Illawarra Mercury
July 25, 2002
A proposed return to Kogarah Oval is favoured by Wollongong and South Coast-based Dragons fans, says St George Illawarra chief executive Peter Doust.
St George Illawarra will meet with the NRL tomorrow to find out exactly what needs to be done before it can return to its spiritual home.
The Dragons are seriously considering walking away from Aussie Stadium at the end of the year to play half their matches at Kogarah and the other half at WIN Stadium.
Doust said the club had always harboured a "desire" to play
their Sydney home games in the St George area and Dragons supporters from
Wollongong had also indicated they preferred Kogarah to travelling to
Aussie Stadium.
He said a We Want To Know About You survey conducted by the club last year revealed that on the whole Dragons supporters from the Illawarra and Campbelltown would travel to Kogarah but were apprehensive about having to go into the city.
"This was one of the elements that brought us to the point that we're at now," Doust said.
"But, I think we've always harboured a desire to play our Sydney-based games in the St George area and certainly our St George-based fans would like us to do that."
The Dragons could be back at Kogarah as early as next season after Kogarah Council voted on Monday night to support work being done on the ground to help the club bring it up to the league's standards.
The council and St George Leagues Club have pledged more than $100,000 for ground maintenance and improvement but the Dragons still require more funds to get the ground up to scratch.
Doust said there were a number of other steps that had to be achieved before the club would be prepared to commit to any games at Kogarah.
The first step involved talking to the league about whether it would prepared to accept the ground as an NRL venue.
'If they are prepared then the immediate requirement would be generally improving the amenities for the spectators and other stakeholders - including corporate sponsors, the media and away teams - and warm-up facilities.
"A further grandstand will also be considered further down the track," he said.
Doust said the Dragons, currently in the first of a three-year agreement to play seven home games at WIN Stadium, had an "underlying commitment" to play home games in both Wollongong and Sydney.