The Wests Tigers have submitted a plan to the NSW government to construct a 20,000-seat stadium in the center of Liverpool CBD with the intention of making it the team’s permanent home. The concept was developed in collaboration with Liverpool Council.
The idea, which Liverpool Council initially presented to the Tigers, has encountered an early roadblock as a result of the Herald’s reports that club chairman Lee Hagipantelis is about to be ousted.
Hagipantelis and Liverpool Mayor Ned Mannoun met NSW Sports Minister Steve Kamper earlier in the week to pitch the plan, which is still in its infancy.
Councillor Mannoun told 2GB radio station the time was long overdue for a purpose-built stadium in what he said was rugby league’s heartland, adding he had been “out there pitching this for a very, very long time”.
The preferred site for the proposed new stadium is on the corner of Hume Highway and Remembrance Avenue in Liverpool and takes in Whitlam Aquatic Centre, the netball facility and potentially Hillier Oval – the former Oasis site, owned by Canterbury Leagues Club.
The proposal would depend on up to 3000 new apartments being built on the site, with a mixture of private homes, public housing and build-to-rent properties.
It is envisaged that the income from renting out the apartments on the property will cover the majority of the stadium’s construction costs. According to the idea, taxpayers would only incur a maximum expenditure of less than $100 million.
If the Oasis site was re-zoned, allowing residential redevelopment, the Bulldogs, who own the land, could be in for an estimated windfall of $40 million-$50 million if they decided to sell.
The plans also include provision for a new aquatic centre, an aged-care facility and a conference centre, similar to the newly built facility at Panthers Leagues Club.
The Tigers already have plans in place with Inner West Council and Campbelltown City Council to upgrade their two existing home grounds at Leichhardt Oval and Campbelltown. It is unclear how those plans would be affected should the Liverpool project proceed, but the proposal suggests the Tigers would play one or two games a year at Leichhardt Oval, with the rest to be played at the new stadium.
News of the Liverpool proposal was labelled “ridiculous” by Inner West Council Mayor Darcy Byrne, who said the club should focus on its on-field performances rather than property development.
“The adopted position of Wests Tigers board is to advocate for the long-overdue funding to upgrade Leichhardt and Campbelltown,” councillor Byrne said. “The ridiculous idea of now moving all home games to a stadium in Liverpool, funded by property developers, is absurd and not in keeping with the club’s commitment to fans and members.
“Wests Tigers is a much-loved sporting franchise not a property development company. The club has no business advocating for housing policies in Liverpool. It’s time to focus on winning football games and finally making the top eight.”
Tigers chairman Lee Hagipantelis declined to comment when contacted by the Herald on Thursday.
The NRL last year made preliminary inquiries about building its own stadium in south-west Sydney, approaching the Wests Tigers and the Bulldogs to gauge their appetite for playing out of a potential new venue in Liverpool or Rossmore near Western Sydney airport.
Peter V’landys, the chairman of the ARLC, and Andrew Abdo, the chief executive of the NRL, engaged with representatives of the Bulldogs and Tigers as the code pondered a bid to buy a property akin to the AFL’s ownership of Marvel Stadium in Melbourne. Since then, that strategy has failed.
The Macarthur Bulls A-League team, which presently uses Campbelltown Sports Stadium, was also contacted by Liverpool Council on the proposed new stadium, although they have not yet taken a public position. The club chose not to respond.