The future of stadiums in Sydney should not be made by people with an axe to grind

THE future of Sydney’s stadiums is not a decision for small minds. It is not one that should be made by petty-minded people with an axe to grind.

Allianz Stadium and the Sydney Cricket Ground general view from the air .Picture Gregg Porteous

TODAY we stand on the brink.

One city. One whole, entire, beautiful city.

Not a divided, messy, political, east versus west shambles.

Not a place where the political heavies, the small time interests and the money grabbers have jumped to one side or the other and declared war.

Sydney is Australia’s only truly global city.

Melbourne is beautifully liveable. Brisbane is charming.

It is Sydney, though, that has the magic and the sparkle that make it a city of the world. It is Sydney with its gobsmacking beauty and incredible diversity that makes the heart sing.

That is why today I am declaring my hand and spelling out for all Sydneysiders that when over $1.5 billion is handed around next week for stadium refurbishments and rebuilds that we make a sensible, long view, grown-up decision that benefits every single person living in this city.

Sydney's ANZ stadium at Olympic Park.

This is not a decision for small minds. It is not one that should be made by petty-minded people with an axe to grind.

SURVEY: Have your say on our sporting future

The buzz words through this almighty dogfight have been “westie”, “toff”, “all powerful”, “heartland”, “Olympic legacy”.

Very few have seen the wood for the trees. This is a fight like the Super League war when common sense flew out the window and people became virtually feral as they tried to wrest control.

Sports Minister Stuart Ayres, vilified for daring to dream Sydney can have it all for sports fans, is trying his hardest to make this once in a lifetime gift right for all of us.

Ayres wants three stadiums. Get that straight.

He doesn’t want just one diamond in the east. He doesn’t want piddling suburban grounds given a coat of paint because a few rugby league powerbrokers deemed precious public money be spent on their self interests.

Two of his stadiums are in the west and one is in the east. He wants two world class facilities — Moore Park and ANZ — with Parramatta as the boutique option.

World class are his buzz words. Shining, user friendly, beautiful and competitive. He wants Sydney to bid for EPL visitors and pack ANZ Stadium. He sees a day when huge rugby Tests can be played in a city side venue packed to the rafters. He sees rugby league enjoying a magic carpet ride for fans across three venues where facilities don’t include warm beer, hard seats and half-hour queues.

Parramatta Stadium Picture: Greg Parker 7News chopper.

The Olympic stadium in the west would be refurbished to make it a spectacular, rectangular venue with a big seating capacity and much better viewing capabilities for everyone than it has now. Everything about it will be more user friendly.

SURVEY: Have your say on our sporting future

His view is that the current Allianz Stadium cannot be renovated. Infrastructure NSW have confirmed that the bones of the building are not up for the rebuild. He wants a sparkling new structure, two kilometres from the CBD, that is the best sporting venue in the world. Melbourne did it. Adelaide did it and so did Brisbane. It’s just that ours can be even better.

I have held the view for a long time that a refurbishment might do but now I have been taken through all of the issues. The place, built in 1988, is as archaic as the convention centre that was demolished recently to make way for a new one. Its bones simply cannot take the renovation.

While I am happy to declare that my husband serves on the SCG Trust, my view that Sydney must take its place on the world stage is influenced more by Ayres’ passion and a desire for great sports stadiums than anything I have discussed at home.

Allianz Stadium and the Sydney Cricket Ground. Picture Gregg Porteous

History shows that Sydney has an appalling record of political compromise when it comes to divided loyalties and deep public division. That’s why we currently have one stadium that is too small and one that is too big. That’s why sports fans are short changed here and not in other states.

That’s why we lose friends over this east versus west rubbish. When a city has a whopping $1.5 billion earmarked for three incredible sporting facilities, and NRL clubs wanting to control the money say no, the east says no to the west, the west says no to the east, we are squandering an opportunity that will never come along again in our lifetimes.

So here we all are. One big, gorgeous city deprived of big, gorgeous sporting facilities. Just once, can’t we all be like Melbourne people and cheer, embrace and say hooray when money is spent on sports stadiums?

Can’t we have a long-term view rather than a short-term fix for vested interests?

Can’t we just shake hands with the bloke across Anzac Parade and say this is pretty damned good, a gift, that we must not squander?

GET WITH IT, MIKE

PERHAPS Premier Mike Baird might allow the penny to drop like it has for the rest of us when he considers just how much democracy is too much when all of this is said and done. Anyone vaguely close to rugby league would realise that handing decision making to a bunch of almost broke, incompetently managed rugby league clubs who are notorious for grabbing any cash they can without making it themselves would have to be either extremely naive or just plain foolish.

Rugby league clubs never make a long-term, clear, mature decision. They invariably choose the self-interest option. Baird should meet these blokes and see what calibre of intellect he is dealing with. They should have been told what they were doing, copped it and moved on to the next “how do we get more cash without working for it” option.

Grant Hackett of Australia at the 2016 Australian Swimming Championships at the South Australia.

WORRYING SIGNS

I ADORE swimming. I can’t watch enough of the stuff, especially when it is competition at the highest level. But there were deeply worrying signs for Channel 7 and the Australian Olympic Committee after one night of swimming at the national selection trials in Adelaide. The ratings for the night were dismal even with Grant Hackett and Emily Seebohm competing.

When once upon a time Australian Olympic trials rated through the roof, the audience has now switched off in their droves. If the first night is any sign, Seven will have to pump up their Olympic coverage for Rio with a blanket advertising campaign because sponsors will not jump on board for Brazil if things don’t improve

Originally published as The future of stadiums in Sydney should not be made by people with an axe to grind