Dodgy sand forces 10-week closure of $828m stadium

Allianz Stadium will close for 10 weeks barely three years after it opened, with a report finding contamination in the drainage layer to blame for the $828 million venue’s poor playing surface.

Home to the Sydney Roosters, Waratahs and Sydney FC, the taxpayer-funded stadium opened in August 2022 but has been faced with persistent criticism over its drainage and turf in the past year.

AAP reported in July that Venues NSW, who operate the ground, had launched an independent review after conditions in the second Women’s State of Origin game pushed that criticism to boiling point.

The review committee finalised its report this week and found contaminated sand had been installed at the time of the stadium’s construction because of improper testing.

As a result, clay and fine silt have been found at more than three times the recommended maximum amount in the sand drainage layer.

The review found this was to blame for an “unacceptable” drainage rate of 40mm per hour, much slower than the 300-600mm per hour at which sand-based sporting fields typically drain.

As a result, the stadium will close for 10 weeks immediately after the Wallabies’ Test match against Argentina on September 13.

It means the venue cannot be used for the NRL finals after week one, though it had appeared unlikely to be used given the current structure of the top eight.

Sydney FC’s A-League Men and Women will be forced to relocate, as will the competition’s showpiece event Unite Round, which was supposed to take place at the venue in late November.

That may now need to be scrapped, with the APL delaying its fixture announcement given uncertainty around the future of besieged Victorian franchise Western United.

Sydney FC will need to relocate home games to a suburban ground, such as Leichhardt Oval, and may seek compensation.

The Sky Blues will return to Allianz Stadium in January 2026, but the venue will be ready in time to host concerts by US rapper Kendrick Lamar in early December.

During the 10-week repair process, new sand and turf will be fitted to the venue.

A spokesperson told AAP the NSW government had not yet finalised the cost of the works.

“Both Venues NSW and the NSW government have been clear from the start that the quality of the surface has not been up to our standards, and I am glad that we now have a path forward to rectify this matter,” said NSW sports minister Steve Kamper.