The Penrith Panthers are set to have plans for a completely new stadium to be built scrapped.
The idea of a new stadium at Penrith on the current site of the trotting track next door had been floated by both politicians and the club in recent times.
It would have allowed the Panthers to continue playing at their current home ground in Penrith, where they have regularly sold the venue out in recent times with the team's on-field success, until the new one was ready.
But The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that a significant cost blowout of almost $900 million has seen plans for a completely new stadium on the neigbouring site abandoned entirely.
The plans had been criticised by members of the public and other teams in the competition, particularly at the Wests Tigers where the historic Leichhardt Oval is at risk of falling into a state where it will no longer be usable for professional sport without upgrades.
According to the report, Penrith's stadium will still receive a little over $300 million in upgrade and refurbishment works. The figure that Chris Minns' government is reportedly set to spend on the refurbishment is exactly what the previous government had promised the Panthers and the region for the new stadium, which is now no longer feasible in that budget.
The report suggests that the stadium works will be a partial redevelopment of the current precinct, and it's understood that the Penrith Paceway has already been told they will be able to retain their current site.
It's believed a full knockdown rebuild of the main grandstand at the current venue could be part of the package from the state government, although plans are yet to be confirmed.
It also remains unclear whether any other clubs will see funding - at one stage, all of Leichhardt Oval, Brookvale Oval and Cronulla's home ground in the Shire were earmarked for renovations.
That came as part of the government's redistributed spending package on stadiums, which at one stage was set to see the Olympic Stadium renovated into a permanently rectangular facility with a capacity of around 75,000.
Those plans were scuppered, leading to the NRL threatening to pull the grand final out of New South Wales unless other works were promised, while the South Sydney Rabbitohs also attempted to pull out of their deal to play at the former Olympic Stadium and instead move across town to the newly opened Sydney Football Stadium.
What also remains unclear is whether the Panthers will be able to play at home during the renovations.
A full knockdown of the main grandstand, if it goes ahead, would likely see the venue shut down for a period, or at the very best running under a limited capacity as the Sharks have played with in the Shire during recent times owing to ongoing works around the precinct.
Previously, the Panthers had been earmarked to play home games in Parramatta if their own stadium was unusable for any length of time.
