sydney stadiums

7th September, 2015
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The RBB has been handed an ultimatum from Wanderers management. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
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7th September, 2015
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The A-League is set to be the biggest winner following the announcement that more than $1 billion will be invested across four Sydney stadiums in the coming years.

Three of those stadiums will be newly built with Moore Park, Olympic Park, Penrith and Parramatta the benefactors of the NSW government’s infrastructure spending.

A new stadium at Moore Park will replace the 30-year-old Allianz Stadium, with a 55,000 seat rectangular venue being built.

ANZ Stadium will become a premier versatile venue as it upgrades its existing structure to include a retractable roof, fan precinct and mobile end stands to completely transform from an oval to a rectangular ground.

Parramatta Stadium will be replaced by a 30,000 seat stadium, a long awaited upgrade to the basic facilities at the current site. Penrith will receive a news sports ground too, though it’s unlikely to commence construction until the other projects are in their final stages.

The major winners in this upgrade are Sydney’s A-League teams, who both get a new stadium with upgraded facilities and seating capacity. Parramatta stadium will become a true fortress for the Western Sydney Wanderers allowing for a greater fan experience and improved facilities for fans.

The new ground is set to play host to the Parramatta Eels during the winter months while the Wanderers will take over during the summer, allowing for an almost perfect ground share arrangement.

The Parramatta Stadium project has been prioritised over the others and could be completed by 2019 for an estimated cost of $300 million.

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The Moore Park stadium project represents an exciting step for Sydney FC too. A larger stadium purpose-built for rugby and football will give Sydney fans the ability to have their own true home too.

While Allianz Stadium has been the team’s proud home for many years, its capacity has limited the fan experience during derby games and friendly matches.

While Socceroos matches and European friendlies have been played at ANZ Stadium in previous years, a larger capacity stadium at Moore Park means Sydney FC could hold some of these big friendly games in their own home ground.

More details on the Moore Park project are expected in the coming months.

The final stadium that provides an option for the A-League is ANZ Stadium. An upgrade to its ability to host rectangular matches will make it a large drawcard for many events. In previous years, the side stands have been able to move closer to the action during rectangular events but fans behind the goal still sat a long way from the action.

The revolutionary proposal for the stadium is that the end stands will be able to move forward too, creating a completely authentic rectangular experience during football and rugby matches. Of course, its capacity brings up an important footballing question.

Should this be the site where the Sydney Derby is contested?

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Of course, it is unreasonable to expect both sides to be completely content with playing at a neutral venue, but the prospect of 80,000 football fans packing into a stadium with an enclosed roof and chanting until their throats are sore is an exciting one.

With three fixtures per season against each other, the question is certainly there as to whether even one of these games should be played at the neutral ANZ Stadium.

While the site will be hotly contested during footy season with several Sydney rugby league teams, the Sydney Swans and Greater Western Sydney Giants all competing for the ground during the winter, the ground remains relatively unused during summer save the odd cricket or rugby game.

The infrastructure upgrades in and around these venues makes the future of A-League football in world-class stadiums an exciting one.

If you’re an A-League, football or sporting fan, it’s worth getting excited over the future of our sports grounds.

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