SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – AUGUST 28: Fans arrive for the community open day at Allianz Stadium on August 28, 2022 in Sydney, Australia. Allianz Stadium is hosting a free community open day and night ahead of the official reopening of the venue on 2 September. The stadium, also known as Sydney Football Stadium, has undergone an $828 million re-build and has been closed since 2019. The new 42,500-seat stadium has a 360-degree open concourse both inside and outside the ground, steeper seating angles, and a roof to cover all seating areas. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
The dispute between the Sydney Roosters and the A-League’s Sydney FC seems to have come to a temporary resolution after a week of high tension between the two organisations over the new Allianz Stadium.
The issue arose when the Roosters took umbrage with the A-League club’s decision to cover the ‘Home of the Sydney Roosters’ sign at the northern end of the stadium with a tarpaulin ahead of their first home game at the venue.
According to the Daily Telegraph, Sydney FC had demanded the sign be covered on game day. On Tuesday this week the CEO’s of the clubs had a heated telephone call on the issue.
“I told him what he’d done was the equivalent of vandalism,” Roosters CEO Joe Kelly told the Telegraph.
“I also told him we’d be looking at our legal options – then he hung up on me!”
The Roosters then contacted Venues NSW to vent their frustration at the matter and a meeting was arranged for Wednesday.
That meeting was able to come to an arrangement, with Venues NSW deciding that they will turn the lights off on the Roosters’ sign whenever Sydney FC – or the NSW Waratahs – play at the venue.
“It’s very, very petty,” Roosters boss Nick Politis said.
“They obviously don’t understand our history. We’ve been on this site with three stadiums for 86 years. How long have they been around?
“What they did with the tarpaulin looked so hideous on a beautiful $900 million stadium.”
Politis has reportedly claimed the Tri-colours have an agreement regarding the stadium meaning the sign must be permanently visible.
“Sydney FC don’t understand – they just have a ground hire agreement.”
Source:: ZeroTackle
