Wests Tigers have up to 90 days to save their spiritual Leichhardt Oval home after warning they would quit the venue by launching a stadium funding war against NRL rivals Penrith and the NSW government.
Tigers chief executive Shane Richardson and Inner West Council Mayor Darcy Byrne went on the offensive on Monday, pleading with NSW Premier Chris Minns to redirect a 10 per cent slice of funding allocated to Penrith’s $309 million face-lift.
Penrith are set to begin revamping Panthers Stadium next season.
But Byrne said the “Eighth Wonder of the World”, which has hosted A-League, NRL and acted as a training venue at last year’s Women’s World Cup, was in desperate need of an upgrade.
“Leichhardt Oval hasn’t received any funding from the state government since Benji Marshall was in nappies,” Byrne said.
“There’s no good reason Penrith’s stadium should have gold-plated urinals, while famous Leichhardt Oval is forced to close through neglect.”
As it stands Leichhardt is unable to host men’s and women’s double-headers in the NRL because there are an insufficient change rooms.
There are often long queues for refreshments, while corporate and media facilities are well behind other venues across Sydney.
Richardson loves the charm of a “warm beer and a cold pie” at the iconic venue, but said that, in its current guise, the stadium was not fit for purpose.
The Tigers currently split their games 5-5 between Campbelltown and Leichhardt, where they opened their home season on Saturday and roared to a 32-6 win over Cronulla in front of 15,990 spectators.
But Richardson warned that if they didn’t get the promise of an upgrade in the next three months they could vacate the venue altogether.
“We’ll be making that decision over the next 60 to 90 days,” he said.
“I’ve told our different stakeholders, but we’ll make a decision that is best for the club.
“It’s a great rugby league ground, but it’s decayed.”
Asked what he expected Penrith’s reaction to the Tigers’ funding plea would be, Richardson said: “They had a Liberal Party member (Stuart Ayres) who managed to get it all for them.
“Good luck to them. I was CEO at Penrith and it’s great for them, but it’s not a bad stadium as it is … $300 million? I’m looking forward to the gold taps on the thing.”
Richardson’s track record shows he isn’t afraid to play a high-stakes game as the Tigers face the prospect of leaving the famous venue.
When he was in charge of South Sydney he moved the club away from the Sydney Football Stadium to Homebush, believing the Rabbitohs weren’t getting a good deal.
He claimed the Tigers had "offers from all sorts of places" to play their home games.
“I don’t make decisions lightly,” Richardson said.
“We’ll sum it all up and get to the bottom line.
“It’s not a threat, it’s a reality of our business plan of the club we want to be, and that’s a top-four club.”
