WestInvest a facility game changer in Western Sydney

Staff Writer
WestInvest
Image credit: Football NSW

Clubs in Western Sydney are reaping a facility transformation thanks to the NSW Government’s $5 billion WestInvest program.

Facilities, as well as communities, will receive improved and more easy-to-use resources that form a transformational infrastructure project as a whole.

In total, over $333 million is being invested into facilities where football is or will be a key user of the facility.

Among the clubs to see positive change are Nepean, Southern Districts, Macarthur, Hills, and Canterbury.

The projects go towards upgrading amenity buildings to ensure changerooms are female friendly, natural turf field refurbishments, new indoor multi-sport indoor centres for the Futsal community, synthetic fields, and completely new venues.

Football NSW CEO John Tsatsimas said via press release:

“Investment into infrastructure is critical for the largest team-based sport in NSW.

“Only 25% of football changerooms across NSW are female friendly, this injection of funding will help increase this percentage.

“Football demand is already exceeding facility supply, the funding from WestInvest will ensure boys and girls across Western Sydney won’t miss out on playing football.

“We’d like to thank the NSW State Government for their continued support.”

Full details of projects per council are listed below:

Blue Mountains

  • $1.6 million for Blue Mountains City Council to deliver the $1.8 million upgrade of South Lawson Park which will convert a former golf course into a new district level park.

Burwood

  • $2.7 million for the Henley Park Sports Field Upgrade which will revitalise two aged sports fields to improve sport and recreational facilities

Campbelltown

  • $16.7 million for Campbelltown City Council to deliver the Sport and Health Centre of Excellence at Leumeah, in partnership with Western Sydney University, the Macarthur Bulls, Wests Tigers and the South-West Sydney Academy of Sport;
  • $2.8 million for Campbelltown City Council to deliver the Amenities Upgrade Eschol Park Sporting Complex

Camden

  • $21.3 million to deliver the Scalabrini East – Pat Konista Active Open Space and Community Facilities. This project will deliver essential sports, community, green and open space infrastructure in Leppington;
  • $14 million for the Cut Hill Reserve Sports Field Redevelopment project that will renew 18.5 hectares of public open space to deliver new recreation opportunities.

Cumberland

  • $53.7 million for Cumberland Council to deliver the New Hyland Road Sporting Complex into a precinct for indoor and outdoor sport including netball, AFL, football, cricket, baseball, rugby league, rugby union, cricket, basketball, volleyball and badminton;

Fairfield

  • $6.3 million for Fairfield City Council to deliver the $6.5 million Brenan Park project which will deliver more spaces for sports and adventure play for all ages.
  • more than $28 million in WestInvest funding will go towards the $46.5 million Fairfield Showground Stage 2 – Indoor Sports Centre.
  • $16 million for Fairfield City Council to upgrade the Endeavour Sports Park with a new synthetic field, sized for two soccer pitches, an AFL or a cricket pitch;

Hawkesbury

  • $9.8 million for the Hawkesbury City Council to deliver the Tamplin Field Redevelopment project which will include a new synthetic field with off-field grassed spaces to enable games and events through all weather conditions.
  • $4.6 million towards the $9.87 million Fernadell Park and Community Facility development project to deliver new sporting facilities to encourage women and young people to get active.

Hills

  • $1 million for the Hills Shire Council to deliver the Fred Caterson Reserve – Fields 1, 2 & 3 Upgrade and Refurbishment project in Castle Hill

Parramatta

  • $3.8 million for the Max Ruddock Reserve Amenities Modernisation with viewing platform project to upgrade a 50-year-old building to support growth in local sport.
  • $5.6 million for the City of Parramatta Council to deliver the North Granville Community Open Space Upgrade project which will upgrade FS Garside Park and construct a natural turf football field and install new sports field lighting, seating, and a regional sized playground.
  • $8.7 million for the City of Parramatta Council to deliver the Strengthening the Heart of Play project in North Parramatta

Penrith

  • $106.7 million for Penrith City Council to deliver the Indoor Multi Sports Facility project in Claremont Meadows.
  • $19.1 million for Penrith City Council to deliver the Cook Park Precinct Sport, Play, Grandstand & Mixed Recreation project in St Marys. The project will include a new amenities building, extended grandstand with spectator viewing facilities, a new synthetic playing surface, a walking circuit with pedestrian lighting, tree planting and landscaping.
  • $1.7 million for Penrith City Council to deliver the Andromeda Oval Storage, Sports Surface & Carpark Improvements project which will upgrade storage amenities at the existing facility, improved drainage and surface work to the eastern playing fields, upgrade to the existing multisport surfaces for netball and basketball and an extension to the existing car park.
  • $7 million towards the $41 million Gipps Street Recreation Precinct project to transform a 32-hectare former landfill site in Claremont Meadows into a multipurpose open space facility for the community.

Wollondilly

  • $5.2 million for Wollondilly Shire Council to upgrade the Waterboard Oval in Warragamba with new and improved facilities to accommodate soccer, cricket, AFL and various court sports.
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GIS Sydney continues to connect students with Australia’s sports industry

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Image Credits: Global Institute of Sport

Following the launch of its Sydney campus in 2025, the Global Institute of Sport (GIS) is continuing to establish itself in the nation’s sports industry. A leading provider of degrees and executive education in sport, GIS provides students the chance to study at two of Australia’s biggest sporting venues: Allianz Stadium and the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).

Programs such as Sports Analytics and International Sports Business are delivered in collaboration with the University of Newcastle, and feature the chance for students to gain exclusive access to the sports industry.

