Bulldogs come back to Belmore
The Rudd Labor Government will provide $4.9 million to redevelop the Belmore Sportsground in Sydney’s Inner West.
Tony Burke, Member for Watson, and Anthony Albanese, Minister for Infrastructure and Local Government, made the announcement at Belmore today with the Mayor of Canterbury City Council Robert Furolo, Chairman of the Canterbury-Bankstown Rugby League Club Ray Dibb and President of the Sydney Olympic Football Club George Giannaros.
Mr Albanese said that the project was worth $5.9 million in total.
“It is expected to support 40 jobs during construction, as well as another 10 jobs over the longer term, delivering an economic boost for the Inner West.”
Mr Burke said, “There was a great deal of disappointment when the Bulldogs stopped basing themselves in the local area back in 1998.
“Today’s announcement will bring Canterbury-Bankstown’s most popular sporting team back home.”
The Canterbury City Council project is expected to include:
- Permanent training facilities including a gym, refurbished change rooms, football staff offices, a video conference room and player recreation area for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Rugby League Club;
- Refurbishment of change rooms and amenities for the Sydney Olympic FC;
- Conversion of the existing bar area into a community-use multi-function room;
- Refurbishment and extension of the amenities block servicing Peter Moore Field, used by community sports groups.
At the announcement Tony Burke said:
I used to come here and watch the Dogs run around and just on the stand at the light there behind us - I remember being at that spot in the 98 final at the home game that we had. The announcement doesn’t get us to the point where we have the NRL games here but what we do get is the Bulldogs back at home.
That makes a massive difference to this community. It makes a difference in that it’s been done in a cooperative way with Sydney Olympic so that we actually get the people who love soccer and love rugby league being able to work together.
What that means for the community though is that those people who are local heroes will get seen up and down the streets of Belmore. They’ll be seen as part of the community that loves them and part of the community that has always looked up to the Bulldogs.
When the Bulldogs left it was a massive loss to our local area and people felt it pretty deeply. There has been the desire for a long time to ask two questions: one, why were the dogs let out and two, how can we let them back in. Well today they come back home. That makes a massive difference for the morale of this community and it’s done in a way that is delivering jobs and delivering community facilities.
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