Rugby Union and football grand finals due to kick off this weekend have been forced to move from WIN Stadium as the western grandstand roof crisis continues.The WIN Sports & Entertainment Centre announced the move via Twitter this morning, saying that the Illawarra District Rugby Union Grand Finals and Football South Coast Grand Finals will be relocated to an ‘‘alternative venue’’.HOW IT UNFOLDED: It all started with a ''snap''‘‘Unfortunately due to an incident at WIN Stadium's Western Grandstand, the Illawarra District Rugby Union Grand Finals on Satuday 24 September, and the Football South Coast Grand Finals on Saturday 1 October, will be relocated to an alternative venue in the Illawarra,’’ it said.The same tweet said more information would be available ‘‘shortly’’.Earlier today, a union official said WIN Stadium’s new western grandstand was designed to withstand winds of at least 150km/h.options={AutoRewind:false,AutoStart:false,Player:"flv",Speed:"low",Width:463,Height:260}Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) regional organiser Mick Lane told ABC Radio something had ‘‘obviously’’ gone wrong with the engineering of the structure after an 85m roof buckled yesterday afternoon.Winds peaked at 76km/h at Bellambi less than an hour before yesterday’s incident.The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting winds of between 15 and 30km/h today.Experts are now looking at how to secure the roof and put it back into its previous position and that work could take several weeks, he said.Three major crane companies, including Port Kembla-based Boom Cranes, are on site this morning.Despite wind gusts of about 60km/h overnight, the roof resisted collapse.Police and NSW WorkCover remain in charge of the site this morning, with Wollongong City Council officers brought in to handle traffic control until late last night.An exclusion zone is still in place around the stadium, albeit a smaller one than existed yesterday afternoon.The WIN Entertainment Centre is open as normal, but the Steelers Club, which sits just metres from the stadium is expected to remain closed for at least today.Structural engineers were brought in Tuesday evening to make a preliminary assessment of the damageThe roof is now unlikely to collapse, however WIN Stadium authorities and the Illawarra public are still wondering how a newly built 85m roof buckled under the stress of seasonal spring winds yesterday.The sight of the roof pivoting precariously above the 6000-seat western grandstand yesterday afternoon sparked a major police operation, as officers blocked off access points to the building.Questions about the grade of steel used, design strength and build quality were already surfacing last night.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading