The NSW planning minister has approved the first stage of a two-part development application for the demolition and reconstruction of the Sydney Football Stadium.
The State Significant Development application lays out plans for the demolition of the existing 40,000-seat stadium designed by Philip Cox and completed in 1988 for the bicentennial of European settlement in Australia. The detailed design of the stadium will be the subject of separate application.
The Development Consent contains a number of conditions “to be satisfied prior to the lodgement of future development applications.” Among these is a requirement that Infrastructure NSW undertake a “‘design alternatives’ competitive process” in accordance with the City of Sydney’s Competitive Design Policy.
Cox Architecture was named as the winner of a competition to design the stadium in October that succeeded over two other designs.
SJB Architects produced a set of urban design guidelines that form part of the application.
The conditions laid out in the approval include the establishment of a “community consultative committee” before any heavy demolition on the site and “design excellence of any new stadium and surrounding landscaping, public domain and open space.”
In November 2017, the state government announced plans to demolish and rebuild both the Sydney Football Stadium and the Sydney Olympic Stadium. After a massive outcry from architects and the public, the government dropped its plans to demolish the Olympic Stadium and will instead refurbish the building.
The demolition of Sydney Football Stadium will begin in early 2019, ahead of the 2019 NSW state election on 23 March 2019.
