Plans have been announced to demolish and rebuild ANZ Stadium and Allianz Stadium, two major venues in the Australian city of Sydney, reports Sport Business.
The New South Wales government said the venues will be transformed into "world-class facilities" and that the renovation will ensure that Australia's National Rugby League Grand Finals take place in Sydney for at least the next 25 years.
ANZ Stadium, which has a capacity of 83,000, opened in 1999 and hosted events during Sydney's staging of the 2000 summer Olympic Games. It currently hosts NRL games and also serves as the home of A-League football team the Western Sydney Wanderers.
The venue will be knocked down and replaced by a new, 75,000-seat rectangular stadium in Sydney's Olympic Park. Construction work is scheduled to begin in 2019, with the new venue to open in 2022. The project will cost an estimated Aus$1.25bn (€800m/$954m).
The 44,000-seat Allianz Stadium opened in 1988 and also hosts NRL matches, along with Super Rugby fixtures and the home games of A-League team Sydney FC. Allianz Stadium will be replaced by a new 45,000-seat stadium, with construction to start in 2018. It is hoped the new venue will be open by 2021 at an estimated cost of Aus$705m.
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said: "We want the world's biggest sporting clubs and artists to choose NSW as their preferred destination to showcase their events. To compete globally and attract national and international events, our stadiums must have the most modern facilities that offer a great experience for fans.
"Fans will be closer to the action than ever before, with steep seating creating a colosseum-inspired wall of sound and colour, enhanced with the world's most advanced technology.
"This investment means we can compete on the world stage for events such as the Fifa Women's World Cup, the Rugby World Cup, and keep Sydney as the number one sporting destination. This is an investment into our vital tourism industry, which is worth Aus$33.2 billion per year to the NSW economy and supports 164,000 jobs."
