NRL fans can’t fall for ‘upgrades’ in Battle of the Stadiums

AMID all the political posturing and club bargaining in the Battle of the Stadiums, one vital point has been forgotten, writes RICHARD HINDS.

WITH Premier Mike Baird to review the various options for new or refurbished venues, this could be a decisive week in the Battle of the Stadiums.

But after more than a decade pleading the case that Sydney sports fans deserve better venues — often in the face of ridicule from myopic sports officials, self-interested venue operators and sentimental supporters — I am willing to wave the white flag.

If, as seems likely, the NRL’s warlords refuse to embrace the future and consequently deny their supporters the modern stadiums enjoyed in other major cities, there is only one justifiable use for the $1.6 billion set aside for that purpose.

Build a hospital instead.

Preferably one capable of treating the head injuries seemingly suffered by those proposing to squander this rare opportunity and keep Sydney’s scandalously neglected fans stuck in the 20th century.

Amid all the political posturing and club bargaining, one vital point has been forgotten. The money pledged by the government was intended to give the city the state-of-the-art rectangular venues it lacks.

It is not intended to gussy-up decrepit fortresses as some NRL clubs demand. It is not for half-baked renovations that make ANZ and Allianz Stadium slightly more comfortable versions of their unpopular selves.

A general view of ANZ stadium as the teams run onto the field during game two of the 2014 State of Origin series.

This taxpayer money is supposed to revolutionise Sydney’s viewing habits, not pander to them. It should pay for stadiums to which people will travel, not merely update venues to which only the diehards now reluctantly trudge.

But if the NRL clubs get their way little will change. The same disappointingly small week-to-week crowds will be accommodated in renovated versions of existing stadiums. The self-defeating notion rugby league is a “TV sport’’ will be perpetuated.

If so, give those clubs who will keep their own fans in the sporting dark ages some credit.

It takes Donald Trump-class bluster to have the very fans that would benefit from world class stadiums, and inevitably flock to them, condemning plans to build them.

Yet many NRL supporters have swallowed whole the cynical faux-nostalgia. Even seemingly intelligent fans have written rhapsodically about their time travel back to 1980s Brookvale or their misty-eyed evening at testosterone-soaked Belmore without conceding the obvious. Suburban venues appeal to a mostly male demographic that will eventually dwindle. Never to be replaced unless the game is played in more modern and family-friendly venues.

Others parrot the anti-Moore Park propaganda alleging “we don’t need a new 55,000-seat stadium because we can’t fill the stadiums we have’’.

Which blithely ignores the fact any Adelaidian will cite. Great stadiums attract greater crowds.

Allianz Stadium is out of date. Picture: Gregg Porteous

Yes there are significant arguments about Sydney’s difficult geography and the possibility that, unlike Melbourne’s two-stadium policy, the retention of some suburban grounds would be necessary.

But instead of seeking solutions and imagining how they could leverage a great new stadium into increased membership and corporate interest, small-thinking Sydney sports administrators whine about the time they might have to spend in temporary accommodation.

If crowds were growing in their current venues the clubs might have a case. But unable to increase attendances at unpopular ANZ Stadium, out-of-date Allianz and their suburban hovels, they beg for an ever-larger share of media rights revenue instead of increasing the financial pie.

In so doing NRL clubs fail their own players who deserve to play a now breathtaking game in suitable surroundings. Not perform before depressingly empty grandstands or the backdrop of non-league Scottish football. So don’t fall for “upgrades’’ that maintain the status quo.

The Olympic legacy has already been squandered. There will be no greater scandal if a single cent of the $1.6 billion is wasted on suburban grounds or half-baked renovations.

If NRL clubs refuse to give their fans the very best stadiums $1.6 billion can buy let’s build a hospital.