Wests Tigers chief executive Shane Richardson believes a “decayed” Leichhardt Oval needs a facelift, and he’s made a case to the NSW government to help the club do it, potentially beginning a stadium war with the Panthers in the process.
On Monday, Richardson and Inner West Council Mayor Darcy Byrne appealed to NSW Premier Chris Minns to allocate 10% of the proposed $309 million budget to upgrade Panthers Stadium.
The Panthers are set to start renovations on their home ground after his season, which will mean the club won’t play any games there in 2025.
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Byrne told reporters that fans and the club deserved the Tigers’ spiritual home to be revamped instead of torn down.
“Leichhardt Oval hasn’t received any funding from the state government since Benji Marshall was in nappies,” Byrne said.
“There’s no good reason Penrith’s stadium should have gold-plated urinals, while famous Leichhardt Oval is forced to close through neglect.”
Fox League’s James Hooper outlined his reasons why Leichhardt Oval had to be saved in a Monday column, calling those out who thought the historic ground should be “blown up”.
“Killing Leichhardt Oval is absurd. It’s a community asset,” Hooper wrote.
Richardson says the time is ticking on the NSW government, with the decorated sports administrator stressing a decision on whether the ground is allocated funding has to be made soon.
“We’ll be making that decision over the next 60 to 90 days,” Richardson said.
“I’ve told our different stakeholders, but we’ll make a decision that is best for the club.
“It’s a great rugby league ground, but it’s decayed.
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“I haven’t seen any of the costing (for the proposal), all I’ve seen is their plan which I think is a good one.
“The reality is until there is money for it, you don’t know when it’s going to be and if it’s going to be five years away, it’ll be dead. We won’t be here.”
Regarding the request to take a slice of the funds allocated to the Panthers’ home ground, Richardson couldn’t help but make a quip.
“Good luck to them. I was CEO at Penrith and it’s great for them, but it’s not a bad stadium as it is but $300 million?” he said.
“I’m looking forward to the gold taps on the thing.”
Last Saturday night’s home game against the Sharks at Leichhardt was nearly all the ammunition the Tigers needed to save the famous suburban ground.
16,000 fans packed in to watch their team put on a performance for the ages and deliver Marshall his first win as head coach.
“Saturday night (against the Sharks) was an example of where people get carried away with the hysteria of the crowd and the atmosphere and forget all about the conditions (of the ground),” Richardson said.
Source Agencies
