Minister for Sport Stuart Ayres must be sacked over Sydney stadium farce

IT’S time for Stuart Ayres to be removed from his position as Minister for Sport following his disastrous handling of the NSW stadium strategy, writes Phil Rothfield.

Stuart Ayres

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IT’S time for Stuart Ayres to be ­removed from his position as Minister for Sport after his disastrous handling of the state government’s stadium strategy that threatens to tear the fabric out of NRL clubs and alienate thousands of footy fans.

Blinded by personal ambition, Ayres has played politics with one of the most important decisions in ­Sydney’s sporting history — where and how to spend $1.6 billion of our taxpayers’ money on much-needed sporting infrastructure.

Despite the fact eight of the nine NRL clubs (including the Roosters) are against building a new $1.2bn stadium at Moore Park and forcing clubs to move from their heartlands, Ayres is hellbent on delivering this new ­stadium to his powerful mates on the SCG Trust.

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Yet, for almost the same price of knocking over Allianz Stadium and building a new 65,000-seat stadium, the NSW government could spend its money this way:

■ Refurbish Allianz Stadium into a wonderful boutique 45,000-seat ­stadium for $300 million for the Roosters, NRL semi-­finals, the Waratahs and Sydney FC;

■ Build a 30,000-seat Parramatta Stadium for $300m for the Eels, Wanderers and Panthers (a stadium thankfully already under way);

■ Turn ANZ into a spectacular ­rectangular venue with a retractable roof at a cost of $700m for State of ­Origin, NRL grand finals, Bledisloe Cups, the Bulldogs and Rabbitohs, major concerts and soccer blockbusters. It would be a world-class ­facility in western Sydney — our ­biggest growth region; and

■ Build new 20,000-seat boutique ­venues at Manly and Cronulla, similar to the quality of Gosford Stadium, for a total of $300m, which can also be used for A-League matches and rugby union games.

Stuart Ayres - Minister for Tourism, Major Events and Sport. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Under this model, Sydney’s ­stadium problems are solved. The job is done and long-neglected sporting venues can cater for fans in the north, south, east and west.

Compare this with Ayres’ plan to spend the bulk of the $1.6bn at Moore Park with virtually nothing on ANZ Stadium, where so many of Sydney’s major events are hosted.

Minister Ayres’ plan calls for 65 per cent of rugby league to be played in the major stadiums, which effectively leaves 35 per cent of games in suburban grounds. Yet the minister again has no plan or funds for the maintenance and development of these much-cherished old rugby league venues.

His argument is that Sydney has to adopt the Melbourne AFL model by building the major stadium near the city and let the traditional old grounds rot.

This argument has massive faults because the requirements of sporting fans in both cities could not be further apart. Eight of the nine Melbourne-based AFL clubs are within a 9km radius of the MCG (see below) plus they have a far superior public transport ­system to get them to the stadium.

In Sydney, St George Illawarra fans face an 84km trip from Wollongong. Wests Tigers fans a 60km journey from Campbelltown. Cronulla is 28km from Moore Park and Manly 19km.

Writing from a rugby league fan’s perspective — and as a Shire resident — I know the average fan does not want to spend two hours driving into Moore Park and back on busy ­weekends.

Our home is Shark Park. We like a beer at the club and a feed at the King Wan. We love our home-ground ­atmosphere because it’s traditional and it’s tribal. We sing our team song after victories, loud and proud.

We don’t look around and get the depressing sight of 35,000 empty seats like at a Roosters home game (which will be increased to 50,000 empty seats if the minister gets his way with a ­bigger new stadium).

We will happily travel from the Shire for major events. Like State of Origin or a grand final at ANZ Stadium. Or a cricket Test at the SCG.

My highlight from the opening five rounds of the NRL competition was being among 18,000 fans as the Sharks demolished the Dragons two weeks ago and lapping up the atmosphere.

That same game in Moore Park wouldn’t have got 12,000 because of the inconvenience of getting there and the easier option of watching it live on television.

I would not renew my Sharks ­family membership or buy season seats if we were forced to travel to the eastern suburbs every second or third weekend of the winter.

Blues players Robbie Farrah, Paul Gallen, Laurie Daley and minister Stuart Ayres outside ANZ Stadium.

Minister Ayres stands accused of pushing a stadium agenda that doesn’t make sense to improve his chances of becoming the state’s next premier. Perhaps he believes powerful figures on the SCG Trust can help deliver his political dream.

The problem is that he has already lost the confidence of the vast majority of Sydney’s sporting community.

He’s lost the votes of the people in the Shire and on the northern beaches who love watching footy at their local stadiums, as well as the punters in Greater Western Sydney who would prefer to watch their major events at Olympic Park rather than travel to the eastern fringe of an already congested Sydney CBD.

Melbourne’s AFL clubs (distances from MCG):

Melbourne to MCG – 0km

Collingwood to MCG – 3km (home base two punt kicks from MCG)

Carlton to MCG – 3km

Richmond to MCG – 3km

North Melbourne to MCG – 5km

St Kilda to MCG – 6km

Hawthorn to MCG – 8km

Western Bulldogs to MCG – 9km

Essendon to MCG – 18km

Sydney’s NRL clubs (distances from Allianz Stadium):

Wollongong to Allianz – 84km (170km round trip)

Penrith to Allianz – 76km

Campbelltown to Allianz – 60km (120km round trip)

Cronulla to Allianz – 28km

Manly to Allianz – 19km (plus Spit Bridge & Harbour crossing)

Kogarah to Allianz – 16km

Originally published as Minister for Sport Stuart Ayres must be sacked over Sydney stadium farce