Last-ditch Campbelltown talks to try to keep Tigers
Scott Bailey |
Campbelltown’s council has called an extraordinary meeting in a last-ditch bid to commit cash to stadium upgrades as it fights to keep Wests Tigers playing in the area.
Two months after being told by the Tigers that Campbelltown Stadium needed a $50 million upgrade or the NRL club could walk, funding is yet to be secured for the ground.
Campbelltown’s council has been clear that it cannot afford the upgrades, and would need significant support from the state or federal government.
That support is yet to be forthcoming and appears increasingly unlikely, leaving Campbelltown with the very real threat of the Tigers leaving the stadium.
The Tigers have extended a June 30 deadline to lock in upgrades back to the end of July, but have requested the council shows them its own financial commitment by Monday.
An extraordinary council meeting has been called for Friday evening, when the local council will consider its options for the ground, which also houses the Macarthur Bulls in the A-League.
Inner West Council last year put forward $10 million to upgrades of the Tigers’ other traditional home of Leichhardt Oval, in order to gain financial support from the state or federal governments.
AAP understands Campbelltown’s council could opt for a similar amount, with any funding being contingent on the state or federal government coming to the party.
“The bottom line is we want the Tigers here full-time, with seven or eight games at Campbelltown,” Mayor Darcy Lound told AAP last month.
“With the growth of the region out here it’s a massive future supporter base. It’s a massive junior nursery for rugby league out here.
“We’re up there in numbers with Penrith, we’re almost No.1 in NSW. There is a massive advantage.”
A $50 million upgrade would increase capacity from 17,000 to 21,000 and include improvements to the western side of the ground.
Beyond that, the Tigers have also asked for a total of $100 million of work to be done at the venue over the next five years to take capacity up to 24,000 and corporate spaces to 1200.
A previously announced $40.3 million sporting and health centre of excellence, funded largely by council and state government, is scheduled to be completed at the ground by 2027.
That will double corporate capacity from 450 to 900, while also providing game-day facilities that will assist with hosting women’s matches.
But the Tigers have told council those developments are separate to their current requests.
“We require investment into Campbelltown or we just can’t play there,” Tigers CEO Shane Richardson said this month.
“It’s not financially viable for us to play there.
“We can’t hang around waiting on promises that may or may not happen.
“We need something definitive … or we will have to make a decision on where we play besides Leichhardt.”
The Tigers bank about $400,000 from sold-out home games at their suburban grounds, compared with $1.05 million in sell-outs at CommBank Stadium.
They play four games at Campbelltown and CommBank this year and three at Leichhardt.
AAP
