THE Western Sydney Wanderers and Parramatta Eels are struggling to convince the Baird government to further increase capacity at Pirtek Stadium as part of its planned $29 million upgrade.
Sport Minister Stuart Ayres has told The Daily Telegraph he had found some “common ground” with the teams and was keen to start work on “the parts of the upgrade everyone is happy with”.
The Wanderers and Eels have been trying to convince the government to expand works, saying it is too disruptive to undertake construction when the project would deliver only an extra 1800 seats.
Mr Ayres admitted the Wanderers were concerned they would lose about $1 million in revenue from spectators next season as parts of the stands would be closed during building work.
“I don’t think that $29 million is going to significantly increase the capacity,’’ he said.
“But I also don’t think the two tenants have a desire to want to go through the necessary pain of losing capacity to get a (further) small gain.’’
Work is scheduled to begin this month overhauling the stadium’s corporate and team facilities and increasing its capacity to 22,500 seats, using $20 million allocated by the federal government, $6 million by the state and $3 million by Parramatta City Council.
Mr Ayres said he would consider asking the federal government if some of the $20 million allocated could be reserved for possible future investment in the stadium if agreement could not be reached on completing all of the proposed works now.
“But money is pretty scarce and I don’t want to have it just sitting there in a bank account _ I would rather see it invested in facilities,’’ the Penrith-based MP said.
Both clubs would like the venue to be converted into Western Sydney’s largest rectangular stadium with 32,000 seats.
Such a plan could cost up to $100 million but Eels chief executive Scott Seward has said that private investors would be interested in developing office, retail and elite sports science facilities.
Mr Ayres said a decision on a site for a major new stadium for Western Sydney would not be made until at least the second term of the Coalition government.
He said his immediate focus was resolving how upgrades worth hundreds of millions of dollars can be financed at Sydney’s two major sports precincts, Homebush’s ANZ Stadium and Moore Park’s Allianz.
He said the proposed international airport at Badgerys Creek could be a catalyst for the private sector to put forward plans for a major new stadium in Western Sydney.
Liverpool, which will become a major hub near the airport, has preliminary plans to develop a stadium, as well as the Penrith Panthers, which are pushing for a major expansion of the 22,500-seat Centrebet Stadium.
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Honestly I'm not that surprised by this. With money so tight I can understand why they're hesitant on making a decision, and it's likely one won't be made for at least another couple of years. What I do find interesting is that Stuart Ayres, who is a staunch Panthers fan, wants us to just take the 29M on offer and be happy with it (and it looks like it is actually being forced on us with construction due to start soon, which would almost certainly push the Souths game to ANZ with Pirtek undergoing redevelopment). I think it's clear that he would personally prefer on a big stadium upgrade in Penrith than anywhere else.
Meanwhile, Scott Seward seems to have realised that our best chance lies with private investment rather than public funding. This is the strategy that he should have adopted from the get go. He needs to partner with the property developers who are set to jump in and take advantage of the big growth Parramatta is experiencing.
I think things are in the balance at this stage, and I'm not overly confident of achieving what we want. The NRL is not on our side, and our business credentials and aptitude are not first class. I still think John Chedid is potentially our biggest ally, but I'm not exactly sure how committed he is. Getting him to help us source private investment would be a big plus. Seward needs to convince him that investing in the Eels is investment in Parramatta.
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What a joke, but they were happy to pay over 100m for two separate stadiums for the GWS Midgets. The biggest most embarrassing team in Australia. But can't stump up the cash for two wanted teams in a state owned facility which hasn't had a dime spent on it for over 30 years.
Think AFL probably stumped up some cash, certainly did for Metricon Stadium on Gold Coast, about $100m I think.
Very interesting Brett. It really is a shame though. Any mates that I've taken to Parra Stadium reckon it's a great little stadium and that the atmosphere is wonderful as well. Plus the short walk from the station is always enjoyable with a thousand eateries and pubs to stop at on the way. It's a shame that the footy club can't just rely on the leagues club revenue anymore. From those numbers it's only a matter of time till be emulate the bulldogs and move to ANZ full time.
Maybe Bill Moss can get Macquarie Bank involved. If there's money to be made Mac Bank would certainly be interested.
Additionally the Leagues Club would also benefit more from home games at Pirtek Stadium by more poker, bar & restaurant takings which would more than offset the increased profit at ANZ I presume.