Leichhardt, he stated, hosts considerably extra sporting fixtures, together with A-League males’s and girls’s video games, Shute Defend and junior and lower-grade rugby league.
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Whereas Interior West Council will spend about $1.25 million turning an previous caretaker’s cottage outdoors the bottom right into a museum of interior west rugby league, Byrne believes that with out extra vital funding the bottom could quickly be unsuitable for skilled sports activities. Final yr a platform on the floor collapsed mid-match, main some spectators to be taken to hospital, and based on the masterplan, among the stadium’s amenities haven’t been up to date for greater than three many years.
In a bid to safe funding for the revamp Byrne wrote to NSW Sports activities Minister Steve Kamper urging the Minns authorities to assist defend the bottom’s future. Referring to the platform collapse, Byrne stated it “highlighted that with out capital funding Leichhardt Oval will quickly change into unsafe as a venue for skilled sport”.
“The closure of Leichhardt Oval could be a darkish day for sport in NSW,” he wrote.
The federal government is unlikely to take up his provide to redirect funding from the outer western suburbs to the interior west, with a spokesman for Kamper saying: “Now we have dedicated $309 million to Penrith Stadium, we are going to ship $309 million to Penrith Stadium”.
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Nonetheless, the federal government is reviewing the council’s proposal.
“We’ll assessment the masterplan and funding choices introduced by the Interior West Council,” the spokesman stated.
“A choice on the challenge might be made sooner or later.”