Parramatta Eels Centre of Excellence: junior sporting codes outraged over ‘NRL favouritism’ at Kellyville Park
“They’re not even local.” Junior sporting clubs are outraged they will be forced to leave their homeground to make way for the Parramatta Eels’ $40 million Centre of Excellence.
Hills Shire
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Junior sports teams say they are set to be booted from their home ground to make way for the Parramatta Eels — a claim the NRL club denies.
Representatives from junior clubs have described funding for a $40 million NRL Centre of Excellence at Kellyville Park as a “disappointing allocation of government spending” just days after it was given the final tick by The Hills Shire Council.
“Every sport should get fair and equal funding, not one sport gets $20 million while others get next to nothing,” a source told the Hills Shire Times.
“I just don’t really understand giving a prime piece of community green space to an NRL club that’s not even in the local area.”
Plans reveal there will be five full-size playing fields at the site to be used predominantly by rugby league and union clubs.
Clubs from other sporting codes, including football, Aussie rules and cricket, will be moved to new facilities at Arnold Avenue and Balmoral Road reserves.
The Polecats Rugby League, Renegades Rugby Union and Kellyville Kolts Baseball clubs will still be based out of Kellyville Park but may be temporarily relocated during construction.
Rouse Hill Rams FC president Rob Watson said the grounds should be for everyone to use.
“It concerns me that council is readily giving up green spaces and local players are losing the opportunity to play on local parks,” he said.
“We’re talking about local grounds no longer being for local people — it’s just not right.”
Mr Watson said there were ten times as many football players than rugby league players in the area.
“If it was a high concentration of rugby league registrations in the area I could understand it,” he said. “There’s 1200 rugby league registrations in the area, soccer has 12,000. We’ve got 1200 at my club alone.
“If the dollar per head per registration was far greater for league than soccer, fine. But that’s not the case. It just doesn’t seem to be any sort of rational to build this in an area where it’s not the major sport.”
Hills Football Association general manager, Kurt Johnson, said the club would welcome the Eels’ new facility “as long as the community gets to use it”.
“If it’s a locked and gated facility that only elite rugby league players get to use, we won’t be quite as appreciative,” he said.
“We just want government to treat all sport fairly in terms of funding.”
Rouse Hill Renegades Rugby Club president, Scott Mitchell, said teams remaining at the park were fully supportive of the redevelopment.
“As a local resident, I think it’s great for the community and all junior sports,” he said.
“It was definitely in need of some TLC.
“It’s probably one of the longest-standing grounds in the area that I know of.”
Mr Mitchell said the council had “been fantastic with us, keeping us in the loop”.
“They said from the start that we would be looked after and that they’d find a ground for us (during development) if need be,” he said.
The Eels could move from their training facilities at Old Saleyards Reserve in North Parramatta to Kellyville Park as early as November 1.
However, the Eels said no junior sporting team was being forced out of Kellyville Park because of their plans.
“The three current sports that are moving (soccer, Aussie rules and cricket) were all due to be moved as part of the council sports strategy before the Eels’ plans were put together and all sports supported the council’s plans as they would be moving to superior facilities,” a spokesman said.
The Hills Shire Mayor Michelle Byrne said the new facility — which council is funding to the tune of $5 million — was a positive step forward in driving grassroots rugby league.
“Council is committed to supporting local sporting initiatives that will benefit our region and (this) is a fantastic example of this commitment,” Cr Byrne said.
“By working collaboratively with the Parramatta National Rugby League, council will be able to maximise opportunities to support our local sporting clubs, while providing high level rugby league training facilities in our shire.
“Council looks forward to working with partners like the PNRL to deliver very exciting projects like this one.”
The council’s financial contribution will pay for a new car park, construction of playing fields two and three — which will include lighting, drainage and irrigation — and a power upgrade.
However, future contributions will be required from the council to deliver amenities buildings, spectator seating, further floodlighting, fencing, pathways, a playground and landscaping across the site.
Planning documents revealed Memorial Ave upgrades by the RMS will result in delays to the construction of the Centre of Excellence.
The centre will include changerooms, undercover spectator seating, floodlights, work stations, a gym and meeting rooms.