Leichhardt Oval, West Tigers: Future of historic venue in doubt, calls grow for funding

The future of the beloved oval has been thrown into doubt, with fears that it could cease to be a professional venue after state funding was withdrawn. See behind the scenes.

The future of Leichhardt Oval has been thrown into doubt after the state government’s U-turn on its promise of funding, with fears the beloved stadium could become unfit for professional sporting fixtures.

Hand-me-down SCG seats, shipping containers hosting food outlets and women’s teams given more urinals than cubicles would be more in-step with a Sunday league game, not a ground which hosts professional rugby league, rugby union and football fixtures.

Inner West mayor Darcy Byrne said the self-proclaimed eighth wonder of the world could soon be unfit for professional purposes without an injection of funding, such is the derelict state of some of its facilities.

“It’s a very immediate threat,” he said. “We can’t schedule games here if the facilities are genuinely substandard or unsafe – the collapse of the railing was evidence of what we’ve been warning about for years.

“Fans need to know that within the next few years, without financial support, there just won‘t be professional sport played here.”

Spectators crashed face first into the ground after a railing collapsed a few weeks ago and the oval is also an official FIFA Women’s World Cup training venue. The mayor says the facility is “substandard” for women’s sport.

The latest fears about the stadium’s future come after six months of seesawing by the state government. After seemingly overlooking the ground for funding allocation hopes were renewed in May when a gentlemen’s agreement was seemingly struck, securing funds for a host of suburban grounds, including $50 million for Leichhardt Oval.

Darcy Byrne said the future of the ground was shrouded in doubt. Picture: Nathan Hopkins

That promise was backtracked, however, forcing the NRL to threaten to move the competition’s grand final to QLD, such was the anger with the state government’s broken suburban ground promise.

“We need the NSW government to invest in suburban stadiums”, NRL CEO Andrew Abdo told The Daily Telegraph last week.

Mayor Byrne accused Premier Dominic Perrottet, who is a Tigers fan, of “betrayal” and pork-barrelling funds into BlueBet Stadium at Penrith, in former Liberal state deputy Stuart Ayres’ seat.

“He won't turn up here on Sunday, because if he walked up Wayne Pearce Hill he would be booed worse than any Canberra player,” he said. “He should hand back his membership card.”

Wests Tigers CEO Justin Pascoe said there was no better atmosphere in Australian sport than a packed Leichhardt Oval, but echoed fears the ground could soon be unfit for first-grade footy.

“It‘s clear to me that if no funding comes into that stadium, it might be unfit for purpose for anything,” he said. “If future generations of Tigers fans missed out on the Leichhardt Oval experience it would be devastating.”

The Tigers take six games a year to Leichhardt Oval and while Pascoe said each is an amazing occasion, the operations behind each game are some of the most challenging.

“Our operations team love the ground as much as anyone, but it’s really challenging from a venue perspective,” he said.

The Inner West Council operates the ground and made a recent masterplan on the assumption of promised funding. The council can only fund so much – injecting $5 million in recent years to keep the playing surface to a professional standard.

All silent on the hill. Picture: Nathan Hopkins

“We’ve done as much as we can to improve the facilities, but no council in Australia can afford to undertake a major stadium refurbishment,” Mayor Byrne said.

There are two changing rooms, both with more urinals than cubicles, not ideal for women’s sport. If there’s a double header, waiting teams make do with what space is left. Female players have to get changed in a tent outside.

In the corner of one medical room sits a stretcher from the 1990s – indicative of the stadium’s history, but also its descending state of disrepair.

Long-abandoned, derelict public bathrooms are out of bounds to fans behind one of the goals.

Union games – the Waratahs used the oval as their home ground this season and the Shute Shield plays games out of Leichhardt – could also be a thing of the past without substantial upgrades.

“In terms of facilities, it certainly needs an update,” Sydney Rugby Union general manager Peter Watkins said. “The atmosphere, security, everything about the stadium is fantastic – other than needing a real facelift. Give it a fresh coat of paint and modernise it, and Leichhardt Oval becomes a great stadium.”

The NSW Office of Sport was approached for comment but hadn’t responded at the time of publication.