Like many, I'm still staggered that the final of the ACL is being played at a ground in which only 18,500 tickets can be sold. Like many, I also have my reservations about ANZ Stadium, but in this instance it was the right venue for a match which could have – conceivably – pulled in 50,000 fans. Now, of course, we'll never know.

Western Sydney Wanderers insisted on Parramatta partly because of the wishes of their coach, Tony Popovic, and partly because the majority of their fans wanted it there. Even though many of those members have ended up missing out on seats because their entitlement (four tickets each) was about three-times the available capacity.

But the bigger picture here is that the ACL final will showcase just how inadequate Parramatta is as a major events stadium. And how the planned $29 million upgrade won't paper over those cracks. Both the Wanderers and Parramatta Eels had hoped to get an investment four-times that – a renovation which would have increased capacity to about 32,000 – but a change of state government has changed everything.

The new Liberal government has a new stadium policy, and while there is an acknowledgement western Sydney is crying out for a major-events stadium, Parramatta is now fighting with Penrith and perhaps a new site in Blacktown for the lifeblood of public funding. You'd imagine the fact that Parramatta has two major tenants might work in its favour, but there are powerful lobbyists at work elsewhere – not least James Packer's push for Penrith. Whether Parramatta will ever get the upgrade it needs to host major events therefore remains uncertain.

As it stands, there are serious doubts whether the Asian Football Confederation will sanction Parramatta as an ACL venue beyond the final. Why this matters is that the Wanderers will be playing in the ACL again next year – with their first matches in late February. The only venue in Sydney which is fully AFC-compliant is Homebush, but 10,000 fans inside ANZ Stadium for an ACL group match doesn't have the same appeal as five-times that number for the final. Nonetheless that's the scenario facing the Wanderers in 2015, particularly if they lose out to the Eels in terms of the timing of the building works at Parramatta.

In theory, the Wanderers should again be able to host ACL games after the upgrade is completed, but Asian football doesn't always work like that. The AFC only reluctantly gave Parramatta an exemption this year, and if the Al Hilal entourage, which includes members of the Saudi royal family, don't enjoy their game-day experience in the final then prepare for the backlash. The AFC, now dominated politically by west Asia, care more about their VIPs than anything else.

In the meantime there's frustration the chance for Western Sydney Wanderers to test their potential has been wasted. ANZ Stadium wanted the game, and had committed to being ready despite a monster truck event last weekend. Like many, I wonder just how big the Wanderers juggernaut can become, and the biggest game in their short history – and apart from the FIFA Club World Cup the biggest game they can possibly play – was the perfect opportunity.

Ultimately the real story here is about football taking control of its venues. Frank Lowy believes that the cost of real estate in Australia makes building football-specific venues a pipedream. I prefer to believe where there's a will, there's a way. Until the Americans began building their own stadiums, Major League Soccer was in dire trouble. Getting the full benefit of match-day revenue has liberated the MLS, and one day it will be among the most important leagues in the world.

It may be that private investors will need to share the burden if  A-League clubs are to follow the same path, but there is a precedent here. Look at the NSL, and all those clubs who built their grounds from scratch. With private money, on private land. It might cost a lot more to do the same today, but the principle remains the same.