A-League football clubs these days comprise multiple teams and require multiple facilities. A club’s physical infrastructure influences everything from club culture to team performance and after 20 years of A-League football many of the clubs have been forward thinking in their infrastructure arrangements.
Where does your club rank in terms of its facilities, and where can it improve?
Let’s take a look at Sydney FC.
Current Set Up
Sydney FC enjoy a wonderful facility at Macquarie University that houses all of their teams and administration. The Sydney FC Centre of Excellence, or Sky Park as it also known, comprises three pitches and an administration building. Due to the limited spectator amenity at the center, the club only hosts practice games and youth games at the facility.
The ALM team plays at the Sydney Football Stadium while the ALW and NPL teams have played at various venues. The ALW team has recently played the majority of its matches out of Leichhardt while its NPL team is currently playing home matches at the Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre.
History of Set Up
Not many of the key locations have really changed at Sydney FC. The club has been long time tenants at Macquarie University since since 2007 and both their ALW and NPL teams have pretty much always played at various venues across Sydney. The upgraded Sky Park facility was completed in 2021. Their ALM team similarly has pretty much always been based out of the Sydney Football Stadium with the exception of the time when the stadium was being redeveloped. During this time the club played home matches across Leichhardt Oval and Jubilee Oval with the SCG also hosting larger matches.
Assessment of Set Up, Gaps and Opportunities
Sydney FC have one of the best set ups in the A-League. Sky Park is home to impressive facilities and the club has somewhere to develop a one club mentality across its teams. The site at Macquarie University is also quite expansive so as well as being able to utilise other University facilities Sydney could look to expand in the future.
The most obvious gap is the lack of space for fans at Sky Park. The club is unable to host any games of note at the facility and as a result its teams are subject to external constraints. Sydney Football Stadium may not be as suitable a home in the future if the current wave of music concerts continues to wreak havoc on the turf during the summer, but this is a relatively minor issue at this stage.
More pertinently, the current ALW and NPL home game situation is a little challenging and requires some finessing. Although not a major concern, the club would do well to find a more permanent match day venue arrangement for these teams, and generally matches with crowds of 5,000 or less. A stronger tenancy at Leichhardt Oval may be appropriate, or at the very least, an expansion of the Sky Park Facilities so that the First Grade NPL games can be held out of the venue.
Notes and considerations
The initial foundation concept for Sydney FC came from Soccer NSW and included the team playing out of Parramatta Stadium. Frank Lowy’s decision to base the club out of the SFS is now a central part of the club’s identity and has contributed to a strong and successful club culture. The relationship with Macquarie University has been a key part of the club and helped it secure a base by avoiding inner city land disputes with local council.
Ratings
Overall Ranking: 5th out of 12
Overall Rating: B
Sydney FC have an ideal training set up despite a challenging local property ecosystem. The stability of the SFS has defined the club but its other home ground facilities are at best fluid, and require a longer term solution to deliver stronger fan and team cultures in its ALW and NPL programs.
Please note the above information represents our best efforts with publicly available information. If you have any feedback or comments please contact us through our socials.
The Beautiful Game 