Future of Western Sydney Stadium in disarray as Eels reject deal
PARRAMATTA will explore playing at Penrith, Campbelltown, North Sydney or the Central Coast after Eels boss Bernie Gurr described terms with the new $360 million Western Sydney Stadium as “unacceptable”.
NRL
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PARRAMATTA will explore hosting games at Penrith, Campbelltown, North Sydney or the Central Coast as an incomprehensible last resort to avoid remaining homeless next year.
A tense stadium stand-off has sensationally left the Eels without a home ground for 2019 after the club rejected a deal with the operators of the new $360 million Western Sydney Stadium.
As a result, the NRL will embarrassingly be unable to tell footy fans where Parramatta will play their home games when the 2019 season draw is made public next week.
Instead, TBC — to be confirmed — will be aligned with each of the Eels’ home games.
Negotiations between the Eels and the stadium’s operators Venues Live broke down after 11 months of haggling over a potential 25-year deal for the club to play on the old Parramatta Stadium site.
Wanting to update their members ahead of the official draw release next week, Eels chief executive Bernie Gurr went public with the bombshell to explain why the commercial deal to play at Western Sydney Stadium was currently “unacceptable”.
Gurr said the proposed deal would have adverse financial implications for the club and restrict the football department’s expenditure, while also severely compromise food, beverage and ticket prices for fans.
“We’ve been in negotiations with Venues Live, the operators of Western Sydney Stadium,’’ Gurr told The Daily Telegraph.
“But we’ve basically reached an impasse.
“We need to ensure, particularly for a deal, that could potentially be for 15 to 25 years that we get a financial outcome that’s fair and reasonable.
“We’re not looking for anything other than to be fair and reasonable.
“But we need to get a financial outcome for our club, our members and fans, that allows us to get what we think we should be getting out of the stadium.
“And we don’t think we’re near that at the moment.’’
Both the Eels and Venues Live are intent on striking a deal. But the gulf between the two is alarming, and with the Eels’ ANZ Stadium contract having expired, they will look at every possible location to play home games next year including Penrith, Campbelltown, North Sydney Oval and the Central Coast.
With the new Sydney metro due early next year, North Sydney Oval has emerged as an option because the trip from Eels heartland in the Hills district would be just 20 minutes.
Given the scope for on-field success, members growth and marketability, those close to negotiations believe the Eels are putting the club’s future at risk by rejecting the deal.
However, the Eels, on the back of their own risk management, claim the operators’ rental terms border on exorbitant.
“They (Venues Live) know we’re not happy with the deal, they’re aware that we’re going to the members,’’ Gurr said.
“None of this surprises them because we’ve been in dialogue with them.
“The current proposal if accepted would adversely affect the ability of our club to invest in our Football Department including our NRL team and our junior elite football programs.
“The current agreement at ANZ has adversely impacted the club financially and we are not prepared to accept a new agreement that will continue to impact the club negatively for the next 25 years.’’
One thing both parties did agree on was that they would be willing to attempt to close the gulf between club and stadium.
“We’re still open to keeping the dialogue open,’’ Gurr said.
A Venues Live press statement read: “While a deal has not been reached at this time, we remain committed to working with the Eels to ensure their Members and fans get to see all that the magnificent new Stadium has to offer in season 2019 and beyond.”
NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet added: “I’m very confident we will reach a compromise because why would you not want to play at one of the great stadiums that this country is going to have.
“It is a world-class facility that will have world class games played there and I believe Parramatta will be part of that story.”
Sport Minister Stuart Ayres urged the Eels to sign up for the Parramatta stadium.
“Western Sydney Stadium will offer a fantastic new experience for fans, unlike anything they have seen before. If I were the CEO of a sporting organisation, I would have signed up yesterday. We encourage the Eels to keep working with Venues Live to get the best result for their fans.”
NSW Opposition Leader Luke Foley said a resolution needed to be found that would be a win for western Sydney families.
“The Parramatta Eels are saying it’s a rip-off and just like the M4 toll, the food and drink prices they’re seeking to charge for the Western Sydney Stadium are just exorbitant and I don’t think this Premier understands the cost of living pressure families are under in the suburbs,” Foley said.
The Eels’ refusal comes despite Wests Tigers signing up to play at the stadium on a similar deal.
Deals are also expected to be done in the coming week with Western Sydney Wanderers and NSW Waratahs to sign up to the stadium.
The new build of the stadium is part of the government’s $1.89 billion spend on stadiums in NSW including an extensive renovation of ANZ and a rebuild of Allianz.
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