The shortage in usable football fields within the Illawarra has forced the region's top two teams to look elsewhere for access to pitches.
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The Wollongong Wolves and Illawarra Stingrays have looked into making a regular booking at grounds in Sydney to ensure they are not left behind their NSW NPL rivals as the rain continues to fall.
Such is the demand for Ian McLennan Park, the region's only synthetic pitch, the teams have struggled to train of late.
That forced the Wolves to travel to Sydney earlier this month, and coach Luke Wilkshire said they are again looking to secure access to suitable training facilities.
"We're looking at no training this week," Wilkshire said. "We can't get on Ian McLennan, I tried last week to book it for this week and it's not possible.
"We're looking at leading into a game on Friday with no training unless we go to Sydney. Making a regular booking at a ground in Sydney is definitely something I'm interested in doing."
Dozens of men's and women's fixtures have been washed out throughout the past month.
That has led to calls for a second synthetic pitch to be built in the region.
Wollongong Council had initially planned on building two more artificial fields once Ian McLennan had been built, however those plans are now on hold.
The first was in partnership with the University of Wollongong at Kooloobong Oval, with construction slated to start in October 2019.
That was pushed back to 2020 and then the pandemic hit, UOW postponing the project indefinitely.
"Due to the financial impact of COVID-19 on the University of Wollongong, and in consultation with Wollongong City Council, the Kooloobong Ovals project has been deferred," UOW said in a statement.
"UOW has been working collaboratively with Wollongong City Council on the next steps for the delivery of the Voluntary Planning Agreement.
"At present, there is no firm date for when the Kooloobong Ovals project will proceed."
Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery acknowledged the need to improve facilities in the region, however he said it could be hard to justify spending up to $2 million on one ground.
"I'd like to have synthetic pitches everywhere so people could get on with playing sport," Bradbery said. "The challenge with Wollongong is we have many sports and they all have expectations.
"We have to operate within the budget constraints before us, which are paid for by the ratepayers and where most of the funds come from."
A glimmer of hope has emerged in the Wolves plans for a synthetic pitch at Albert Butler Park.
The ground would be open to all clubs in the region.
The Wolves are currently renegotiating their lease with Wollongong Council and chairman Tory Lavalle is eager to invest in the venue if a long-term lease is granted.
"If we're able to get a long-term lease at Albert Butler we'd like to build a synthetic pitch," Lavalle said.
"That's the plan but we need a long-term lease. Then we can go to council to help us build a synthetic pitch for the entire community."
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