The beloved Steelers may never return, but the announcement of a $50 million high performance centre ensures the Dragons will stay in Wollongong for generations to come. A lot of politics is involved in reaching the point where St George Illawarra can hold the keys to a state-of-the-art facility, which could make them the NRL powerhouse they long to be again.
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The University of Wollongong was left embarrassed when A-League club Wellington Phoenix expressed displeasure at the training situation, while it was based here during COVID border restrictions. The new centre promises to be fit for purpose with two new full-size football fields, plus specially-built facilities.
Being built on the old Brandon Park site, now the UOW innovation campus and the old home of Wollongong Wolves, it will leave a bitter after-taste for football fans and officials, who were left stranded without a permanent base for years.
It will also have implications for the Wollongong City Council blueprint for redevelopment of the WIN Entertainment Centre and Stadium precinct.
But for now it shows the enormous might of the NRL to wield influence in the corridors of power. And it allows Wollongong to be an attractive option, to lure all sporting codes and major events to the region and use the high performance centre.
When it's finished, Illawarra rugby league fans can finally shed their insecurities about the future.
- Tim Barrow
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