More than 50 guest speakers have shared their experience with students studying at GIS Sydney, representing organisations like FIFA, Red Bull, Cricket Australia, and the AFL. While learning about the regional and national sports industry in the classroom, students have also had the chance to gain an international perspective through GIS’ signature Global Sports Summits, which have given Sydney students access to iconic sporting venues around the world from London to Miami.

Outside of the iconic venues students can call their classrooms, the organisation prioritises the real, industry placements needed to put theory into practice by providing each student with 140 hours of relevant work experience throughout their studies. Included in this are several sporting organisations who are keen to welcome GIS students on board, including the Professional Football Scouts Association (PFSA), Football Coaches Australia, and Basketball NSW.

GIS also has a partnership with popular network and app Yakka Sport to connect students with paid employment opportunities while they study.

Behind these advancements at the GIS Sydney campus is an Industry Advisory Board which features a host of experienced figures from the world of sport. Included in the Asia-Pacific branch is Chair James Rosengarten, GM of the Melbourne Renegades; Kevin Jang, Managing Director of CAA Stellar Korea; and Brad Lloyd, GM of the Carlton Football Club.

Since launching, GIS’ Sydney campus has ultimately combined its locations and industry connections to provide the next generation of sports professionals with the knowledge, network, and confidence to tackle the rapidly evolving sports industry.

Brazil is coming. But what is the real price of bringing football’s giants to Australia?

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Image Credits: Shutterstock

There is something undeniably exciting about Brazil coming to Australia. The five-time World Cup winners will face the Socceroos twice in Queensland from Friday, with Townsville and Brisbane set to host the blockbuster fixtures.

For Australian football, these are the kind of games that should be anticipated, celebrated and capture the public’s attention. But they also raise questions: how much should Australian football pay to bring the world’s biggest nations here, and when does the bill become too big? 

The cost of bringing the big names

Australia has always paid up to bring big names down under. Last week’s NFL game in Melbourne, at a cost of between $10 and 15 million dollars to the Victorian Government, is just the latest example.

It could cost the same amount to bring Brazil to Queensland. A report in The Sydney Morning Herald last year revealed Brazil was reportedly seeking around $7.5 million per match to play in Australia. The fee is in line with other major international events; Western Australia reportedly faced a bill of around $12 million in taxpayer funding for the recent Perth Italian Football Festival.

I’m worried Football Australia won’t get return on investment to make this particular event worthwhile. The enormous fee to bring Brazil to Australia can’t immediately be justified as an investment in our footballing future. Instead, Football Queensland and the state government could have put these funds into grassroots facilities. Part of Football Queensland’s scrapped state headquarters investment plan was to spend $8.5 million to refurbish fields, lights, drains and irrigation at Mappas and Meakin parks. Instead of these plans to invest in the state’s youth players and academies, money has been spent on two international friendlies.

So ahead of the fixtures, the question remains: will these games inspire the future generation, and will participation grow? The NFL match was impossible to ignore: a sold-out MCG and a live audience of 2.1 million on free-to-air, not even including those watching on ESPN and Netflix. Football Australia is not simply buying 90 minutes of football; it is buying the attention that comes with Brazil. So let’s see if they can maximize returns. 

Ticketing Tells a Story

Ticket sales provide insight into the interest in the fixture. Brisbane has sold much quicker than Townsville, but neither have sold out as yet. The fact these games didn’t immediately sell out may be considered surprising as there is a genuine appetite in Australia for elite international football at the moment, evidenced by SBS’ World Cup viewership numbers of 17.1 million.

Brazil is bringing some of its brightest stars: Vinicius Junior, Raphinha, Bruno Guimaraes, Marquinhos and Endrick are among the headline names in their squad. The star power is there. So why haven’t these matches sold out? There’s a chance it comes down to the competition and the visibility of the event.

The viewing problem

The timing of this fixture could raise eyebrows amongst fans. As much as Australia and Brazil will draw huge crowds, both games fall on either side of the AFL Grand Final. The 2024 AFL Grand Final, which involved Queensland’s Brisbane Lions, drew over 4 million viewers on free-to-air. Brisbane, who have won the last two premierships, will feature once again on Grand Final day. Therefore, fans who could’ve attended may instead be making the trip to Melbourne.

Then comes the strangest part: one of the fixtures Australia will play will not even be available on free-to-air television. The Townsville match will be shown free on Network 10 and 10 Streaming, as well as Paramount+. The Brisbane match, however, will be available exclusively on Paramount+. That creates a disconnect. If governments and football administrators are spending millions to bring a global sporting brand to Australia, why should a large section of the Australian public need a subscription to watch the second match?

The Brisbane game is behind a paywall, limiting the national reach of the event. Reach is surely part of the justification for spending big on Brazil, it’s not just that 50,000 people get to sit inside Suncorp Stadium. It is that millions of Australians get exposed to the spectacle and if that audience is restricted, the value of this fixture is limited.

A solution could be to spend the money on advertising the match to the public to try to generate interest across streaming and free-to-air. With less than a week until the first game I don’t believe the advertising has done enough to generate enough interest to justify a $15 million price tag for the two game series. 

The Brazil friendlies will be spectacular. They should attract big crowds, create memories and give the Socceroos an excellent test against one of football’s most recognisable nations. But for the appropriate return, attention must be measured. Does this fixture carry on the Socceroos hype and keep the eyeballs of the general public on our sport? I’m not convinced. However, if these matches bring new fans to football, strengthen the national team and create lasting investment in the sport, the enormous price tag could still be justified. But if they simply produce two nights of football before the attention disappears, then Australian football has paid a premium for a very expensive show.

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