NRL 2021: Rabbitohs poised to dump ageing Stadium Australia as home ground for new SFS

They have enjoyed a long and fruitful association with Stadium Australia, but Souths may soon be on the move and playing closer to their spiritual home.

An artist’s impression of new stadium at Moore Park.

In an indication his famous club may return to playing games in Sydney’s east, Souths chief executive Blake Solly has spoken of the difficulties in “justifying” remaining at an ageing Stadium Australia.

The NSW Government is yet to announce renewed upgrade plans for the 22-year-old Stadium Australia, a silence which could push Souths to play matches out of the new Moore Park-based Sydney Football Stadium.

A shift east would be a homecoming as such for Souths, whose spiritual home at Redfern is just 3.2kms from the SFS.

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Souths have been at Homebush since 2006.

Rabbitohs management expect to hold meetings in coming weeks with the State Government and NRL about whether the club will be directed to play from 2023.

The $780m rebuild of the Sydney Football Stadium is due for completion in time for the NRL finals next year.

Souths have enjoyed a strong and successful alliance with Stadium Australia since 2006 – and the club wants to remain loyal – but a move appears probable.

The NSW Government cancelled a planned $800 million redevelopment of Stadium Australia due to Covid last year.

“Clearly we have had a great relationship with Stadium Australia – they have been wonderful partners for our club,” Solly said.

“But it makes it very hard for us to justify staying at Stadium Australia when we know our members, fans and corporate partners deserve the best experience they can get - certainly at least one that will match the experience that fans, partners and members of other clubs are going to receive at the newly built stadiums.

“We have been asking for some time to understand what the government and NRL’s plans are for stadium investment.

“Hopefully we will get some understanding pretty soon, and then we can make a decision which is in the best interests of the football club, its members and partners.

An artist’s impression of new stadium at Moore Park.

“It (the SFS) is certainly close to our traditional heartland, but we also have a huge amount of members in western Sydney and outside the South Sydney area that love the club as well.

“We want to make sure that the supporters that have got behind us at Stadium Australia are equally well looked after at any new venue.”

Asked if he believed the NRL wanted Souths playing out of Moore Park, Solly said: “I’m not 100 per cent sure where the NRL wants us to play. but I suspect, like the government, they want the new stadium to be utilised as much as it can.

“We hope we can get around the table sooner rather than later. It’s clear when you drive past what is happening at Moore Park that it is moving along pretty quickly.

“We’ve been in discussions with NRL and government on improvements at Stadium Australia for seven years - so it would be good to finalise our long-term future sooner than later.”

NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo claimed there weren’t any plans for a redevelopment of Stadium Australia.

“I’m not aware of any redevelopment of ANZ Stadium but we are working with the NSW Government on a commitment to invest in suburban stadiums and infrastructure across the state. Those talks are ongoing,” Abdo said.

Abdo denied his organisation would force any club to play games at the SFS.

Russell Crowe has seen plenty of great Souths moments at Stadium Australia.

“We don’t dictate and we certainly don’t provide a view on where clubs should play their home games. They are absolutely autonomous in that regard,” Abdo said.

“But we want to help facilitate a great outcome for them and we want to make sure they are playing in the best venues possible.

“If the Rabbitohs would like (Moore Park) to be their base, and they feel like that is the right place to play, we will do all we can to help them get there. Clearly we want what is best for our clubs, fans and members. We are working with all Sydney-based clubs on their strategy for the long-term.

“Not just for when they play games but how we can help facilitate them growing a footprint in regional areas for one or two games a year. This stadium (SFS) is being built for a range of purposes. It’s not solely for the use of rugby league.”