Tigers set for switch with three potential homes revealed

The Wests Tigers could have a new home ground in 2025 after chief executive officer Shane Richardson is looking to strike a deal with Venues NSW.

Discussions over the future of Leichhardt Oval have been spiraling in recent months, with many calling for the “decayed” venue to be refurbished.

Speaking on 2GB’s Continuous Call Team on Sunday, reporter Neil Breen revealed Richardson is deep in negotiations to help the Tigers move to either Accor Stadium or CommBank Stadium.

Breen said the club will most likely join rival side the Parramatta Eels at Commbank Stadium, however, a final decision has yet to be confirmed.

Stefano Utoikamanu celebrates a try.

“I can tell you for a fact that he is in deep negotiations with Venues NSW, looking to strike a deal to take the Wests Tigers over to Accor Stadium, the Olympic Stadium, or Commbank,” Breen said.

“I can tell you that it’s more likely that they will go to Commbank.”

The Eels, who currently sit just one place higher than the Tigers on the premiership ladder, have been using CommBank as their home ground since the stadium reopened in 2019.

The reigning premiers, the Panthers, will be hosting all of their home games at CommBank for the 2025 season. The move comes as scheduled renovations to Panthers Stadium commence at the end of the current season and are predicted to be completed in time for the club’s 2026 campaign.

Fans watch on during the round three NRL match between Wests Tigers and Cronulla Sharks at Leichhardt Oval. (Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images)

Breen confirmed that the club has not completely disregarded the future of Leichhardt, noting there is a strong possibility the Tigers will continue to utilise the Oval along with Campbelltown Sports Stadium.

“I’m not saying that Leichhardt is finished,” he said.

“If they stay at Leichhardt it might be for something one round a year, like a heritage round.

“They might play in Campbelltown as well but they’re not going to play five or six [games] there because they need the corporate facilities.”

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The Wests Tigers were the only club recorded to have significant financial loss during the 2023 season, reportedly losing $2.2 million dollars.

“They were the only NRL club last year to lose money. You get money from big corporate [sponsors],” Breen said.

“They are losing their sponsors. They losing their jersey sponsor, their sleeve sponsor…

“How do you get big sponsors to come on board? By putting them in a plastic seat at Leichhardt or putting them in a nice box every home game at CommBank Stadium?”, he continued.

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“This is all about economics. Richardson is a crash or crash-through kind of guy. And he is going to crash through here.”

In March, Richardson and Inner West Council Mayor Darcy Byrne appealed for the NSW government to allocate 10 per cent of the proposed $309 million budget to upgrade Penrith’s stadium, to help refurbish the “decayed” Leichhardt Oval.

Byrne told reporters that fans of the Tigers and club officials deserved to see the venue undergo a facelift instead of watching it be torn down.

“Leichhardt Oval hasn’t received any funding from the state government since [coach] Benji Marshall was in nappies,” Byrne said.

“There’s no good reason Penrith’s stadium should have gold-plated urinals, while famous Leichhardt Oval is forced to close through neglect.”

The Tigers celebrate scoring a try during the round three NRL match between Wests Tigers and Cronulla Sharks at Leichhardt Oval. (Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images)

Richardson said that the future of Leichhardt Oval currently stands in the hands of the NSW funding allocation decision, with the club’s appeal likely to initiate a stadium war – as the Panthers rebuild plans have already been confirmed.

“We’ll be making that decision over the next 60 to 90 days,” he said.

“It’s a great rugby league ground, but it’s decayed.

“I’ve already told our different stakeholders, but we’ll make a decision that is best for the club.

“I haven’t seen any of the costing (for the proposal), all I’ve seen is their plan which I think is a good one.

“The reality is until there is money for it, you don’t know when it’s going to be, and if it’s going to be five years away, it’ll be dead. We won’t be here.”