Sydney's "stadium war is about to intensify" with the state government set to announce its allocation for stadia redevelopment in the July budget, according to Michael Chammas of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. The "power play for the financial backing of the state government" is about to come to a head with recent movement likely to result in a A$1.3B ($1B) budget allocation for the upgrade of Sydney's major stadiums. The SCG Trust, heavily backed by the National Rugby League and Australian Sports Minister Stuart Ayres, "wants to knock down the 27-year-old Allianz Stadium and build a new billion-dollar 65,000-seat stadium on nearby trust land." ANZ Stadium wants to "reduce its capacity by bringing the stands closer to the action and turning the Olympic venue into a permanent rectangular stadium," with a retractable roof for rugby league, rugby union and football. Pirtek Stadium is in "dire need of a makeover" and NRL side Parramatta Eels and A-League side Western Sydney Wanderers are lobbying for at least A$200M ($161M) to turn the ground into a 35,000-seat venue. What portion of that money goes to each ground is "still up in the air, but representatives of each stadium have been doing their homework on the best sporting facilities in the world," including the 68,500-seat Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Opened in July last year, the $1.2B stadium was completely funded by the San Francisco 49ers' fan base, who "pre-purchased seating licenses" (ranging from $6,000 to $80,000) as "their own for life." Despite owning a seat at the stadium, 49ers members also have to pay between $175 and $475 a game to attend an NFL game, but also "possess the ability to sell their seats to others." The stadium, which has the potential to expand to 75,000 seats when it hosts next year's Super Bowl, is "considered the most technologically advanced sporting venue in the world." The venue is a "multipurpose facility that has been used for ice hockey, Wrestlemania, monster trucks, concerts and will host two of the biggest football clubs in the world in July" when Barcelona clashes with ManU.
REALISTICALLY SPEAKING: An upgrade of Allianz Stadium would only raise capacity from 45,000 to 55,000 "given Moore Park Road's proximity and other limitations around the site." However, a new stadium, which "could host State of Origin matches and NRL grand finals, would seat 65,000." The possibility of building a new stadium at the Kippax Lake site across the road from Allianz Stadium has "been discussed, however the land is owned by Centennial Park and Moore Park Trust." The SCG Trust "originally wanted a stadium with an enclosed roof," but it has since "scrapped those plans," of the opinion it was $100M "spent better elsewhere" (SMH, 4/29).
