Western Sydney Stadium

Western Sydney Stadium
View of construction in May 2018
Location Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia
Coordinates 33°48′29″S 150°59′59″E / 33.80806°S 150.99972°E / -33.80806; 150.99972Coordinates: 33°48′29″S 150°59′59″E / 33.80806°S 150.99972°E / -33.80806; 150.99972
Public transit Parramatta
Parramatta
Owner NSW Government
Operator Venues NSW
Capacity 30,000
Field size 140 × 80 metres
Surface Grass
Construction
Broke ground 2016
Opened 2019 (planned)
Construction cost $300 million
Architect Populous
Main contractors Lendlease
Tenants
Western Sydney Wanderers (A-League) (2019–)
Parramatta Eels (NRL) (2019–)
Wests Tigers (NRL) (2019-)

The Western Sydney Stadium is an under construction sports stadium in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia as a replacement for the demolished Parramatta Stadium. The stadium is scheduled to be open in mid 2019 with a 30,000 seat capacity. The stadium is owned and operated by the NSW Government, designed by Populous Architects and being built by Lendlease with a build cost budgeted at $300 million.[1][2] The stadium will host A-League matches of the Western Sydney Wanderers and National Rugby League matches for the Parramatta Eels and Wests Tigers.

Location history

The area the stadium is located on was used for leisure and horse racing in the British colony at Parramatta that was founded along with the harbour settlement of Sydney in 1788. Governor Charles FitzRoy approved the creation of a racecourse on the site in 1847, with a cricket field grown within the racetrack and opened in 1863.[3] After numerous name changes the local cricket club settled on the name Central Cumberland Cricket Club, and from there the site gained the Cumberland Oval name.

Cumberland Oval was used variously for horse racing, cricket, athletics, rugby union, rugby league and motor sports. When in use for motor sports the site was named the Parramatta Speedway, holding events from 1930 through to 1959. When the Parramatta District Rugby League Club were admitted into the NSWRL Premiership in 1947 Cumberland Oval became the club's home ground. In 1981 after Parramatta won their first ever rugby league premiership supporters packed into the oval and proceeded to burn the grandstand to the ground, and shortly after a decision was made to build a modern stadium.[4]

An A-League match in progress at Parramatta Stadium

Parramatta Stadium was designed in 1984, built in 1985 and opened by Queen Elizabeth II on On 5 March 1986. The new rectangular stadium continued to host local, state and national sports events as well as concerts. It was converted into an all seater stadium in 2002, with a reduced capacity of 21,000. In 2012, with the success of the newly formed Western Sydney Wanderers, which included hosting a sell out crowd for the 2014 AFC Champions League Final, and the ongoing desire of the Parramatta Eels to replace the nearly 30 year old stadium, the NSW Government canvassed expansion options including an increase to capacity in the north and south ends, and a successive rebuild of all grandstands. In September 2015 the decision was made for a knock down rebuild of the stadium.[5][6]

Parramatta Stadium's last A-League match was a semi-final between the Western Sydney Wanderers and Brisbane Roar.[7] The Parramatta Eels hosted the final game of rugby league, defeating St George Illawarra 30-18, with Bevan French scoring three tries in a blowout scoreline.[8]

Rebuild & design decision

In September 2015, the New South Wales Government announced that the stadium would be replaced with a new 30,000 seat venue on the same site.[9]

Expressions of interest were requested in June 2016, with four shortlisted to bid:[10]

The contract was awarded to the Populous and Lendlease consortium in December 2016.[11]

As a requirement of the expanded footprint of the stadium, the adjacent Parramatta War Memorial Pool was also closed and demolished. A small group of protesters disagreed with the decision, gaining a measure of local media coverage to promote their anti-stadium online petitions. Amid local government and residential pressure, in March 2017 the NSW Government announced that a new aquatic centre would be built on the old Parramatta Golf Course site.[12]

