Stadium
The joint venture draws supporters from the historic bases of Balmain and Western Suburbs. Because they are a joint venture the basic structure of the former teams remains in place including their respective leagues clubs. The Balmain Leagues Club is based in Rozelle. The Western Suburbs Magpies have two leagues clubs, one representing their former inner-city base Ashfield, and the other established when they relocated to the outer west in the 1980s Campbelltown.
The Wests Tigers are based at Concord Oval for training and administrative purposes but are historically linked to the inner-west of Sydney and the Campbelltown region in Sydney's outer-west. Concord is coincidentally, however, virtually on the border of the original geographic heartlands of both Western Suburbs on the western side, and Balmain towards the city side.
The Wests Tigers do not have a single home but play at a number of grounds each year. Home games are split between traditional games played at the former home grounds of Balmain and Western Suburbs and financial games played at grounds which offer playing incentives.
Traditional home games are played at Campbelltown Sports Stadium and Leichhardt Oval, the former home grounds of Wests and Balmain respectively. The grounds are around 50 km apart and attract different supporter bases. Marquee home games were previously played at ANZ Stadium, the former Olympic Stadium used for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. From 2004 until 2006, a "home game" was played at AMI Stadium against the Auckland based New Zealand Warriors. This agreement was not renewed for 2007 and in that year a game was played at Bluetongue Stadium in Gosford against Melbourne Storm. In 2008, one home game was played at the Sydney Cricket Ground as part of the Centenary of Rugby League celebrations, and also one game at the Sydney Football Stadium.
In late 2008, CEO Scott Longmuir announced the Wests Tigers would move from ANZ Stadium at Homebush to the Sydney Football Stadium at Moore Park for the 2009 season. The Wests Tigers also play an annual pre-season friendly game known as the Foundation Cup at the Sydney Football Stadium, against their neighbouring club to the east and main tenant at the venue, the Sydney Roosters. The name of the Cup reflects the fact that Balmain, Western Suburbs and the Roosters, are the only foundation clubs to have participated in some form in every season of Rugby League played in Australia, since 1908. A friendly, but growing, rivalry is being developed between the Wests Tigers and Sydney Roosters.
Stadiums used by the Wests Tigers as home grounds:
Present:
- Leichhardt Oval (2000–)
- Campbelltown Sports Stadium (2000–)
- Sydney Football Stadium (2008–)
- Sydney Cricket Ground (2008–)
Former:
- AMI Stadium (2004–2006)
- ANZ Stadium (2005–2008)
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Famous quotes containing the word stadium:
“It’s no accident that of all the monuments left of the Greco- Roman culture the biggest is the ballpark, the Colosseum, the Yankee Stadium of ancient times.”
—Walter Wellesley (Red)
“In their eyes I have seen
the pin men of madness in marathon trim
race round the track of the stadium pupil.”
—Patricia K. Page (b. 1916)
“The final upshot of thinking is the exercise of volition, and of this thought no longer forms a part; but belief is only a stadium of mental action, an effect upon our nature due to thought, which will influence future thinking.”
—Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914)