Feud erupts over Dragons home ground naming rights

Controversial details have emerged over the naming rights sponsor of Kogarah Oval, prompting a motion to be moved at a meeting of Georges River Council to terminate the current contract and reopen negotiations.

Less than a fortnight ago, the Council announced that the Dragons’ home ground would be named Netstrata Jubilee Stadium after local company Network Strata Services won the tender.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the tender only managed to secure $81,000 per year for the naming rights, paling in comparison to sums paid for naming rights at other NRL home grounds.

Southern Cross Group paid $500,000 to have to have its name on the Cronulla Sharks home ground, while Lottoland forked out upwards of $1 million for naming rights at Manly’s Brookvale Oval.

The Herald reports that local businessman Norman Sarraf claims he was excluded from making a bid, however the Georges River Council denies the accusation.

Sarraf, the NSW executive chairman of children’s cancer charity Camp Quality, also runs a competing strata company.

The Herald claims to have seen emails from Sarraf to Georges River Council in April 2018 asking to be kept informed of the expression of interest process for the naming rights tender.

However, Sarraf claims he was never invited to bid.

“I have a standing $100,000 offer – if the contract is cancelled that I will call it Camp Quality Stadium,” Sarraf told The Herald.

“All the hospitality boxes and catering packages will be donated to the kids and their families.”

One Georges River councillor had told the Herald that the Council would move a motion Monday night to terminate the contract immediately and reopen the tender.

“The extraordinary meeting was called at the request of three councillors to address a public complaint from Mr Norman Sarraf,” the councillor explained.

Netstrata has not yet commented on the issue.