The Sydney Roosters have called the Sydney Football Stadium home since 1988 and are greatly anticipating their return to the ground once it reopens in early September.

In late 2018 the Roosters played their fierce rivals the South Sydney Rabbitohs in a Preliminary Final at the stadium before it was knocked down and a $900 million rebuild commenced.

For the majority of the past three seasons the Roosters have been playing at Australian Rugby League’s traditional home the Sydney Cricket Ground.

While it is great to see such an iconic venue be used regularly in the competition once again, it isn’t exactly the best-designed ground to watch a game of Rugby League at in the modern era so the Roosters and their fans will certainly be grateful to return home.

However, they may not be returning alone as The Daily Telegraph’s Dean Ritchie has revealed that Rabbitohs Chief Executive Officer Blake Solly is planning to move the club from Sydney Olympic Park to the new Sydney Football Stadium on a full-time basis.

It is believed that the Roosters are in discussions with the New South Wales government to have the move blocked but Solly has hit back at those claims.

 
“The taxpayers have funded the stadium, and I am sure that the top priority for the NSW Government will be ensuring the people of NSW get the maximum return on that investment – not the wishes of an individual or single-tenant,” said Solly.

“It is also a bit rich for the Roosters to be so territorial while their junior representative teams train at Matraville High School (in Souths’ territory).”

“Since the NSW Government first released a NSW Stadia Strategy in 2012, our club has been vocal supporters of investment in sporting infrastructure across NSW.”

The Rabbitohs are no strangers to the Sydney Football Stadium as they spent a long period calling Moore Park home once before.

When the stadium first opened in 1988 South Sydney shared the ground with the Roosters until 2006 when the club signed a deal to base themselves at Sydney Olympic Park.

On the second of September the Sydney Football Stadium will reopen and it’s opening fixture is quite a fitting one as the Roosters will take on the Rabbitohs.