PARRAMATTA Eels and Western Sydney Wanderers have joined forces to tell the government that a $29 million upgrade to increase Parramatta Stadium capacity by just 3300 seats is a waste of time.
Eels and Wanderers chiefs want a bigger plan to convert the venue into Western Sydney’s largest rectangular stadium with 32,000 seats.
Such a plan could cost up to $120 million but Eels chief executive Scott Seward said that private investors would be interested in developing office, retail and elite sports science facilities.
“The plan at the moment is not going to give us or this region the stadium it deserves,’’ Mr Seward said, after a meeting with Venues NSW this week.
Football Federation Australia chief executive David Gallop has also weighed in, raising the prospect the Wanderers would consider relocating if the Parramatta facility was not fully upgraded.
A $29m revamp of Pirtek Stadium will start within weeks and run through the 2014 and 2015 seasons for the Parramatta Eels and Western Sydney Wanderers.
The stadium will be kept operational through the construction work which will run from June or July this year until the end of 2015.
The 20,000 capacity will diminish through the upgrade, but only marginally.
Funding will be spent on additional seating behind the northern terrace, an upgrade to player dressing rooms and a refurbishment to the eastern side stand — named after Mick Cronin — where corporate boxes will be built.
Once finished, the stadium’s capacity will be lifted by 2000 seats. A development application has been lodged with approval pending.
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Replies
Why spend 30 million for just an extra 2k seats??? it's a waste of time, spend the extra money and Parra stadium will be used for decades to come. Don't spend the money and within 5 years Parra will be playing out of ANZ and the WSW will be playing somewhere else.
Seward's right! Is 2000 seats really going to solve the problem?
Its really a waste of $29m. Sounds like short sighted stupidity to me.