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http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/stor...0-2761,00.html
Jim Kelly
July 04, 2007 02:00pm
IT is time for the State Government to stop delaying and build a new Perth sports stadium, Opposition leader Paul Omodei said.
Mr Omodei, whose personal preference is for a stadium on Burswood peninsula, said the new arena could be completed within five years if the government made a decision now.
"The public of WA want and deserve a new football stadium,'' he said.
"The government should get on with the job.
"There is no doubt in my mind, if the government delays this project, it will be purely for political purposes.''
The State Government has refused to commit to a timetable for the project but appears set to follow stadium taskforce advice which recommended the East Perth power station and Kitchener
Park in Subiaco as the best of four sites considered for the development.
The redevelopment of Subiaco Oval, favoured by the WA Football Commission, and building a new stadium at Burswood were dismissed as options by the taskforce as being too expensive and risky.
Sport and Recreation Minister John Kobelke has also backed a new stadium over redeveloping Subiaco Oval, which he described as a second rate option which would not necessarily serve the interests of competing sports codes.
But he refused to be rushed into a decision on where the complex would be built.
He said although the stadium would primarily be used for AFL football, it required support from all users to be a success.
Talks with the various codes were continuing and Mr Kobelke said he hoped agreement on a site would be reached within 18 months.
"We are not going to put a lot of taxpayers money into a stadium that only half works,'' he said.
"We want to make sure that this stadium is going to work for the next 30 or 40 years.''