It was with immense pride and joy on the weekend that I witnessed the opening of what was initially named the International Centre of Training Excellence [ICTE] in Rooty Hill, located in the area previously known as Blacktown Olympic Park, which hosted the softball and baseball preliminary rounds and warm-up athletics training field for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The complex has grown to include Blacktown and District Soccer Football Association and a shared stadium between NSW Cricket and NSW AFL. It was the inaugural home for The Giants and is the spiritual home for the Western Sydney Wanderers.
In 2015 Kevin Jones, the then manager of council's key venues, which included the Blacktown International Sports Park, presented to me—as mayor at the time—and the council's general manager the idea of an indoor sports centre with a pool and a gym that would generate income from learn to swim lessons, based on the possibility of the State Government looking to fund high-performance centres to the tune of $10 million. I replied to Kevin's proposal that a high-performance centre requires the opportunity to provide initiative training methods, not only for sportspeople but also for coaches and to improve wellness in the community.
I told him, "We need to partner with a university to deliver sports performance and testing. We need to consider health recovery for injured athletes, which can translate to improved community health outcomes. Ideally, it should be supported by academy-style accommodation." I was keen on transferring the skills and health support for injured elite sportspeople, who recovered quickly, to injured workers who were often left suffering with insufficient treatment. Kevin's concern was that this would cost a lot more than $10 million. I said, "Yes, it would be about $100 million," at which the general manager gasped. He considered it to be a courageous move by a minority mayor, or just a mayoral thought bubble.
At the 2016 council elections my Labor team endorsed the project and we went from a minority position of seven councillors to a landslide win of 10 Labor councillors out of 15. From 2016 to 2018 detailed planning was undertaken with extensive community consultations, meetings with health professionals and sporting academies such as the NSW Institute of Sport, the Australian Institute of Sport and the Queensland Institute of Sport. The Australian Catholic University announced it was moving into Blacktown with a multi-faculty campus, including sports science and other allied fields. The consultant team visited facilities across Australia and international facilities in the USA, UK, Germany and France. I still argued with them about the elements needed for a successful multipurpose sports and health recovery centre.
To improve my knowledge, I financed my own multi-location tour, including Gloria Sports Arena in Turkey, meeting with CEO Gorkem Donmez and Dr Ali Erdogan, FC Barcelona chief architect Marti Padrisa, Manchester Institute of Health and Performance's Dr Stephen McGregor, Arsenal Football Club executive director Peter Silverstone, and David Slade from the Western Sydney Wanderers. I thank each one for their valuable time and considerable ongoing support. After peer reviews were completed, the proposal was finalised with a $100 million budget and a time line to be completed by mid-2021. I retired as mayor in October 2019, having been elected to Parliament two years earlier.
Whilst the completed project is wonderful to anyone who sees it, I am saddened by the two-year delay, which resulted in substantial cuts to the facility features to remain within budget. The council executive and councillors appeared more interested in renaming the facility—said to cost more than $500,000—rather than allowing building naming rights to generate up to $100,000 per annum. It is sad to note that some attendees at the opening who basked in the glory of the new facility were the ones who slowed down the project or even tried to have it stopped. The line-up on the weekend reinforces the saying that "failure is an orphan, but success has many parents". There were many adopted parents on the day.
It was fabulous to see legendary athlete Cathy Freeman officially open the facility. I thought it was fitting, and the successful 2000 Olympics was an interesting metaphor for the new Blacktown facility. All involved, whether at the 2000 Olympics or the ICTE, were there with the best of intentions to deliver something special for sportspeople. But, in the same way as at the 2000 Olympics—with Rod McGeoch, Ric Birch and Sandy Hollway, who put their hearts and souls into the success of the Olympics—many were overlooked for their contributions. Many people who truly supported the project's vision were overlooked by the current administration. As in sport, success is fleeting but long-term significance is meaningful. Only time will tell whether the current administration will achieve in any significant way the true goals of this facility.
