http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/exclusive-nrl-chief-dave-smiths-plan-to-crash-tackle-anz-stadium-and-build-bigger-allianz-arena/story-fnniow7v-1227131329383?nk=08d273f4f1d8872272d38b2f859dbd0a
Exclusive: NRL chief Dave Smith’s plan to crash tackle ANZ Stadium and build bigger Allianz arena
THE NRL is lobbying Premier Mike Baird to build a new 65,000-seat Allianz Stadium at Moore Park, making it Sydney’s pre-eminent sports arena instead of Sydney Olympic Park’s ANZ.
The word is that NRL chief Dave Smith is also urging the government to consider building a new 40,000-seat, fully-roofed stadium at Parramatta.
These moves would spell the death knell for the former Olympic stadium, which is hoping the government will fund about $250 million of its $350 million redevelopment plan released this week.
In a sign the NRL will be a serious player in Sydney’s stadium battle, a well-placed source has revealed that Smith is giving the Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Trust $750,000 to fund half of a new “concept design evaluation” for Allianz.
Work on the study has apparently already begun, assessing two options: refurbishing the existing Allianz stadium with between 45,000 and 55,000 seats or demolishing it and building a new 65,000-seat facility.
Smith has told NRL club officials the government should take a 50-year view when deciding how to invest hundreds of millions of dollars modernising Sydney’s out-of-date stadiums.
“It’s really a once in a lifetime opportunity and he wants to make sure Sydney gets it right,’’ one source said.
Smith is believed to have advised the Premier the government should consider Sydney’s sporting infrastructure as a “network of stadiums” and avoid “putting lipstick on pigs”.
He has been telling sports powerbrokers that the most successful football stadiums are purpose-built, rectangular arenas; located near existing commercial hubs; and well-serviced by transport, preferably heavy rail.
If you were starting from scratch, Smith argues, the biggest stadium would be located as close as possible to the CBD, like Melbourne’s sporting precinct, with a mid-tier stadium in Sydney’s mid-west and a third venue built further west once the Western Sydney airport project is well underway.
While he believes ANZ CEO Daryl Kerry has delivered the best redevelopment plan possible, he believes ANZ lacks atmosphere, with spectators too far away from the sidelines.
Sport Minister Stuart Ayres has also been in close contact for Smith over the past six months.
One source said the NRL has compared ANZ to Suncorp Stadium and found the worst seat in Brisbane is 45 metres closer to the action than at Homebush.
The NRL declined to comment yesterday its views are important as Sydney’s NRL teams are the biggest stadium tenants.
The leaders of ANZ’s two main tenants, the South Sydney Rabbitohs’ Shane Richardson and Canterbury Bulldogs’ Raelene Castle spokes enthusiastically about ANZ’s redevelopment plan this week. Under the plan, sports fans would be able to sit within 5 metres of the action at each end of the ground. The stadium would also be surrounded by a dynamic entertainment zone filled with bars, cafes and restaurants.
The NRL is responsible for staging roughly 100 premiership games in Sydney a year. At the moment, about 20 games are being played at Allianz, 30 games at ANZ and the other 50 in smaller venues.
Smith may make the point that the NRL would be able to convince clubs to play many more games in two main stadiums if it was confident fans would embrace “the game-day experience”.
