Leichhardt Oval will no longer host NRL matches following the conclusion of the 2023 season with the NSW Government opting to invest elsewhere.
State premier Dominic Perrottet was accused by Australian rugby league commissioner Peter V’landys of reneging on a handshake deal pertaining to the $250million funding of various venues across New South Wales.
Perrottet says that funding for the flood response is a greater priority, with over 1,300 people in NSW without a home due to flooding.
Leichhardt Oval will stop hosting NRL games after 2023 due to lack of funding from NSW
And 9News Sydney reports that Leichhardt Oval will not be able to host elite events after 2023, with the stadium not fit to stage the NRL due to improvements needed at the venue.
Despite Perrottet looking unlikely to budge on his stance, Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne is pulling out all of the stops in an attempt to change the premier’s mind.
Perrottet has been offered a ticket to the Raiders game this weekend and a number of banners with the message: ‘Save Leichhardt Oval – Fair Funding Now’ have been pinned around the ground.
The same message will also be spray-painted on the centre of the pitch, clear for television viewers to see at home.
NSW has pulled the plug on a $50m cash injection as they want to help fund flooding victims
Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne is pulling out all of the stops to change the governments’ mind
‘If there is no upgrade coming, the truth is the ground will close,’ Byrne told 9News.
‘The $50m that he offered before and then snatched away needs to be put back on the table.’
The Wests Tigers have made Leichhardt Oval their home and club chief Justin Pascoe said: ‘It would be sad for the club, it would be sad for all the people that have been associated for years watching games of rugby league at the eighth wonder of the world.
‘Without significant funding, there is a real risk that we won’t be able to play there.’
Leichhardt Oval was first used as a rugby league ground in 1934 and was home to the Balmain Tigers before they reformed into the Wests Tigers in 2000.