Annesley, by negotiating the legislation through the State Parliament late last year and appointing Quayle to the position in February, has shown he is still a step ahead of the NRL club chief executives and chairmen he once administered.
Bosses of clubs such as the Rabbitohs, Bulldogs, Dragons and Roosters have recently raised the prospect of a heavily-promoted weekly rugby league match being played at one of Sydney's two major grounds, Allianz Stadium or ANZ Stadium.
Venues NSW has been empowered to take control of government-owned stadiums and entertainment centres in Newcastle, Wollongong and Parramatta away from local trusts where they compete against each other for resources and events.
The new statutory body will not embrace the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust that also controls Allianz Stadium, nor will it have any immediate influence over ANZ Stadium. However, the legislation does allow Venues NSW to ultimately take control of all NSW government-owned stadiums.
Annesley admitted a two-stadium policy for major rugby league, rugby union and soccer matches in
Sydney was a long-term possibility.
''Sometime these things come in small steps,'' the minister said. ''The SCG is an iconic venue and controlled by a trust. It's not on the current agenda for Venues NSW to take it under its umbrella but the legislation does allow us to add venues.
''Homebush is owned by a private consortium but does come back to government ownership in approximately 2031.
''The three we've put together for now - Newcastle, Wollongong and Parramatta - are very similar venues and we believe we will achieve economies of scale, superior bargaining powers and stop, say, Newcastle and Wollongong bidding against each other for events where the only winners are the promoters.''
Annesley, who is the member for Miranda, was guarded on the long-term possibility of all existing suburban rugby league stadiums, such as the Sharks' Toyota Stadium, being closed and all games played at Allianz and ANZ.
This is the situation in Melbourne where all AFL games are played at either the MCG or Etihad Stadium, with famous old suburban grounds, such as Essendon's Windy Hill, now used as training venues.
''It's paying dividends for the AFL,'' he said, in reference to big crowds and superior facilities. ''But how long does it take to make the change? I understand there was initial resistance in Melbourne.''
Typically, Quayle was more direct, fully endorsing the AFL model.
After resigning as ARL chief executive in 1996, he was in charge of venues at the Sydney Olympics and then advised Athens, London and Rio de Janeiro on the modelling of their facilities for the 2004, 2012 and 2016 Olympics respectively.
He was a consultant much in demand for the Pan American Games and Asian Games in the Middle East.
''I've looked at sport around the world and it's inevitable we are moving to shared facilities where the one stadium can host multiple events in different sporting codes,'' he said. ''The AFL model is the best. Queensland, with Suncorp for the rugby codes and soccer and Ballymore for AFL and cricket, is also very good.''
Asked if he supported a new stadium in Sydney's west to cater for the latest A-League franchise, he said he would prefer to close in Parramatta Stadium with stands at either end and cater for another 10,000 fans.
Too much money had been spent by past governments reacting to emotional cries to renovate Belmore, Kogarah and Leichhardt, he said.
He will head a board of eight, embracing the chairs of the Illawarra (Wollongong), Hunter (Newcastle) and western Sydney (Parramatta) local venue centres, as well as state government appointees, including former Magpie great, John Dorahy.
''What we will be doing is designed for the next 20 years, not next year,'' Quayle said.
''No longer should we take emotion into decision making and invest in facilities which may operate only in the short term.''
Annesley and Quayle, opponents in the 1995-97 Super League war when Annesley was a referee in the rival competition, have obviously discarded any emotional shackles from that era to work together for the future of their state.
No comments:
Post a Comment