Andrew Clennell: Time to get Allianz Stadium up to scratch
GOVERNMENT needs to commit big to get Allianz up to code and give Sydney world-class venues, writes Andrew Clennell.
Opinion
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WHEN Mike Baird started looking at stadium upgrades three years ago, it was supposed to be a way of showing people that the government was getting on with infrastructure.
With Metro lines and the WestConnex taking so long to build, the feeling was the government could do upgrades that were “new and shiny” to show the sporting public how the government was building a world-class city. To this extent, the promised great stadium rebuilds remind me a bit of the CBD light rail.
They were supposed to show that the government was building infrastructure but it has taken so long, the Metros and M4 East will be finished first anyway.
Three years on and under a hesitant Berejiklian government, we are still waiting for an announcement on how exactly the ANZ rebuild at Sydney Olympic Park will take shape, whether it will be a complete rebuild or just a refurbishment and how much the cost will be.
At the same time we are waiting for a decision on an upgrade for a much older stadium — the 31-year-old Allianz Stadium at Moore Park, aka the Sydney Football Stadium — which has become a safety concern, as The Daily Telegraph revealed this week.
Let me quote from a Daily Telegraph article from January 2015 to give you an illustration of how long this whole thing has dragged on.
“Former state Liberal Party leader John Brogden has been called in by Premier Mike Baird to broker a deal with Allianz and ANZ Stadium bosses over the carve-up of $600 million earmarked for venue upgrades. The move comes as Opposition leader Luke Foley said ANZ Stadium, the 2000 Sydney Olympics arena, must never be demolished.
“The Daily Telegraph understands Mr Baird is also opposed to the Sydney Cricket Ground and Sports Trust’s push to turn Moore Park Allianz into Sydney’s biggest stadium at the expense of Homebush. Mr Baird is looking at allocating about $300 million to Allianz, $200 million to ANZ and about $100 million to Parramatta’s Pirtek Stadium to increase capacity to about 32,000.”
That soon became a $1.6 billion commitment thanks to the sale of the electricity poles and wires, with $350 million already gone on the new Parramatta stadium.
A deal of sorts was brokered, for both redevelopments to happen, but when the clubs would not agree to leave the Allianz Stadium for three years, a cockamamie plan was hatched and supported by Sports Minister Stuart Ayres to build on Centennial Parklands for the three-year period. This was never going to fly. The government — not far off losing office — is fighting too many fights on too many fronts to take on another one in terms of building on Centennial Parklands just because the SCG Trust and the NRL clubs could not reach agreement.
Baird killed the plan and made ANZ Stadium funding first priority.
It seems for as long as Stuart Ayres has been sports minister, he has been trying to get Allianz as the main Sydney stadium. But now, I am told, at least Ayres has abandoned the idea of building on Centennial Parklands.
The trust is prepared to offer compensation money to the clubs and build on its site.
This is surely the best outcome for Sydney for a seriously dilapidated stadium that requires extensive refurbishment and remediation to a variety of fire safety issues including, according to a leaked report published in The Daily Telegraph earlier this week, no fire sprinklers, no fire compartmentalisation, no emergency warning intercom system, no emergency power supply, and insufficient exits from the ground-floor concourse.
To fix these things, even without improving the stadium, would cost $137 million so we may as well go ahead with a $400 million rebuild. The trust ideally wants $800 million but has put forward a $400 million option.
Last week NSW Rugby Union CEO Andrew Hore also wrote to Premier Berejiklian urging her to do something about the dilapidated facilities at Allianz. The head of Australian Rugby Union, Bill Pulver, and chair of Sydney FC, Scott Barlow, have followed suit.
There is no question the government should commit to a rebuild at Homebush to bring fans closer to the action. They have already spent $200 million on buying the stadium back; it is in the geographic centre of Sydney, it is the Olympic legacy and the train service in and out of there after major events is first class. But to say ANZ will have to be rebuilt before Allianz does not seem right.
The suggestion from the Baird regimen apparently was that ANZ get built from late 2018 and Allianz from 2020. If Luke Foley were elected in 2019, with his preference for Homebush, you could bet your bottom dollar Allianz would never get rebuilt. Not only that but recent suggestions that a proper job at ANZ would cost $1.1 billion to $1.6 billion has led to speculation Allianz could be abandoned altogether.
Ultimately, it seems to me that Berejiklian will have to find a way to do both rebuilds — and at once — even if it takes the funding over the $1.6 billion envelope as it inevitably will.
There is no way that Allianz should have to wait until ANZ is complete.
They could do a $400 million rebuild/refurbishment at Allianz — as opposed to the $800 million rebuild — stage by stage.
While those who aren’t sport fans will ask “why spend on stadiums when you can spend on hospitals?”, the truth is the government is already spending on hospitals and these new venues will contribute jobs and tourism dollars.
The sale of the electricity assets ensured there is capacity for some once-in-a-generation investment in the state.
When it comes to stadiums we are now behind Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. Frankly (although it will never happen because of politics), the other half of the electricity networks should be sold to provide even more funds for our growing population.
The reality is, as great as it will be to bring the stadium at Sydney Olympic Park closer to the action, and have such a great stadium in the geographic heart of Sydney, the government cannot turn its back on a rectangular stadium in the city. What the Premier does need to do is get on with things.
Because we have been talking about this for far too long. It reminds me of the Labor years of inaction.
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