WIN Stadium’s western grandstand roof will be repaired in time for the St George Illawarra Dragons to play six 2012 matches, however the club says it is undecided whether it will play its full contingent of games in Wollongong over the long term.
Government ministers joined Dragons chief executive Peter Doust on the turf at WIN Stadium yesterday to say the grandstand would open for business by June 8, in time for the team to play six games for the 2012 season.
A redesigned roof, with strengthened struts, will be lifted into place over the next few months in time for the Dragons’ match-up with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in June.
Illawarra Minister Greg Pearce said the Government was still investigating what went wrong with the roof, which buckled in strong but not unseasonal winds last September.
Legal concerns have so far stopped the Government from making any public statement of fault, according to individuals close to the matter. Mr Pearce yesterday was wary not to point the finger at any particular party, saying they were working through the causes.
‘‘I’m not a structural engineer,’’ he said.
So far the builder and insurance companies have shouldered repair costs, with Mr Pearce not ruling out legal action to recover further expenses.
‘‘The Government will pursue any legal alternatives we have,’’ he said.
The roof will be lifted and refitted in two parts. The designs have been drawn up by the original building firm and checked by a second independent builder and an expert structural engineer.
The Dragons were in the midst of negotiating a five to 10-year commitment to the area, which was to guarantee half of its home games were played in Wollongong, when the newly built roof almost blew off in September.
Since then the relationship between the Dragons and its negotiating partner, stadium operators The Illawarra Venues Authority (IVA), has soured.
The Dragons have resisted pressure to sign a long-term commitment with the IVA, causing tension which has spilled over into public view.
IVA chairman Chris Christodoulou publicly urged the Dragons to sign an agreement just before Christmas as well as in an opinion piece published in the Mercury earlier in December.
Mr Christodoulou was not invited to the announcement yesterday.
Mr Doust has previously blamed uncertainty over the 2012 season for putting off the decision.
Yesterday, however, he said a future agreement would have to involve an ‘‘alignment with a venue and the Dragons’ business interests. Certainly we have had a commitment to the Illawarra since the beginning, that is why Illawarra is in our name, we don’t see any change in the longer term but we haven’t been in a position to finalise this,’’ he said.
Mr Christodoulou said he was disappointed at being snubbed yesterday but said there was nothing holding the Dragons back from committing long term.
‘‘Until we have that signature on an agreement, I don’t think we can be absolutely sure of what the Dragons’ intentions are beyond 2012,’’ he said.
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