WACA all set to become a boutique venue
The WACA is all set to become a boutique venue while being funded by the federal government and Cricket Australia. WACA CEO Christina Mathews believes that the ground will be perfect for Test matches against 'the new countries and the smaller countries' as it's capacity comes down to 10,000.
The historic ground of WACA is striding towards redevelopment to boutique venue but at the same time will be robbed off its capacity. The renovation, which will be a multi-million dollar project, will make the venue capable of hosting multi-sports event.
On Sunday, it was announced that the Federal Government had committed AUS$30 million to the project. Another AUD$4 million will come from Cricket Australia with the WACA contributing AUD$10 million. The rest is likely to come from the state government, although that has yet to be approved.
While the redevelopment will add some feathers to the already majestic hat of the ground but will render it incapable of hosting high profile cricket matches. The boutique venue will have a capacity of only 10,000 while it can be extended to 15,000 when needed. It clearly indicates that although the stadium has hope of hosting men's internationals, it is the new Perth Stadium which will be boasting of the high profile encounters.
"The state government has a hierarchy of stadiums and wouldn't fund this if it was bigger than 15,000, so we thought as a day-to-day need we wouldn't need that presently. But we have factored in the facilities we'd need. It's absolutely in line for having Test matches against those new countries and the smaller countries," WACA CEO Christina Matthews told ESPN.
"So many of us have a cherished WACA Ground memory and now we can retain its heritage and rich history while creating a venue with a strong community focus that has multi-sport, gender-equal facilities. This funding commitment will provide an opportunity to utilise the WACA Ground as a boutique ground that complements Optus Stadium."
The Australians trained at the WACA in the lead-up to the first Test against New Zealand. The ground will host five matches at next year's Women's T20 World Cup while it continues to be used for Western Australia's matches, the WBBL and age-group cricket. BBL matches take place at Perth Stadium.
"Much like (Justin) Langer and (Dennis) Lillee, the WACA Ground defines the history of cricket in WA. Today's announcement is a historic moment for the WACA Ground and very significant for Australian Cricket. This investment will revitalise the WACA Ground and ensure that it will continue to serve as the Home of Cricket in WA for many years to come," Kevin Roberts, the Cricket Australia chief executive said.
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