Does anyone have access to article in Daily Telegraph today on Dino's comments ?
Itâs disgustingâ: Sharks boss enraged over stadium snub
It doesnt help when the local state MP Mark Speakman has been against the development from day 1 .
The Cronulla Sharks have slammed the state government over funding backflips to build a new centre of excellence.
Every other NSW-based NRL team, plus the Sydney Swans and the GWS Giants, has received cash from the government for stadiums and high-performance centres in recent years. The Sharks have had nothing.
âItâs embarrassing and itâs disgusting,â said Sharks CEO Dino Mezzatesta.
A series of text messages between former sports minister Stuart Ayres, Treasurer Matt Kean and Mezzatesta reveal months of stalling tactics and false pledges to the club.
The text messages, obtained by The Sunday Telegraph, show Ayres writing to Mezzatesta: âYouâre in with the suburban grounds â still working through that.â
Ayres then pledged almost $400m for a new stadium in his own seat of Penrith, which is borderline for the election, but gave the Sharks nothing.
Kean wrote to Mezzatesta in December: âDino we will get it done. I am trying to find the money. Letâs chat in the next week. Merry Xmas.â
Mezzatesta texted the Treasurer again in early January.
Kean: âMate Iâll get into it when I get back from leave.â
Mezzatesta sent more texts in late January but didnât get a reply. Finally, on February 3 Kean writes: âLet me get through next Tuesday half-year review. Iâm still confident we can make it work.â
There has been no correspondence since.
Instead the government has handed out another $15 million to the Roosters, another $15 million to the Wests Tigers at Campbelltown plus $11 million to North Sydney Oval.
Interestingly, Kean is an old North Sydney Bears fan.
The Sharks, who have the second-biggest junior league catchment area in NSW, are furious at the way they have been treated.
âAt one stage we were told weâd be getting $90 million for a stadium upgrade and a high-performance centre,â Mezzatesta said. âWeâve had countless conversations. The latest was $25 million. Then they told us after the election weâd get the balance.
âAt least $25 million would get us up to the standards of all our rival clubs.
âWe just want to be treated the same as everyone else. Weâre in a safe Liberal seat and thatâs the problem.
âWe canât host a menâs and womenâs game at the same venue because of the lack of facilities. Weâve put forward a really strong case ⌠surely weâre entitled to funding.â
A spokeswoman for treasurer Matt Kean said Kean had met with the Cronulla Sharks who asked for government funding for their private project.
âSubsequent to that meeting, the NSW government committed $800 million to the resilient homes fund for flood-affected communities, $500 million for regional road repairs as a result of floods, and $612 million for health measures relating to Covid which have been the governmentâs priorities,â she said.
âThe government remains committed to suburban stadiums in a staged manner. â