Stadium features

The key features of the announcement were a 10,000 increase in capacity from the existing stadium, featuring modern facilities, steep grandstands, integrated pedestrian and transport links, local landscaping and a premium field level members club. The first major installation of Safe standing in Australia was included in the design, with 3 bays totalling 1,000 capacity in the Red & Black Bloc active support area.[13] It is also designed to have a LEED Gold Energy rating.[14][15]

Construction

Demolition work began in early 2017 and was completed in February 2017. Site cleanup, excavation and preparatory ground work finished in August. Construction started with concrete foundations being laid down in September 2017. The first roof section was assembled and lifted into place at the South end of the ground on 12 February 2018.

Users

The stadium will be capable of hosting the three major football codes in New South Wales, with the two major tenants, the Western Sydney Wanderers and the Parramatta Eels will recommence at the completed stadium. The Government has expressed a desire for other NRL teams to play home games at the stadium, and the Wests Tigers stated they would be taking games to the stadium while the two other major stadiums in the city, the Sydney Football Stadium and Sydney Olympic Stadium were being refurbished. While no rugby union team was hosted at the stadium at closure, it could host a team in an expanded National Rugby Championship or Shute Shield, rugby union test matches and any future Rugby World Cup or rugby sevens tournaments.

The dimensions of the pitch will match the international standards for football, rugby league and rugby union although for the latter the touch in-goal areas will not be the full size 22 metre length.

The stadium will be rated to host international matches across the sporting codes. These could include Australian FIFA World Cup qualification and exhibition matches, Kangaroos (rugby league) and Wallabies (rugby union) test matches.

Transport connections

Parramatta railway station is serviced by trains of the North Shore, Northern & Western Line, Cumberland Line and Blue Mountains Line. The Parramatta River ferry route begins at Circular Quay in the Sydney CBD and includes stops along the river such as Balmain, Darling Harbour, Meadowbank and Sydney Olympic Park, terminating at the Parramatta Ferry Wharf. The Parramatta Light Rail will also service the new stadium via the Prince Alfred Square stop. All 3 are located in the Parramatta CBD within a 1 kilometre, 15 minute walking distance to the stadium.

References

  1. ↑ "Western Sydney Stadium contractor announced". Infrastructure Magazine. 12 December 2016.
  2. ↑ "The new Western Sydney Stadium". NSW Office of Sport.
  3. ↑ "Parramatta Park and Old Government House". NSW Government Heritage Office.
  4. ↑ Lennon, Troy (15 February 2017). "Eels home ground came into being thanks to a local turf club". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  5. ↑ "NSW Government to end financial backing for stadia in Sydney's suburbs". Australian Leisure Management. 27 November 2012.
  6. ↑ "Rebuilding the Major Stadia Network". NSW Office Of Sport. 2015.
  7. ↑ "Western Sydney Wanderers beat Brisbane Roar to make A-League grand final after extra time". abc.net.au. 25 April 2016.
  8. ↑ "Bevan French scores hat-trick of tries as Parramatta Eels beat St George Illawarra 30-18". abc.net.au. 29 August 2016.
  9. ↑ "New 30,000-seat Parramatta stadium among premier's $1.6b promises". The Sydney Morning Herald. 4 September 2015.
  10. ↑ "Western Sydney Stadium contractor announced". Infrastructure Magazine. 12 December 2016.
  11. ↑ "Populous to design Western Sydney Stadium". architectureau.com.au. 9 December 2016.
  12. ↑ "Berejiklian government pledges $30 million for new Parramatta aquatic centre". SMH.com.au. 31 March 2017.
  13. ↑ "Western Sydney Wanderers set to be given safe standing section in new Parramatta Stadium". smh.com.au. 8 December 2016.
  14. ↑ "New Parramatta Stadium Revealed". WestSydneyFootball.Com. 9 December 2016.
  15. ↑ "Winning design unveiled for new Parramatta Stadium". NSW Government. 8 December 2016.
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