FOOTBALL
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Two days before their return to WIN Stadium, the South Coast Wolves are determined to put years of on-field and financial hardship behind them.
It's been 13 years since they last captured the National Soccer League title.
However, the visions of grandeur will come flooding back when they play the first of their 11 home games at Wollongong's premier sporting venue.
Despite the inherent financial risks, the club will put it all on the line to give the region's elite men's side a chance on one of the nation's finest surfaces, a stark contrast to the at-times patchy pitch at Crehan Park.
It's a move which will cost the club $5500 a game - $3300 more than National Premier League NSW neighbours St George at WIN Jubilee Oval.
After the Wolves spent years as a nomadic club, president Bobby Mazevski is keen to finally let the team's football do the talking.
"A good performance in the first game should hold us in good stead for the year," Mazevski said.
"We are just hopeful that a lot of people come out to support us, we get a result and at the end of the day we will be happy."
Mazevski remains optimistic about striking a political deal about a further ground fee reduction.
Late last month, Member for Wollongong Noreen Hay brought the WIN Stadium issue to NSW Parliament, stating, it was "unreasonable" for the club to meet such "extravagant costs".
Both Football South Coast and the Wolves have pushed for a solution.
"We have been continuing plugging away with our members of parliament and the local politicians to help us campaign that to the powers that be," Mazevski said.
"It is a complex we will be one of the biggest users of this year. We feel that there should be some better discount perhaps."
Football South Coast chief executive Ann-Marie Balliana believes it's an issue the club will continue to face without a full-time training base.
"The issue with costs are all compounded by the fact that the Wolves and the Stingrays don't have their own facilities," Balliana said.
"I think if you have a look at not just game days, but training days, there is a lot of cost for both teams playing at different venues that are not their own."
But while the Wolves and Football South Coast work to find a long-term solution, they are also trying to ensure the current arrangement works.