Less conversation and more action needed on Entertainment Centre upgrade

04 February 2022

If Elvis was appearing at the Wollongong Entertainment Centre (WEC), he’d be singing “a little less conversation, a little more action, please” on the WEC upgrade, Member for Wollongong Paul Scully said today.

Mr Scully’s call for more action comes on the second anniversary of former NSW Sports Minister, Dr Geoff Lee, declaring the WEC upgrade a “priority”.

“Two years of hand-wringing, buck-passing and inaction on the WEC upgrade have now passed.

“If the NSW Liberals and Nationals Government was genuine when it declared the WEC upgrade a “priority” two years ago, it should have been upgraded by now – or at very least work should be underway”, Mr Scully said.

Mr Scully’s criticism of the endless delays on upgrading the now 23 year old facility were not just reserved for the NSW Government.

“The Lord Mayor of Wollongong agreed to take on the task of producing a precinct plan for the WEC but we’re yet to see any plans from his Council.

“The delay in completing the precinct planning plays right into the NSW Government’s hands providing them with an easy excuse for its own lack of action”, Mr Scully said.

Mr Scully said three thing need to happen as a matter of urgency to progress the WEC upgrade.

“I want to see the NSW Government’s stakeholder report that was completed more than two years ago released – the taxpayer paid for the report so we should see it. There is no excuse for keeping it secret.

“Second the Lord Mayor needs to announce a firm date for the completion and public release of the precinct plan and stick to it – no more delays are acceptable.

“Third, the NSW Government needs to guarantee that once the precinct plan is complete funds will be provided to Venues NSW to undertake the detailed design, business case, and funding plan so that they can submit an upgrade budget bid for the 2022-23 NSW Budget”, Mr Scully said.

Mr Scully said that over the last two years progress on securing the funds for an upgrade appears to have gone backwards not forward with stadiums in suburban Sydney getting the nod ahead of us.

“In 2018 the NSW Government committed to a process and that process has stalled.

”With the eyes of the world on Wollongong for the UCI World Road Cycling Championships in September, I fear that the venue we were once so proud of is a ticking time bomb of national and international embarrassment”, Mr Scully said.

The pledges of “priority” action on the WEC by the Government and Council were the result of a leaking roof which stopped a nationally televised NBL match.