The Wests Tigers are set to scrap playing games at big venues, returning to their suburban homes for more fixtures in 2024, while the Penrith Panthers have had a setback in the build of their own new stadium.
Tigers' chairman Lee Hagipantelis, speaking on SEN Radio on Tuesday morning, said the club would abandon playing games at CommBank Stadium and Homebush's Accor Stadium next year.
Instead, the club will play five games at Campbelltown Sports Stadium, five games at Leichhardt Oval and one game in each of Tamworth - where they are contracted to take a game each year - and Brisbane for Magic Round.
Lee Hagipantelis tells @VossyBrandySEN: The @WestsTigers Board has ratified a proposal in relation to our home grounds for next season. 5 games will be played at Leichhardt, 5 at Campbelltown, 1 in Tamworth and Magic Round is a home game.
— SEN Breakfast with Vossy & Brandy (@VossyBrandySEN) May 22, 2023
The teams who host Magic Round are contractually locmked in with the NRL until at least the end of next season, the same time as the agreement for the concept to be held in Brisbane expires.
The move comes on the back of Saturday's game at Leichhardt, when a big crowd packed in to watch the Tigers hammer the North Queensland Cowboys by 66 points to 18.
The Penrith Panthers however, have had their own destiny taken out of their hands with the new state government under Chris Minns reportedly taking away some of the funding which was set to see the Penrith Paceway - a harness race track - purchased for the site of a new stadium.
Instead, the funding to build a new stadium will remain, but not purchase the land, with a knock down rebuild job now reportedly the consideration according to News Corp.
The report suggests that the $309 million funding to build the stadium will now see the venue out of action for 18 months, with the existing site in Penrith unable to host games.
That, according to the report, will begin in 2025, with the Panthers to instead play games out of Parramatta's CommBank Stadium during the 2025 and 2026 season until their new stadium at the foot of the mountains is available to be used.
At last some form of common sense. It’s a big disadvantage having to shuffle around to other grounds that are supposed to be ” home grounds” especially when they are not. As it is Parramatta get two home games against the tigersas do any team that uses the Olympic stadium. No wonder they have been struggling.