Austadiums Forum

Boba Fett wrote:

gyfox wrote:Evidently Lederer and the local State Member said at the official reception in Parramatta this evening that the 35k stadium "will" happen.

It appears that the work on the $29m upgrade is "continuing" with selected tenderers working on prices for work in the Eastern Stand. The tender for the Western Stand closed just over a month ago.

2+2=5 says that the 35k is the medium/long term plan and the current work is an interim solution.

Anybody else see either a horribly compromised 35k stadium and/or a large amount of money being wasted by the end of this process?

TS: You were very bullish this week about the prospects of getting the government to rebuild Parramatta Stadium, not just upgrade it. Will it happen?

Paul Lederer: My view on this is simple – there are three million people in Western Sydney and they deserve a stadium. The Parramatta Eels have exactly the same issue.

To spend $30m on an extension when you can have a brand new stadium for $120m, with world class facilities and corporate boxes and so on – to me as a businessman, it’s not even a decision.

There is a DA approved for a stadium, so it could be done in, say, 18 months? If the government wants to make it happen, they can do so very quickly. It will be a disaster if it doesn’t happen – for sport, for the multi-use possibilities. I’m talking about a world-class facility.

We’re averaging 17-18k per game. I’m totally convinced that if it wasn’t for the stadium we’d be averaging 30,000 per game. Where we play is ideal, but the facilities are average. It’s a 50-year-old stadium, it’s archaic.

When we have VIPs from overseas, it’s embarrassing. We had the ambassador from Saudi Arabia queuing up for half an hour to use the one lift. Compare that with Etihad Stadium in Melbourne where you’re wining and dining in style. Here you get a chicken burger if you’re lucky.

....

TS: You seem to looking at the long term and…

PL: Sorry to contradict you but I’m talking about the next two to three years, not never-never land. I want the training session up and running in two years, a licensed club up and running in two years. A new stadium in two years. Once we’ve got that we want an academy and getting into junior football – it’s a massive project.

Lederer wrote: We’re averaging 17-18k per game.

Lederer wrote: It’s a 50-year-old stadium

Mr Baird said the health and transport infrastructure in Western Sydney will provide a critical framework for the region but added that Rebuilding NSW also recognises the importance of sporting and cultural assets with:

$600 million for a Western Sydney Sports stadium; and
The creation of a Parramatta Cultural Precinct where CBD-based art and cultural collections can be shared in Parramatta and Western Sydney.

Boba Fett wrote:The govt press release isn't consistent (gosh, what a surprise...). In one part it talks about 'stadium' and in another it mentions 'stadiums'.

So which is it Mr Baird - is the $600m for a single stadium, or multiple?