{"id":376943,"date":"2024-03-17T06:08:01","date_gmt":"2024-03-17T07:08:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=376943"},"modified":"2024-03-17T11:04:21","modified_gmt":"2024-03-17T11:04:21","slug":"iconic-ground-on-death-row-as-tigers-given-deadline%ef%bb%bf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=376943","title":{"rendered":"Iconic ground on death row as Tigers given deadline\ufeff"},"content":{"rendered":"

Leichhardt Oval<\/a> could drop off the NRL<\/a> fixture properly at the end of next season.\ufeff<\/p>\n

According to veteran sports reporter Neil Breen,\ufeff Inner West Council, which controls Leichhardt Oval, has informed the Wests Tigers<\/a> that the ground will be closed to professional sport in two years, citing growing OH&S issues.<\/p>\n

There is no suggestion that the ground will be razed with smaller fixtures below the NRL level potentially able to continue using the venue.<\/p>\n

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"\ufeffThe Inner West Council has decided that the oval itself has a two-year shelf life for pro sports, that's including the NRL," Breen told 2GBs The Continuous Call Team<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

"For an NRL game and all the things that come with a big crowd, it's an occupational health and safety issue.<\/p>\n

\"Fans<\/p>\n

"It's a big issue for \ufeffLeichhardt and the NRL."<\/p>\n

The upgrades needed to ensure the facility meets both elite sport and community requirements are estimated to cost between $20 to $50 million.<\/p>\n

"Let's put it at $40 million [for an upgrade]," Breen said.<\/p>\n

\ufeff"Who's going to come up with the $40 million?"<\/p>\n

Funding to modernise the stadium was discussed in last year's NSW state election and subsequent budget but never eventuated.<\/p>\n

Unless funding is secured, the future of the stadium hangs in the balance.<\/p>\n

Any combination of the three levels of government, the NRL, the Wests Tigers and private investment needs to come to the table.<\/p>\n

Watch the 2024 NRL premiership live and free on Nine and<\/strong><\/em> 9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Accident<\/p>\n

Leichhardt Oval sits in Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's seat of Grayndler. Breen pointed out a Federal election will be held in the next year or so, and funding could become an election promise.<\/p>\n

"But Anthony Albanese doesn't love stadiums. He didn't love funding the Brisbane Olympics and what he has to fund there," he said.<\/p>\n

With no help from\ufeff state or federal governments, the NRL may need to open its wallet.<\/p>\n

\ufeff"When sports are doing well like the NRL is, there is an expectation of, 'Why can't they put some money in," Breen said.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/omny.fm\/shows\/the-continuous-call-team\/neil-breen-breaks-story-on-leichhardt-oval\/embed<\/a><\/p>\n

The Continuous Call Team agreed that Leichhardt Oval and its iconic Wayne Pearce Hill was in desperate need of a facelift, with toilets, food outlets and public transport connections severely lacking.<\/p>\n

But all but argued that the ground was crucial to "the tribalism in the game".<\/p>\n

Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V'landys\ufeff has advocated for preserving the league's suburban grounds as opposed to relocating and centralising teams in big, multi-purpose stadiums.<\/p>\n

"From a government point of view, they go, 'We've got CommBank Stadium, we've just rebuilt Allianz Stadium \u2014 we have these stadiums'," Breen said.<\/p>\n

"But the way Sydney builds itself around rugby league, people who support the Tigers don't all want to go to Allianz for the game."<\/p>\n

\"Leichhardt<\/p>\n

The team also argued that rugby league fans do not like to travel for matches.<\/p>\n

"\ufeffBecause the product is so good on TV, people go, 'You know what, I'm not going to travel into town," Breen said.<\/p>\n

"If I'm a Manly fan, I'm not going to travel to the Sydney Football Stadium\ufeff when I can sit at home and watch it."<\/p>\n

The danger sign for Leichhardt comes after Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart called for a new stadium to be built in the nation's capital<\/a> after an unpleasant smell was noticed at GIO Stadium on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n

Stuart expressed his sympathy for the fans who had to put up with the "pungent aroma" before demanding Canberra get a new stadium.<\/p>\n

In a submission to the government last May, the NRL labelled GIO Stadium "no longer fit-for-purpose".\ufeff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Leichhardt Oval could drop off the NRL fixture properly at the end of next season.\ufeff According to veteran sports reporter Neil Breen,\ufeff Inner West Council, […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":376945,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376943"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=376943"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376943\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":376949,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376943\/revisions\/376949"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/376945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=376943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=376943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=376943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}