The Parramatta Eels can lay claim to having the largest dedicated rugby league facility in the world – a “great symbol” not only for the club and its supporters but for the entire western Sydney region.
Late last month the Eels officially cut the ribbon to the impressive $70 million Parramatta Eels Centre of Excellence (COE) and Community Centre – located just 25 minutes from CommBank Stadium – in Kellyville.
Funded by the NSW and Australian Government, The Hills Shire Council and Parramatta Leagues Club, the precinct features five full-size rugby league fields and is the first gender-equal elite facility in Australia with all training facilities replicated for men and women across NRL, NRLW and Elite Pathways programs.
The Kellyville Memorial Park Community Centre, which stands beside the COE, will be part of an international standard match venue with a 1500-seat grandstand and multi-purpose function and community education rooms to enable the Eels to expand its community programs and initiatives.
Parramatta Eels CEO Jim Sarantinos said the completion of the 11-hectare facility marks a transformative moment for the club and community.
“The Centre of Excellence will provide Eels men’s, women’s and pathways programs with world-class resources and the environment they need to thrive, while increasing participation across all forms of rugby league in one of the fastest-growing regions in Australia,” he said.
“Most importantly, it will be a home for the entire Parramatta Eels family, including past players, members, fans, partners and the wider Eels and western Sydney community.
“We sincerely thank the NSW State and Australian Government, the Hills Shire Council and Parramatta Leagues Club for their investment and continued support.”
Recently, Parra News was invited on a private tour of the new facility and it’s seriously impressive.
The Parramatta Eels Centre of Excellence and Community Centre features five full-size rugby league fields; an indoor training centre and gym; aquatic rehabilitation; sports science, medical and player-welfare facilities; an auditorium, museum, café, podcast studio and merchandise shop; multipurpose function centre for up to 200 people; unisex changerooms, canteen, referee rooms and media facilities; and 200 lux field lighting and 450+ carpark bays.
Sarantinos said the new digs, which is situated along Kellyville’s Stone Mason Drive, is a far cry from their previous home at the Old Saleyards in North Parramatta.
“I first got involved with the club in July 2016. Back then I had a vision for what an NRL club looked like and what the environment would be,” he said.
“I went and had a look at the facility we were in at the time, which were the Old Saleyards in North Parramatta, and it did not meet my expectations at all. It was incredibly underwhelming, and it just wasn’t fit for what an NRL club should have.”
Sarantinos, along with other key Eels officials and stakeholders, visited several major sporting club facilities in Australia and around the world to generate ideas of what the new home of the Eels could look like in the future.
Sarantinos said the club’s initial “desire” was to build the Centre of Excellence in the heart of Parramatta, however that wasn’t going to be possible considering the size and scale of what the club had planned.
“Our desire was to always remain in Parramatta [but] the council at the time was unable to make that happen for us,” he said.
“There was an incredibly opportunity brought to us by the Hills Shire Council and the Federal Government to move to this amazing precinct, which is only 20-25 minutes away from Parramatta.
“Whilst we wanted to stay in Parramatta, we are incredibly blessed to be out here and we never would’ve ended up with the amount of greenspace and the ability to combine our men’s, women’s and pathways programs in the one location.”
Eels players, coaches and club staff officially moved into the new Centre of Excellence last month, with the entire playing group “blown away” by their new workplace.
“We brought a number of players along for tours at different stages of the build and the biggest thing that they were blown away by was just the size and scale,” Sarantinos told Parra News.
“The gym is enormous, they have all the equipment they could dream of. The locker rooms are very well sized for both our men and women. It has great aquatic recovery facilities and a theatre space for learning. And having a café on site is really helpful as well – I often see the players hanging out there.
“All the players are incredibly appreciative of what they’ve got, and they bounce into the place every day.”
Nathan Taylor is Parra News' sports journalist. He also compiles the weekly Chatter on the Box TV column. Nathan is an award-winning journalist, who has worked in western Sydney media for more than a decade.