By Jacob Saulwick and Michael Chammas
Sports Minister Stuart Ayres has distanced himself from suggestions a new stadium could be built on land controlled by the Centennial and Moore Park Trust, after triggering a public outcry.
Mr Ayres told Fairfax Media on Wednesday the government intended to build a new stadium on the same land occupied by the 28-year-old Allianz at Moore Park, even if that meant central Sydney would be without a rectangular stadium for some time.
Mr Ayres' comments came after he was widely interpreted to have made the opposite point in multiple media appearances.
The background to the furore is the perennial Sydney concern of threats, perceived or otherwise, to public land.
Jenny Leong, Clover Moore, Alex Greenwich and Ron Hoenig speak against any plan to build a stadium on Kippax Lake.Credit: Nick Moir
Fairfax Media reported on Saturday that the Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Trust was continuing to push for a replacement for Allianz Stadium to be built over the top of nearby Kippax Lake.
That would allow the new stadium to be built before the old was demolished, without disrupting games or costing the SCG Trust revenue.
But that outcome would be in direct opposition to the Baird government's stated policy of requiring a replacement stadium at Moore Park be built on land managed by the powerful SCG Trust.
Kippax Lake is on land managed by the Centennial and Moore Park Trust.
Premier Mike Baird and Sports Minister Stuart Ayres in September when they announced $1.6 billion in funding for stadiums over the next 10 years.Credit: Nick Moir
In a presentation to corporate lobby group the Committee for Sydney at News Corp Australia headquarters on Tuesday, Mr Ayres said historical boundaries between trusts should not constrain the planners of the new stadium.
"Why should we quarantine our thinking, constrain all of our decision-making to a very small piece of land because of a historical governance model," he was reported to have said.
Alex Greenwich, Ron Hoenig, Clover Moore and Jenny Leong at Kippax Lake on Wednesday.Credit: Nick Moir
These comments, combined with an ABC Radio interview on Wednesday morning, were widely interpreted as Mr Ayres backing the SCG Trust's push for a Kippax Lake stadium - in opposition to his own government's policy.
"If you move the stadium, for instance, the space where the existing stadium is can be redeveloped as open recreational green space, it can be redeveloped as playing fields," Mr Ayres told ABC 702.
In response, Sydney lord mayor Clover Moore and local MPs Ron Hoenig, Alex Greenwich and Jenny Leong organised a press conference in Moore Park to condemn a potential land grab in Centennial and Moore parks.
And the chairman of the Centennial Park Trust, Tony Ryan, said: "We were disappointed to learn of the comments of the minister which appear to contradict the government's stated position regarding the Allianz Stadium redevelopment."
But later on Wednesday, Mr Ayres told Fairfax Media the government still intended to develop a stadium on land controlled by the SCG, and was merely saying the two trusts should work together in pursuit of public amenity.
"Our intention is to build in the SCG Sports ground land," Mr Ayres said.
However, if the new stadium was built on SCG Trust land, Mr Ayres said, space constraints would require the demolition of Allianz Stadium before the new arena's construction.
"Of course that's the case," Mr Ayres said. "There just isn't enough land if you want to apply the boundaries of the trust."
But Mr Ayres would not commit to building a new stadium on existing SCG Trust land, saying he needed to wait until designs were finished some time before the end of the year.
"The government has a clear stated intention to build a new stadium and it intends to build that stadium on land that is administered by the SCG Trust," Mr Ayres said. The Roosters NRL team, rugby's Waratahs and A-League team Sydney FC all use Allianz as a home ground.
Mr Ayres said the government would be prepared to be without a rectangular stadium in central Sydney during the construction period.
"I think it would be very short-sighted just to think about an initial financial position for two to three years and have that compromise a 30-year outcome," he said.
Any new stadium in Moore Park, however, will be opposed by those who say the funds would be better spent elsewhere or that Allianz Stadium could be refurbished.
"It definitely needs tarting up, but that doesn't necessarily mean we need to build a brand new stadium," said former Liberal planning minister Robert Webster, who helped establish the Olympic Park precinct.
Mr Webster said the requirement to preserve public land at Moore Park was one of the reasons for the development of Olympic Park.
"Taking over any of the green space out there then wasn't considered an option and I think really isn't an option now, although the Sports Minister would have us believe otherwise," said Mr Webster, who chairs the advisory board for ANZ Stadium at Olympic Park.
The back-and-forth comes as the NRL reconsiders its position on stadiums in Sydney. Under former chief executive Dave Smith, the NRL's priority was for a new 55,000 seat stadium to be built at Moore Park. But since Smith's sudden departure, the government approached the NRL to determine whether there was a shift in priorities.
The NRL has since approached the majority of Sydney clubs to get an understanding of their preferences and will deliberate with them before providing an answer to the state government by the end of the month.