| St. George Stadium | |
|---|---|
| Location | Barton Park, Banksia, New South Wales 2216 |
| Opened | 1978 |
| Owner | St George Budapest Soccer Club |
| Operator | St George Budapest Soccer Club |
| Surface | Grass |
| Capacity | 15,000 |
| Field dimensions | 120 m x 87 m |
| Tenants | |
| St. George Saints Football Club (NSL, NSWPL, NSWSL) (1975-2006), St. George Saints Football Club (NSWSL) (2009-) |
|
St. George Soccer Stadium is a recently-reopened football stadium in Banksia, New South Wales, Australia.
The ground was opened in 1978 to be the home of St. George-Budapest who played in local competition until playing in the national competition at the time, the National Soccer League. The ground occupies a part of Barton Park, next to Muddy Creek, a tributary of the Cooks River in Banksia. Over time the stadium has been used less and less, commensurate with its dilapidation. The stadium has never been renovated over its lifespan.
In 2005 the St. George Saints were controversially axed from the new look New South Wales Premier League and took legal action against the decision along with the Bonnyrigg White Eagles, but were unsuccessful. They now play in the New South Wales Super League, which is one level below the state's highest, the NSW Premier League.
In 2006, the St. George-Budapest club, now the St George Saints, played their last match at the stadium for several years, deeming it unsafe and unstable, with the grandstand on the verge of collapse. The St. George Saints then played at various locations including the Belmore Sports Ground (an arena outside the St. George district) and OKI Jubilee Oval (in Kogarah).
Between 2007-2008 the ground was not fit to be used as a playing arena. It was widely vandalised with graffiti, with litter on the pitch and throughout the stand. In the grandstand the floor and seating was pulled out. The stand had structural cracks running through the side of it, leaving the grandstand covered in security fences, due to fears of it being unstable. Once the home ground of a dominant NSL team, it appeared that the days of the 15,000[1] seat stadium were numbered.
There was ongoing discussion in the media that the St. George Illawarra Dragons and Sydney FC would play at a new stadium development at Barton Park, and for it to be transformed into Sydney's first football-only venue, but these talks had dissipated.
In March 2009, the St George Saints decided that they would use St George Stadium for its home games in the 2009 New South Wales Super League season.[2] They have been using this stadium ever since.