The NSW government has found an elegant solution to end the wrangling over whom the grandstands at the new Allianz Stadium will be named after: nobody.
Instead, five Sydney sporting greats – Nicholas Shehadie, Betty Cuthbert, Johnny Warren, Arthur Beetson and Ron Coote – will be honoured inside the stadium on a “Ring of Champions” that lines the concourse of the $828 million venue, which will open to the public for the first time this weekend.
Betty Cuthbert’s twin sister, Marie Johnston, was at the new Allianz Stadium on Thursday as the venue’s ‘Ring of Champions’ was unveiled.Credit:Dean Sewell
In the coming years, up to five more names and possibly more will be added to the ring, which represents a shift away from the age-old tradition of naming individual stands after legendary figures, like at the adjacent SCG – and recognition of the fact that the new Allianz doesn’t actually have separate stands but an all-encompassing bowl of seating designed for spectator comfort, which will thus go nameless.
As an example, Shehadie – the former Wallaby, Australian Rugby Union president and Sydney lord mayor – has his name in gold lettering above one of the bars on the eastern side of the 45,000-seat stadium, with career statistics, facts and figures to be put up alongside it.
Cuthbert, the four-time Olympic athletics champion, Socceroos icon Warren and rugby league greats Beetson and Coote have their names scattered elsewhere around the concourse, with enough space in between to add more as and when deemed necessary by the powers that be and the SCG Heritage Committee which picked the five greats, whose names were announced on Thursday.
Venues NSW chairman Tony Shepherd called it a “modern solution for a modern stadium” that will reflect the changing nature of the sports that will be played at Allianz Stadium and, in particular, the rise of elite women’s team sport.
Stadium executives believe putting their names in closer proximity to the rank and file is a much better way to honour these sporting figures, and are hopeful each name will become its own “meeting place” for people catching up with friends at the new Allianz.
The other clear benefit is that it keeps more people happy.
The SCG Heritage Committee’s original plan, which emerged earlier this year, was to name the northern, eastern, western and southern ends after Shehadie, Coote and Warren, with the other to be called the “Garrison Stand” in recognition of the precinct’s military history.
But the “Garrison” move raised eyebrows, Beetson’s exclusion caused a stir and prompted his family to call for a review, while other rugby league powerbrokers wanted Brad Fittler to be recognised somewhere.
Friends and family of the five original ‘Ring of Champions’ honourees gathered at Allianz Stadium on Thursday.Credit:Dean Sewell
Now all of them have their names up in lights except for Fittler, who is likely to get his turn when more names are added in the future.
“It’s my clear wish that I want more female athletes, because we need to be encouraging female sport, we need for young female athletes to see their past champions also acknowledged around here,” NSW sports minister Alister Henskens told the Herald.
“And we need some more contemporary sports people – all of these are legends more in the distant past. For people under the age of 50, we need some sporting heroes that they can relate to more. We’ll go through that process. I’d like to see that happen as soon as it can, and we’ll be able to continually augment the ring of champions as time goes on.”
Coote, the only living member of the five original honourees, said it was a “beautiful thing”, one that partly makes up for not being made a rugby league Immortal.
“I probably thought I should have been [an Immortal] but I didn’t get the nod,” he said. “Truly, for me to be awarded here … I just can’t explain how good I feel about the joy it brings to me in my late life. It’s a great honour. I played a lot of football with Artie, he was a fantastic player and a great leader. I think he’d like it, too – we’re in that stand together and I’m very happy and very proud of it.”
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