Contract awarded for demolition of Allianz Stadium

The NSW Government has awarded a contract for the demolition of Sydney’s Allianz Stadium, with work to commence in January 2019 following the cricket Test match between Australia and India next door at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

After winning approval from the Department of Planning and Environment to begin demolition of Allianz Stadium at Moore Park on Friday, the NSW government indicated it had immediately signed a contract with Lendlease not just to demolish the existing structure but also to build a new stadium for $730 million.

This is despite the upcoming NSW election in March, which if the opposition win, have indicated that all funding will be pulled from the $730 million project.

Labor leader Michael Daley said that, as premier, he would scrap the entirety of the $1.5 billion earmarked for Allianz Stadium and ANZ Stadium by the Berejiklian government, and instead invest it in schools and hospitals.

"I'm saying very clearly to the SCG Trust today: do not sign contracts for the demolition of this stadium. Do not demolish this stadium. If you do, you will not get a single cent of free public money from me if I am elected premier in March of next year," Mr Daley recently said.

The NRL has threatened to move the Grand Final away from Sydney if the stadium work doesn’t go ahead.

Once demolition of Allianz Stadium is complete, further approval is needed for construction of the new 45,000-seat venue to commence. Sports Minister Stuart Ayres said the government needed to sign the one contract.

“I can’t separate this contract into two stages to reflect the planning process,” Mr Ayres said. “We have two stages of construction. One contract.”

The new 45,000-seat Sydney Football Stadium is due to open in 2022.