Sydney Showground: Ambitious $70 million revitalisation project planned

THE Sydney Showground is set to get a multi-million dollar makeover in a project that will include a performing arts ­centre and apartment towers.

Lightning strikes during Round 1 AFL match GWS Giants v Sydney Swans at Spotless Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park. There was a delay at quarter time. pic. Phil Hillyard

THE Sydney Showground is set to get a multi-million dollar makeover in a project that will include a performing arts ­centre topped by towers of apartments.

The project is expected to cost about $70 million and there are hopes it will attract state government funding. If it gets the green light it will be the first time accommodation has been developed inside the showground perimeter.

The ambitious plan by the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW, which manages the precinct, is designed to expand the group’s convention trade as well as attract entertainment acts on an “Enmore Theatre-style” scale.

A RAS spokesman confirmed a major development was in the pipeline but said plans were still being finalised.

The Sydney Olympic Park Authority supports the plans in principle.

A spokesman said the authority was aware of the RAS’s plans to develop the site and was looking forward to seeing more detailed plans when they became available.

The project will sit across from the newly named Qudos Bank Arena, formerly Allphones, which has the capacity to hold crowds of 20,000 for international musicians, and ANZ Stadium, which can house up to 80,000 at a sold-out football game.

The new performing arts centre would seat several ­thousand people for intimate music concerts and plays, and would also offer greater flexibility for the conferences needed to keep the precinct alive all year round.

The RAS’s main event is the Royal Easter Show, which runs for 10 days.

The Sydney Showground precinct is located next to the stadiums precinct and is ­defined by Olympic Boulevard, Murray Rose Avenue, Australia Avenue and Kevin Coombs Avenue.

Big Day Out at Sydney Showground, Homebush.

The Sydney Olympic Park Master Plan describes the showgrounds as a discreet ­entity characterised by exhibition pavilions surrounding the main show ring.

It says the site allows for further expansion of its exhibition, conference and convention facilities as well as agricultural, education and ­entertainment adjacent to Cathy Freeman Park.

The Sydney Showgrounds have hosted the Easter show since 1998 after the event was moved from Moore Park.

Since then the venue, also known as Spotless Stadium, is the main home ground for the AFL’s Greater Western Sydney Giants, who have played there since their inception in 2012.

The discussions come at a time when ANZ Stadium is also set to receive funding from the state government to transform into a venue that holds 75,000 fans and has a state-of-the-art retractable roof.

This $1 billion investment will also go toward upgrading Allianz Stadium and Parramatta Stadium.