NRL 2024: Tigers CEO Shane Richardson coy on Campbelltown Stadium but pledges not to neglect the western Sydney region in club rebuild
Interim Wests Tigers CEO has pledged to no longer neglect the club’s western Sydney region but conceded Campbelltown Stadium could lose games under the joint venture’s new stadium strategy.
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Wests Tigers CEO Shane Richardson has conceded Campbelltown Stadium could get less games, rather than more under the club’s new stadium strategy, but pledged that the joint venture would no longer neglect the region.
The Tigers currently split home games equally between Leichhardt Oval and Campbelltown Stadium but will release a revamped stadium strategy within the next 90 days.
The club’s stadium policy was put under the spotlight in recent weeks after the club pledged to abandon Leichhardt Oval in 2025 unless funding was secured to upgrade the dilapidated venue.
There are also no plans to upgrade Campbelltown Stadium but a $33 million project to build a centre of excellence at the venue is under way.
Accor and CommBank Stadiums both have first class corporate facilities and have been floated as potential venues for home games in 2025.
Richardson told this masthead any decision would be based not only on the bottom line, but future plans for growth.
“There’s no view to bring more games here, the question mark is whether we keep the same number here,” Richardson said.
“We are actually taking a really strategic view, with the (Campbelltown City) council who are doing the centre of excellence out here, looking at corporate growth in the region … it’s the same with Leichhardt.
“Nothing happened with Inner West Council that we hadn’t talked to them about before hand.
“It’s the same with Venues NSW.
“When we are negotiating contracts I don’t want to give out anything on what we may or may not do.
“Within 90 days we’ll know where we are playing for the next three years.”
Speaking at the official opening of the Tigers’ Campbelltown office, Richardson said the club could not afford to ignore the region given a renewed focus on junior development and building pathways.
Wests Tigers Campbelltown Office is officially open ðŸ‘🼠#ShowYourStripespic.twitter.com/5Iew7pCC2D
— Wests Tigers (@WestsTigers) April 11, 2024
The interim CEO has also been working to mend ties with Wests Group Macarthur with the relationship straining since Wests Leagues Campbelltown withdrew from the joint venture back in 2013.
“It’s a no-brainer, how we did it before I’ll never know,” Richardson said.
“It’s the largest growth of any region in Australia. It’s a region that fits in with rugby league as a working class region as well as corporately. We have a goal that we are not a recruit club, we are a development club.
“The people here today from Wests Group Macarthur, and the council, have been alienated from us for a long while.
“They felt we haven’t committed and did the right thing by them. It’s about rebuilding those relationships.”
The Tigers’ nursery in south western Sydney, which takes in Campbelltown and Macarthur, now boasts as many juniors as the Penrith Panthers.
The club is hoping the investment in western Sydney will not just boost junior numbers but turn the Tigers into a juggernaut on the field in a similar fashion to the Panthers, who have won three-straight NRL titles on the back of its pathways system.
There has already been some early success. The Western Suburbs Magpies Harold Matthews (under 17s) outfit, which feature boom NRL rookie Lachlan Galvin won the title in 2022, and this year’s outfit ha gone through the season undefeated.
For Richardson, who was at the helm at Penrith when the club won a second title in 2003 after being perennial underachievers, the key to success isn’t just in the numbers but in making the right retention choices.
“We’ve got 9,000 juniors, hoping for 10,000 next year,” Richardson said.
“I was at Penrith when we went from wooden spooners to premiers with eight juniors back in 2003.
“I’ve always know the important of developing players. We’ve got a system that is growing at the same rate as Penrith’s. The secret is having successful Matts and Ball teams, it’s making sure you don’t lose the ones that matter, who can go on and play NRL.”
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