Fears Sydney could lose major sporting fixtures if ANZ Stadium is denied funding

Reports that planned upgrades to Sydney’s ANZ Stadium will be denied NSW Government funding have led to fears that Sydney will lose major football, rugby and rugby league events to Melbourne.

Sydney newspaper The Daily Telegraph revealed yesterday (4th May) that the NSW Government looks set to support a new 65,000-seat venue at Moore Park and a new 35,000 seat Pirtek Stadium in Parramatta.

Denied funding for its own planned program of upgrades, likely to cost $250 to 350 million, the former Olympic Stadium looks set to be left to stage a dwindling number of elite events within ageing infrastructure.

While The Daily Telegraph reports that the Australian Rugby Union and National Rugby League are backing the plans for the new stadia, Football Federation Australia Chief Executive David Gallop has warned that Sydney will lose major sporting fixtures to Melbourne if the 83,500-seat ANZ Stadium was denied funding.

Gallop told The Daily Telegraph “there’s no doubt that Sydney needs a world-class 75,000 capacity rectangular stadium if the city wants to compete with the likes of the MCG to host the biggest football events, so denying ANZ Stadium the funds for a redevelopment could hamper those opportunities.

“As we’ve seen with the big Socceroos World Cup qualifiers, the Manchester United tour and now Chelsea and Spurs, big is beautiful for these events if you want to attract them to Sydney.”

Major rugby fixtures such as Bledisloe Cup tests and the NRL Grand Final and State of Origin regularly fill the ANZ Stadium in its current configuration so the staging of these fixtures in smaller venues would be an unpopular move.

Meanwhile, billionaire retailed Gerry Harvey has suggested the NSW Government will invest invest “big money” to turn Moore Park into Sydney’s leading sports, entertainment and hospitality hub.

Commenting on the potential of the Moore Park precinct, Harvey stated “I’ve believed all along that particular site is extremely valuable because it is one of the very best sites in Sydney, close to the city.

“Big money will be invested by governments; it’s just a matter of when.”

Harvey is part of a consortium behind a billion-dollar redevelopment of Moore Park’s Entertainment Quarter, which it bought for $80 million last year.

Centennial Park and Moore Park Trust Chairman Tony Ryan, whose Trust would be forced to hand over land for the new Moore Park Stadium, said the plan was “fundamentally inappropriate” and would cause traffic chaos.

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7th July 2014 - MOORE PARK’S ENTERTAINMENT QUARTER SOLD TO HIGH PROFILE INVESTOR SYNDICATE