South-west Sydney is set to emerge as a candidate for A-League expansion and the home of Australian football's national teams with plans for a boutique football stadium to be unveiled this week.
The draft annual budget for Fairfield City Council will be unveiled at chambers on Thursday evening and among the top items is funding for a stadium that could prove a game changer for football in Sydney.
Fairfield Showgrounds is set to undergo the first stage of developments to include a football-specific boutique stadium with $8.5 million already pledged from the council for its upgrades. The funding pledged towards renovations could soar close to $20 million if the council is successful in its request for state government co-funding.
It's a far cry from the $1.6 billion renovations for Parramatta, ANZ and Allianz Stadiums, but the proposed funding for the new sporting complex in Sydney's south-west could include a stadium with an initial capacity of about 10,000, a second synthetic football field adjacent to the stadium that will be the foundations of a regional "centre of excellence" for junior development.
With one grandstand already in place, at least one more large covered stand will be built alongside the sideline of the football-specific venue, while earthmovers will create standing hills behind both goals. The designs will include options for the venue to expand to a larger, boutique, all-seated stadium with a capacity between 15,000 and 20,000. Fairfield hired Complete Urban to provide costings for the first stage of the new complex, which is the first step towards creating a venue suitable to attract a professional football team. A region that's tipped to become the third CBD of Sydney, housing the city's next airport, is also aiming to land an A-League licence when the competition expands.
"If we get an A-League team operating out of the showground, it would give the whole south-west Sydney region a huge identity," Fairfield City Mayor Frank Carbone said. "Families, children are so passionate about their sport here and it would really unite a multicultural community. It would not only be about football, I think it would have a positive impact on our society out here in south-west Sydney."
The council held conversations with NSW Rugby League, AFL and Football Federation Australia to attract professional sports to the precinct, though the priority is to establish links between its grassroots football program and the professional tier.
Fairfield put forward an option to the FFA to use the showground venues as a potential "home of football". Senior FFA sources confirmed the organisation is interested in using the site as a permanent training base for the national teams, including the Socceroos and Matildas, a venue for the FFA Cup and National Premier League games as well as a training ground for visiting international clubs.
"For the first time you have a council coming out saying we want to develop a sporting complex in south-west Sydney and the paramount sport is football," Mayor Carbone said. "Here's the opportunity to come and embrace south-west Sydney to give it an identity in football, to set the game up... properly in this location."
