The NRL’s Sydney Roosters, A-League’s Sydney FC and Super Rugby’s Waratahs have rallied together to send a strong message to the NSW government: tear down Allianz Stadium at our peril.
The three clubs were led to understand that the state government’s plan was to build a new rectangular stadium across the road from the Moore Park site, at the Centennial Parklands.
However on Monday Premier Mike Baird said his government’s plan was to tear down the stadium and rebuild on the present site, which would mean the clubs that call Allianz home would have to relocate all home games for four years.
In response, the three clubs released a joint statement, calling on the government to upgrade the Sydney Football Stadium in a fashion that would allow games to still be played at the ground during the renovation.
“We strongly oppose a new stadium on the existing site, as a forced relocation out of Allianz Stadium for four seasons will be disastrous for all three clubs, their respective members and fans,” read the joint statement.
“The damage that would be caused to the three clubs would extend well beyond the four-year construction period, as it would take many years to fully recover and would require major levels of compensation for impacted clubs.
“It is well-known in the sports industry that maintaining crowds is a worldwide challenge which would only be exacerbated if an Allianz Stadium shut down for a period of time were to occur. Research indicates that when teams are displaced from their established home ground, the impact is negative and of a long-term nature. Some clubs never recover.”
The Waratahs are particularly aggrieved by the situation, having recently signed a 16-year lease with the SCG Trust.
“No one has ever spoken to us about a plan B. We haven’t even thought about where we might go,” Tahs chairman Roger Davis told Fairfax Media.
“We just signed a 16-year contract, and now you’re telling me for 25 per cent of that period we don’t know where we’re going to play. It’ll cost the government a lot in compensation. But how do you compensate for the end of a club or the destruction of a club?
“We wouldn’t have signed up for 16 years if we knew we would only be there for 12. We were assured by everyone that the existing stadium would continue, and we would have lived with the revamp while we were playing, but not a total pull down that casts us into the wilderness.”
Roosters boss Nick Politis was more succinct, telling Fairfax, “No way. We’d be crazy. It would put us back God knows how many years.”
The government’s Rebuilding the Major Stadia Network strategy was unveiled last September, with the following major aims:
More than $1 billion will be invested in the stadia network over the next decade to deliver:
A new rectangular stadium at Parramatta with 30,000 seats
A new rectangular stadium at Moore Park with 50,000 to 55,000 seats
The redevelopment of Stadium Australia which may include a retractable roof
A new indoor arena near the CBD
A new outer Western Sydney sporting venue
The completion of the SCG upgrade.
The implementation report said the rectangular stadium at Moore Park was priority number two (behind the Parramatta upgrade), with a three to five year timeframe. Specficially, the report said they would: “Construct Australia’s largest, dedicated world-class rectangular stadium near the Sydney CBD with a capacity of 55,000 to 60,000 seats to host Rugby League, Rugby Union, Football matches and concerts in the Moore Park precinct to replace the existing Sydney Football Stadium.”
It’s clearly outlined – “replace the existing Sydney Football Stadium”. Not rebuild, nor supplement it with another stadium, replace.
Still, that was some eight months ago, and there have been extensive negotiations and re-drafting of plans since then.
Sam
Guest
This isn't about the sporting teams, this is about votes. The Baird Govt can say they're investing in infrastructure, creating jobs promote the state through world class sporting events, probably bid for a Commonwealth Games. Here in Victoria Daniel Andrews created a public holiday on a Friday... For no other reason but to get votes!
Scrum
Guest
Am I missing something. Is Allianz Stadium in bad physical shape & about to fall down. Allianz is a 45,000 seat stadium that is rarely filled so we will knock it down & build a 50-55K stadium at huge expense that will rarely be filled. Have not been there for years but was a pretty good stadium then. Surely a refurb is all that is needed. Maybe I will wake up to discover this is a Monty Python skit.
Johnno
Guest
I thought the SCG now does use drop in pitches. The NRL game for heritage round this year didn't look like a cricket pitch was there.
Who?
Guest
Complete agree. And, from a Rugby perspective... I read an article on the Roar just yesterday asking the question, "Are these really the NSW Waratahs?" Or just the Eastern Suburbs Waratahs? It's an opportunity to take the game to the wider community. And it's an opportunity to see if there really is demand for extra games in Sydney.
marcel
Guest
What we really need is a 25-30 K seater on the old showground site..
mds1970
Roar Guru
The Roosters and Waratahs could in theory, although they'd have to work around the Swans. Sydney FC couldn't because of cricket - the SCG doesn't use drop-in pitches, and with a heavily booked cricket calendar at the ground, there's always cricket pitches on the ground at that time of year that can't be grassed over.
Doug Graves
Guest
Can't they just play out of the SCG? Or what about North Sydney Oval? Play the big games at the SCG and the small games at North Sydney.
mick
Guest
It should also be pointed out that the plan to build a second stadium at Moore Park would have gifted something like half the community sporting fields in the area and a big chunk of parkland to the SCG Trust. Pretty much no-one in the area wants it and can't understand why this is the preferred option over renovating the existing stadiums. While I'm a rugby fan, I am concerned that the minister, ARU, Roosters etc don't seem to give a damn about taking away public land from people who might want to use it for something other than another football stadium. There are community and school sports on the Moore Park fields every day of the week. Where are those people supposed to go if a second stadium is built? Would the NRL and ARU consider giving back some of their existing fields to the greater community?
marron
Guest
The solution is simple. The tenants don't want to move. The government doesn't want to build on the parkland. So refurbish what exists. Surely that's reasonable for a stadium that only gets filled once or twice a year, existing as it does at one end of a huge expanse of city. This would free up plenty of funds for other projects and everyone wins. Everyone of course except the SCG trust who won't get quite so much public money to siphon through their organization. "But we need a world class blah blah blah".... can someone tell me just what events NSW will miss out on if it doesn't build a new stadium with an extra 15000 seats in top of the 30000 that hardly get used as it is? Especially if ANZ gets redone too? And how did a fact finding mission to the states fail to take note if just how unhappy American fans are with their state of the art rebuilds? And how does it work that when a proposal to the government gets rejected, a body is given millions by said government to come up with a new one?
HarryHP
Guest
What a shambles this has become. There are pro's and cons on both sides. One the one hand, it makes sense to eventually decommission all the old dingy suburban grounds and play in 3 centrally located, shiny new stadiums. This is the Melbourne model but may not make sense in Sydney given their horrendous roads and not much better public transport, combined with their fickle attendances outside of the ultra big events (e.g. State of Origins, grand finals). On the other hand, ANZ and Allianz are rarely filled to capacity as it is. What makes people think that replacing a not too old Allianz stadium, which is already centrally located, with a brand new stadium in the same spot with 15k EXTRA seats, a good idea? There are no easy answers here...