Parramatta Park — Funding Scenarios

What is it? The main Parramatta Leagues Club building and car parks sit on land owned by the Parramatta Park Trust.

• How long? A long lease that began in 2010 for 50 years, with an option for another 49 years.
• Why was it allowed? To let the Club operate next to the stadium and provide parking and access, while paying rent back to the Park’s owner (the Trust).
• What gets paid? Rent that rises with inflation (CPI) and is reviewed from time to time. In cash terms, the Park currently receives hundreds of thousands of dollars per year from this lease.
• How big is the footprint? About 15,787 sqm of Park Trust land is used by the Club (clubhouse + on‑Trust parking).
• Why ask for a fairer return? Because a large amount of commercial activity happens on Park land. A small, transparent share going back to the Park helps fund maintenance, trees, lighting, paths and community programs.
• How could it work? Keep the existing rent and add a simple policy setting tied to the Trust‑leased PLC land: a modest % of turnover generated on‑site (gaming, food & beverage, events, parking), and/or a small fixed $ per visit for patrons using facilities on Park land—collected via the lease and hypothecated to the Park.

Cumberland Oval Act 1981 (as amended 1983) carved out “designated land” for a stadium and expressly enabled leases/licences over the site and certain adjoining lots. Crucially, the Act required that ground rent and certain licence fees be applied to the improvement of Parramatta Park (and, with Ministerial approval after consulting the Park’s trustees, to other parks in the City of Parramatta). This is the original “stadium supports the Park” funding intent.

Parramatta Stadium Trust Act 1988 replaced the 1981 Act and created the Parramatta Stadium Trust. The Trust could conduct events and commercial activities “whether or not of a commercial nature”, collect fees, grant leases/licences and manage the venue. Income went into the Trust’s account for its own operations and capital needs. The earlier earmark to fund Parramatta Park improvements was not carried forward.

Post-2011 governance: The 1988 Act was repealed and responsibilities transferred to Venues NSW under the State’s venues framework. The old stadium (opened 1986) was demolished and replaced by Western Sydney Stadium (CommBank Stadium) (opened 2019). Under this model, revenues principally sustain the venue enterprise rather than being hypothecated to Parramatta Park.

• PLC baseline starts at about $0.60m to reflect finance‑lease income from the Parramatta Leagues Club only.
• Attendance is the total patrons at CommBank Stadium per annum. The levy is a clean mechanism that scales with activity.
• PLC % applies only to turnover generated on Trust‑leased Parklands (main clubhouse/parking).

• Cumberland Oval Act 1981 (NSW) — rent/licence revenue originally earmarked for Parramatta Park improvements.
• Parramatta Stadium Trust Act 1988 (NSW) — created the Stadium Trust; revenue applied to Trust purposes (earmark removed).
• Sporting Venues Authorities Act 2008 (NSW) — current venues governance framework (Venues NSW).
• Parramatta Park Trust — Annual Reports — finance-lease notes (PLC), receipts and receivables.
• Parramatta Leagues Club — Annual Reports — group revenue + gaming revenue context.
• Austadiums — CommBank Stadium — attendance/events data to parameterise levy scenarios.