Wollongong City Council warmly welcomes the NSW Government's $17 million investment in the next stage of planning for a world-class sports and entertainment precinct in Wollongong.
This hugely significant milestone has the potential to unlock the ocean-side venue and make it a year-round home for major sporting and corporate events, bringing hundreds of millions of dollars investment to Wollongong for many years to come.
Lord Mayor of Wollongong Councillor Tania Brown has been a long-time advocate of development of the state-owned asset and, as recently as this week , reiterated her push for the venue and precinct to be upgraded to match Wollongong's demonstrated capacity for hosting major international events.
"We are absolutely thrilled that the state government is investing in this next stage of planning for the precinct," Cr Brown said.
"The WIN Entertainment Centre is home to the Illawarra Hawks and brings countless major concerts and sporting events to Wollongong each year, as does WIN Stadium. When these venues are packed, so are our hotels, restaurants, and bars. Having a world-class venue will see massive investment in our visitor economy.
"Wollongong has already demonstrated it is a world-renowned host city for major international events like the UCI World Championships in 2022, and the World Triathlon Championships just last year. We have the Rugby League World Cup coming in October.
"They've showcased Wollongong to the world and shown our city and our residents deserve a world-class venue to continue building on our reputation as a home for major global events.
"We've worked collaboratively with Venues NSW over several years and we thank the NSW Government for committing funds to the development of a positive Business Case for the precinct."
The $17 million investment will fund planning submissions and approvals, including architectural designs, environment and heritage impact statements, traffic and engineering reports and consultancy for the development of a construction tender.
It's the next major step toward the State Government's outlined vision for a new 9,500-capacity entertainment centre and a revamped WIN Stadium, featuring a new northern grandstand and reconfigured southern grandstand.
Plans also include a café, kiosk and amenities, and multi-purpose spaces for functions and other activities, providing a modern contemporary facility with sitewide accessibility improvements to be enjoyed by the whole community.
General Manager of Wollongong City Council Mr Greg Doyle said it's a vision shared by Council having long advocated for development of the key regional asset.
"It's a unique venue and location that allows Wollongong to offer something few venues in Australia, and indeed worldwide can," Mr. Doyle said.
"Wollongong's built a reputation for delivering these global events. Having a world-class sporting and entertainment precinct connecting our renowned foreshore with the CBD will supercharge this capacity, attract thousands of visitors, and drive major investment in our entire region.
"It's an essential part of the broader transformation of our CBD to boost the night-time and visitor economy and enrich the sporting and cultural life of our residents and community.
"Advocating for this major development is part of Council's broader commitment to building connected communities through sport and recreation opportunities, including key strategies like the Beaton Park Masterplan and regional facilities like the new Wollongong Regional Tennis Centre.
"We're grateful to the NSW Government for funding this business case, and we'll continue working with all stakeholders to investigate the best ways progress this major project forward."
