Cade Lucas
The game they play in heaven won’t be played in Wyndham after all.
At least not professionally.
Just two months after it was revealed the Melbourne Rebels could be relocated to Tarneit as part of a rescue package for the struggling Super Rugby franchise, the deal is off.
On Thursday, May 30, Rugby Australia rejected a rescue package from a private equity consortium and shut down the struggling club after 14 years in the Super Rugby competition..
In January the Rebels went into voluntary administration with debts of $23 million and assets of just $17,300.
On April 3, a consortium led by former Qantas chairman Leigh Clifford announced they were in negotiations with A-League club Western United about sharing their facility in Tarneit as part of plans to save the franchise.
Under the proposal, the Rebels would train and play at the 5000-seat Ironbark Fields, before moving to the 15,000 seat Tarneit stadium being built next door.
Jason Sourasis, executive chairman of Western United and parent company Western Melbourne Group (WMG), welcomed the potential deal when it was first announced.
“The Western Melbourne Group’s vision has always been to host multi sports and create a vibrant city underpinned by sports, education, health and wellness,” he said.
“We are proud to have created only the second rectangular stadium in Victoria that is built for both men and women and is already A-League and Rugby Union compliant.”
However, Rugby Australia were less impressed with the Tarneit proposal, with chief executive Phil Waugh casting doubt on the suitability of Ironbark Fields as a Super Rugby venue at a press conference announcing the Rebels closure.
“We’ve been out to Tarneit, we’ve looked at the area of where the proposed development will be, the new stadium. We’ve been through every piece of detail of Western Melbourne and Tarneit and the reality is there’s limited options that meet broadcast requirements in Melbourne,” Waugh said.
In a statement to Star Weekly following last week’s announcement, Mr Sourasis said Ironbark Fields had already proven capable of hosting elite sport and WMG were seeking to attract other sports and events to the facility.
“We are continuing these discussions with various sporting codes and we are set up to host any sporting code that plays out of a rectangular stadium,” he said.
“All sporting codes have varying broadcast requirements and there is no question Ironbark Fields meets all of the requirements to continue to host A-League Men and Women matches.”
