Radio Feature: Saturday Night with Bill Woods - 2GB

6 November 2021


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BILL WOODS (HOST): Now, a big new multiuse stadium is being proposed for Liverpool. Now that's something they would build from scratch. But that's not so good news for the people who want to look after Leichhardt Oval, for example, or the Bulldogs' home at Belmore. Now, the man I have sitting next to me in this studio is Luke Brailey, and he has been for many years now heading up a group called ‘Back to Belmore'. He wants money to be spent on that ground and I'm sure he agrees many others to try and get people to do things there, all sorts of things, not just rugby league. Luke Brailey, welcome.

LUKE BRAILEY (BACK TO BELMORE PATRON): Good evening, Bill. Thank you for having me and can I just say that you've probably spent more time in my living room over the last 30 years than any of my friends combined.

BILL WOODS: [laughs] That's kind of weird, isn't it? Nah, I'm only kidding. Thank you, Luke and look, you've spent more time, I think, lobbying to get back to Belmore than I've spent in your living room.

LUKE BRAILEY: [laughs] Well it's been a very interesting journey over the last sixteen-and-a-half years but look, Belmore Sports Ground is synonymous with local sport. It has been a focal point for sport in the Canterbury-Bankstown district for generations. Believe it or not, Belmore had its own cricket club from the early 1900s known as “Belmore Cambridge” and the team played on the parcel of land now known as Belmore Sports Ground so in one way or another, Belmore has been a focal point for local sport.

BILL WOODS: Are they doing enough at Belmore at the moment and I'm sure a lot of people can identify with this situation and are you disappointed with the lack of support the government's given in developing grounds like this?

LUKE BRAILEY: Well, I would just say this Bill, that in our sporting heartland, open space and community facilities are at a premium. An upgrade of Belmore Sports Ground would ensure that jobs are created in the short term but the community would benefit for years to come. It would make a massive difference for the morale of the local community but it needs to be done in a collaborative and cohesive way that delivers a facility that will benefit current and future generations. Let me tell you, Bill, whenever the Bulldogs play at Belmore Sports Ground, it is always a massive coup for the Canterbury-Bankstown district. Major sporting events at Belmore Sports Ground, they inject hundreds of thousands of dollars into the local economy. The games at the venue impact residents and retailers in Belmore in a positive way and visitors utilise cafes, eateries and restaurants on Burwood Road before and after the games and the more times that you get Belmore Sports Ground on national TV, the better off we are for visitors because each visitor that comes to Belmore, that goes to the game and visits one of the establishments on Burwood Road, they're going to spend money, and I would certainly make an impassioned and heartfelt plea to Andrew Abdo and Peter V'landys at an NRL level and certainly Premier Perrottet and the NSW Minister for Sport Natalie Ward at a State Government level to ensure that Belmore Sports Ground gets the same consideration as other boutique suburban grounds that have been earmarked for upgrades.

BILL WOODS: I did hear Natalie Ward was actually out there the other day and it got a bit of publicity. Most games, you can get a good ten to twenty thousand people on a weekend at a place like Belmore. I know it's not been in the mix lately but how much work would need to be done to it though, Luke, seriously? Because you mentioned it will attract a crowd, there's a lot of loyalty there but by the time they get there, they know that there's work needs to be done.

LUKE BRAILEY: Well, absolutely Bill, and look, restoring Belmore Sports Ground as a top-class sporting facility, which has been our goal for the last sixteen-and-a-half years, and the Bulldogs playing NRL matches at Belmore Sports Ground are two entirely separate issues. I mean, it's not within Back to Belmore's purview to force or demand the Bulldogs – or any other franchise in the NRL for that matter – to play their premiership games at Belmore Sports Ground but the venue needs to be restored first before we can entertain the prospect of more games at Belmore and the only way that we can do that is putting together a cohesive business plan and I just wanted to make special mention, if I may, of the current Bulldogs Chairman John Khoury who has shown outstanding leadership on Belmore Sports Ground since he was elected to the board in 2018 and this is a gentleman who, with the board he leads and CEO Aaron Warburton, treats our organisation as a partner, a project partner, rather than an obstacle, and can I tell you, that makes a huge difference to...

BILL WOODS: And that wasn't always the case?

LUKE BRAILEY: No, it was not always the case.

BILL WOODS: And, I know you probably are very much focused on your own patch, and that's fair enough, but you are aware of other groups like yours that work hard to get people to other suburban grounds and do they have similar problems or does it vary?

LUKE BRAILEY: I think it varies. I think it's important to emphasise at the outset that all communities deserve sporting venues because in different parts of Sydney like Kogarah, Penrith, Brookvale and then parts of Queensland as well, Redcliffe, sport is an integral part of life and participation in sport is essential in the development of young men and women to help them achieve a successful and balanced life but equally important: sporting facilities. They are essential to the success of sport and to nurture the talent of up-and-coming sports players.

BILL WOODS: I know when I was a kid coming from the country, the south coast, small town, fifteen hundred people, if I got to play in any capacity, whether it was a trial game or an actually legitimate game against another suburban or city team, to play at a ground like that would was just amazing experience for us and look, if you use your imagination any of these suburban grounds can be used for a whole range of things and some of those were listed in my introduction, you know, we talked about theatre even, outdoor theatre, pop concerts, all that stuff, and with a ten to twenty thousand capacity, well you're probably looking at minimum sixteen, wouldn't you? You'd try and get that kind of number capacity otherwise it wouldn't be as viable for the money you'd have to spend.

LUKE BRAILEY: Correct. Correct. And, you know, I think it's important to emphasise as well that any decision to play NRL games at Belmore, you know, is a decision for the football club to make but what I would say is that the current board, they have certainly worked with us to achieve that goal, like even though it's not within our purview to force the club to play there, they have indicated a genuine willingness to do that and in order for us to do that, we do need that coherent business plan in place.

BILL WOODS: It's a good point you make and it is a good business plan if they allow other sports to play there then they diversify and it brings a whole new range of people in. Luke Brailey, good luck with getting back to Belmore and to all the suburban stadiums, I think it's a great idea. Luke Brailey, thank you so much.

LUKE BRAILEY: Thank you for your time, Bill.