It’ll always be Penrith Park to me, and the team will always be Penrith. That’s what tribalism is all about, and I see it as being one of the strengths of the NRL.
Hi Panthers01, good to have you with us.
As far as we know, there is no new information regarding the stadium. It seems that the club is still advertising it as ‘The Last Season’ so they are expecting the stadium to be knocked down at the end of the year.
There had been some talk about the Paceway site being used to the new build, but the Paceway owners have stated they have not been approached about it, and won’t be rushed into a decision regarding relocation of the Harness Racing track.
So I guess from that you can assume one of three things.
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The Stadium is getting knocked down. It all goes to plan and the old stadium gets demolished later this year. We play two seasons out of Commbank Stadium and return to our new home in 2025.
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The Paceway is acquired and used as the site. This may require the government to push back the build a year as the NSW Government would need to acquire the site and assist in their relocation of the Racetrack. This would also add to the expense of the build, but allow for a larger stadium to be built.
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A deal has been struck but can’t be disclosed. The Paceway may have a provision in a potential deal that prevents then from disclosing the sale to the public, and that it will be used as the site, allowing for the stadium to be used at Penrith. This is the least likely.
I think the biggest hurdle to the new stadium on the existing site is the size of the venue will be limited by the space, and may spill over into Howell Oval. There are also issues relating to sewage lines around the stadium will will be millions of dollars of redevelopment in itself (this was an issue with the last upgrade plans when they were considering a Southern Stand).
From my understanding the report from the Nsw government announced that Penrith Stadium will be demolished and a new purpose built stadium will be built on its original site. Most likely chance is Howell Oval might be affected or training field 3 can be used to increase the capacity to 25000-30000
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Later Stuart Ayres proposed a new concept with the new stadium becoming part of an entertainment/public space precinct encompassing the existing Paceway/Showground site together with the existing stadium site & surrounds…
I think that has a lot of merit given that the Show Society had already been planning selling off the site and relocating elsewhere.
Steve has provided a good summary.
I was thinking that new Penrith Stadium could have retractable roof if they have any extra money support from the nsw government which will help more people going to games on wet and windy nights and there could be interest of other codes playing at Penrith Stadium as well.
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Your not alone in that thinking, I raised that during the consultation phase
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$48M allocated in todays state budget for 22/23 for Penrith Stadium.
Based on projects I have worked on, this would be about $1-2m for business case, the same again for contract preparation, leaving ~$44-45m for early works including demolition, services relocation etc.
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Have the NSW Government announced at any stage the total cost of the Stadium yet?
Only the original announcement of $300M, no forecast visible in the budget papers
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I think that this is known as a plan to have a plan. So, they’ll knock down our Penrith Park, and then apologise for not having the funds to build the replacement. Perhaps they can just leave a pile of dirt, covered with some grass for the kids to play on (and reminisce about the hills which won’t feature in the ‘upgrade’). I hope that Ayres enjoys his moment in the sun, because I reckon that that is what this all about.
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It’s going be interesting what the final capacity new Penrith Stadium going to be with the Penrith vs Roosters this Friday almost a sellout. Is 25000 seat stadium going be enough moving forward for the future. Penrith’s population is projected to grow to as much as 370000 residents over the next 20 years.
Whatever size they make the stadium, there will be times it is too big & times it is too small.
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And all of em Panther fans celebrating premiership after premiership 
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A update of the stadium situation from the Western Weekenders Masked Panther.
Stadium latest
Expect some major developments around the future of BlueBet Stadium in the next couple of weeks. As the NRL starts to prepare next season’s draw, it’s now adding to the pressure of a decision on exactly where Penrith will be playing.
The State Government’s discussions with the Penrith Paceway continue about the new stadium being built on that site, allowing Penrith to stay at the existing stadium for another two years. Expect big decisions and announcements very soon.
