Illawarra Mercury
September 17th, 2001
THE Illawarra has made an $8 million commitment to the St George Illawarra Dragons.
It's time the Dragons made the same commitment to this sports passionate region.
The Dragons might have bowed out of the National Rugby League title race on Saturday night, but their diehard fans already are thinking of bigger and better things in 2002.
Demolition began recently on WIN Stadium's old concrete bunker - the first stage of construction of the new $8 million northern grandstand.
The facility, used at the Sydney International Aquatic Centre during the Olympic Games, will boost seating capacity to 20,000 and bring it into line with NRL and National Soccer League (Wollongong Wolves) stadium standards.
WIN Corporation has made its $4 million commitment to the project - on top of its naming rights sponsorship of the venue.
Illawarra and Sydney-based fans have packed out WIN Stadium for home games since the Steelers and Dragons merged amid controversy.
Splitting home games between WIN Stadium and Sydney Football Stadium might be politically correct, but it's a logistical failure - the crowds tell the story. Sydney-based Dragons fans obviously are happy to come to Wollongong for home games, but Illawarra fans aren't keen on the trip to the SFS.
There would have been bigger crowds at WIN Stadium for most games, but there wasn't room. Good weather and few problems will ensure the Dragons have a 20,000-capacity ground to kick off next season.
Up to 12 home games at a packed WIN Stadium will deliver around 250,000 fans next year - the numbers tell a compelling story.
It's time the Dragons made a decision on behalf of the fans who provide the passion and hard-earned dollars - and the Illawarra's corporate backers, led by WIN Corporation - to bite the bullet and make WIN Stadium the club's home ground.
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1999 is the only year when WIN has had solid crowds, with a 12,995 crowd average. Since then, WIN has only averaged 10,638 over 13 games. Packed out WIN Stadium? These crowds from 2000 and 2001 don't suggest that at all 7074, 7039, 9480, 9583, 9972, 9013 In 2001, WIN had one more game than Sydney, yet Sydney still had a higher crowd aggregate - SYDNEY - 79,334 from 6 games compared to WIN - 74,618 from 7 games. |
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