Stadium battleground

A $1.6 billion NSW Government commitment to upgrade major Sydney stadium is conditional to more games being played at the Allianz, ANZ and a redeveloped Parramatta.

However, Keira Labor MP Ryan Park and Kiama’s Liberal member Gareth Ward are united in declaring St George Illawarra’s WIN Stadium games are off limits.

“We’re not a southern suburb of Sydney,” Mr Park said.

“We’re our own region.

“Tax payers under the previous Labor government and through the work that Gareth’s done under this Government have invested significantly to make sure this stadium is at a world class level.”

As a return on its investment, the NSW Government is asking the NRL for as many as 65 games to be played at Allianz, the grand final venue ANZ or Parramatta.

Negotiations continue, with the NRL pushing for the Dragons and Tigers to each commit to playing eight games out of the major venues, while Manly and Cronulla to play three to four.

A major stumbling block for the Dragons is the potential buy-out of the club by WIN Television, also the naming rights sponsor of their Wollongong headquarters.

After already having WIN Stadium games cut from six to four in 2014 because of the financial pressures being felt by St George Illawarra, Mr Ward said the region deserved to maintain a significant NRL presence.

“The Dragons are a very important part of this community,” Mr Ward said.

“This is an NRL town, we want to make sure as many games are player here as possible, so that our community can enjoy and support their team.

“So many of the players have come from Group Seven, from country clubs, they’ve come up through the ranks.

“For many this Sunday, their dream is to play on this paddock with these colours and I want to seem them playing on this field as often as possible.”

A crowd of about 16,000 is expected at WIN Stadium on Sunday afternoon, when the Dragons tackle Penrith, with kick-off at 4pm.

St George Illawarra also take on premiers North Queensland, Melbourne and Brisbane in Wollongong this season.