The allocation of funding to the redevelopment of ANZ Stadium "remains clouded" after NSW Minister for Sport Stuart Ayres said that it would be "contingent on the venue's business case for a state-of-the-art rectangular venue," according to Adrian Proszenko of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. ANZ Stadium's main tenants -- National Rugby League sides South Sydney, Canterbury, Wests Tigers and St. George Illawarra -- are becoming "increasingly frustrated by the lack of clarity over the future of the Olympic stadium." They are hoping the state government will honor its pledge to "refurbish ANZ Stadium into a rectangular arena that will bring football fans closer to the action." The state government remains committed to spending A$1.6B ($1.2B) on "providing Sydney stadia a much needed makeover," but the latest developments "raise fresh questions on where the majority of the money will be spent." Ayres said that a call would not be made on how the funds are allocated "until later in the year, leaving some clubs with a nervous wait" as they attempt to finalize their own stadia strategies. Several Sydney clubs "are also sweating on the state government's allocation" of A$40M ($30.7M) worth of funding toward NRL centers of excellence. Wests Tigers, Manly, Cronulla and South Sydney are among the clubs "jockeying for a slice of the money" (SMH, 6/29). In Sydney, Brent Read reported NRL CEO Todd Greenberg wrote to NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian to "reiterate the code’s support for the redevelopment of ANZ Stadium" -- even if it means "knocking the venue down and starting again." The state government, under former Premier Mike Baird, last year pledged to turn ANZ Stadium into a "state-of-the-art rectangular venue." However, there "have been whispers in recent weeks that the government may look to change those plans." Greenberg wrote to Berejiklian to "reiterate the code's support" for the original plan, which was announced as part of the A$1.6B stadiums strategy and would result in a 30,000-seat stadium at Parramatta, the rebuilding of ANZ Stadium "so that it becomes the best rectangular venue in the country" and the refurbishment of Allianz Stadium (THE AUSTRALIAN, 6/30).
