A key claim supporting the New South Wales government’s business case for a new western Sydney stadium "was never agreed to" by the National Rugby League, a parliamentary inquiry has been told, according to the AAP. The business case for the A$300M ($221.6M) redevelopment of Parramatta Stadium "anticipated that 30 NRL games per year would be played at the new venue." But NRL COO Nick Weeks said that the league "never agreed to that." He said, "We haven't given any commitments of that nature. Where our clubs play their matches will be a matter for clubs to determine." Lynda Voltz -- a Labor MP and member of the public works committee, which is holding the inquiry -- "accused the government of inflating figures" to justify its stadium spend. Voltz: "This is what the government has done -- they've over-inflated figures, the NRL says they didn't provide these figures. Where did 30 games come from if the NRL didn't provide them those figures?" Weeks told the inquiry that Sydney "suffered from years of under-investment in sporting infrastructure." He said, "Unfortunately decades of under-investment and a scattergun approach, driven by political interests rather than coherent policy, has resulted in a network of stadia in Sydney, which is dilapidated. It does not provide the world-class experience our fans, members and players deserve" (AAP, 8/6).