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Going to game last night I’ve noticed Penrith vs Roosters it rained quite often most people trying to sit on top eastern and western grandstand. It might be good idea that the new Penrith Stadium that they built will have a roof among spectators or at least 80% covered that way more people will attend the games. Does anyone know what year the eastern and western grandstand was built ?
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The Western Grandstand was built in the mid 1960’s
The Eastern Grandstand was built in the mid 1980’s
With the current weather maybe we should build it on ‘stilts’.
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From Nepean News
PENRITH STADIUM REDEVELOPMENT
The NSW Government has commenced commercial negotiations for the acquisition of the Penrith Paceway, as part of the Penrith Stadium redevelopment.
The existing Penrith Stadium will continue to be available for the Penrith Panthers’ 2023 NRL season, which provides certainty to the Penrith Panthers and its fans.
Following a six-week community consultation program, feedback from over 3,000 people provided a clear picture of what the new stadium needs to deliver.
The Paceway site would facilitate a state of the art stadium with an improved game day experience for fans, with modern amenities that exists within a precinct that is activated throughout the week, not just on event days.
Timing of construction for a new stadium will be confirmed once the acquisition process is completed and the scope for the new Penrith Stadium has been determined, which is expected in late 2022.
State Government confirms Paceway negotiations for new stadium; Panthers to play at BlueBet in 2023
Western Weekender | July 5 2022
The farewell party has been postponed.
The Penrith Panthers will play at BlueBet Stadium in 2023, as the State Government confirms it has entered negotiations to acquire the Penrith Paceway and build the stadium on that site.
There is every chance the Panthers would continue to play at BlueBet through the entire construction period, with the new stadium not likely to be finished until the 2025 season.
But at this stage the State Government has moved to give the Panthers and NRL certainty about where the club is playing next season despite a deal not yet being done with the Paceway.
Should the Paceway deal be finalised, confirmation about the 2024 season would certainly follow.
“The NSW Government has commenced commercial negotiations for the acquisition of the Penrith Paceway, as part of the Penrith Stadium redevelopment,” an Infrastructure NSW spokesperson said.
“The existing Penrith Stadium will continue to be available for the Penrith Panthers’ 2023 NRL season, which provides certainty to the Penrith Panthers and its fans.
“Following a six-week community consultation program, feedback from over 3,000 people provided a clear picture of what the new stadium needs to deliver.
“The Paceway site would facilitate a state of the art stadium with an improved game day experience for fans, with modern amenities that exists within a precinct that is activated throughout the week, not just on event days.
“Timing of construction for a new stadium will be confirmed once the acquisition process is completed and the scope for the new Penrith Stadium has been determined, which is expected in late 2022.”
The State Government announced last December that a new world class stadium would be built in Penrith on the site of the current BlueBet Stadium.
The Panthers had even used ‘The Final Season’ branding when promoting games this year and commenced negotiations to move home matches to Parramatta’s CommBank Stadium from next year.
But it emerged some months ago that the Penrith Paceway site was in play, providing a best of both worlds scenario – Penrith gets a new stadium, but the current venue can remain open during construction.
The Paceway has made it clear in the past they are open to the acquisition if the deal was right. They had already commenced planning for a potential move out of the Penrith CBD in the coming years.
Penrith MP Stuart Ayres, who has been a central figure in negotiations details around the new stadium, welcomed today’s development.
“I welcome the commencement of commercial negotiations by Infrastructure NSW for the acquisition of the Penrith Paceway as part of the redevelopment of Penrith Stadium,” he said.
“The stadium redevelopment is a significant opportunity for Penrith and it’s critical we achieve the best outcome possible for our whole community.
“The practical outcome of this is that Penrith Stadium will continue to be used by the Penrith Panthers in 2023 and available to other hirers.
“The Penrith Paceway, its Harness Racing and Agricultural Show have been an important part of the Penrith community for a long time. These negotiations are as much about securing their long term future in Penrith as they are about redevelopment of the Stadium.”
SOURCE
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It’s great we get another year but they need to do something about the facilities. At the moment my membership involves missing a good percentage of the game lining up for food and drinks.
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