St. George & Sutherland Shire Leader
March 19th 2002
ST GEORGE Illawarra is unlikely to find a home ground in the St George district for "several years".
After a less-than-happy first round game at Aussie Stadium, where only 12,500 braved the heat and encountered a long traffic wait afterwards, the Dragons are away to Penrith on Sunday.
Chief executive Peter Doust yesterday said there was no chance of the club returning to Kogarah Oval in the near future and no other land available.
"Proponents of the Dragons returning to Kogarah in 2003 are not versed with reality," he said.
"While we would love to play at an appropriate venue in the St George district and we're part of a council working party looking at the future, Kogarah just has too many problems now.
"There's problems with parking, lighting, residents and corporate facilities, just to name a few.
"We'd need at least $20 million to build a new grandstand to solve some of them and we don't have that money, nor does local or state government."
Three members of the Return to Kogarah group, which met last weekend, are vying for positions on the leagues club board this week and aiming to fast-track a return to Jubilee Oval.