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PROJECT

Leichhardt Oval Venue Future Use Review

LOCATION

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

CLIENT
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Inner West Council

CONTRACT DESCRIPTION

Various scopes including a review of Leichhardt Oval’s performance and operations to identify the venue's future capabilities; and an analysis of utilisation potential and associated capital works recommendations

SERVICE PERIOD

2015 & 2019

DHC KEY CONSULTANT PERSONNEL

Dean Hassall (project lead) and Carolynne Hassall (report assistance)

PROJECT OVERVIEW

  • Leichhardt Oval is a rectangular-field, multi-use stadium located approximately fifteen minutes from the Sydney CBD.

  • The Stadium is owned and operated by Inner West Council (formerly Leichhardt Municipal Council) and is considered one of Sydney’s iconic ‘old school’ suburban football grounds.

  • As the Inner West Council area's premier stadium, Leichhardt Oval is predominately used for rectangular sporting codes such as rugby league, football (soccer) and rugby union and hosts a wide range of high-profile, professional-level events.


DHC ENGAGEMENT

Venue Management Review

  • In 2015, Council engaged Dean Hassall Consulting to deliver a Leichhardt Oval Venue Management Review.

  • By performing an independent industry analysis comparison and a review of operational and management considerations, the purpose of the scope of consultancy works was to help inform Council on:

    • strengths of the current Leichhardt Oval business operations

    • gaps in the current business operations and recommended areas for improvement

    • options that assist in developing a proposed model to improve the capabilities of the Oval business

    • opportunities to grow and diversify the business


DHC ENGAGEMENT

Future Use and Capital Works Analysis

  • More recently, Council re-engaged Dean Hassall for his venue management and stadia planning expertise.

  • Dean's advice was sought for an analysis on a range of matters relating to the future use of Leichhardt Oval, prepared from the perspective of a subject matter specialist in venue management, operations and development.

  • Three key areas of review included:

    1. Advice on capital investment – assessing Leichhardt Oval in its current state and against successful venues of similar nature both locally and nationally to assist with identifying and prioritising infrastructure upgrades.

    2. Information review – examining current and previous Leichhardt Oval studies and reports relating to infrastructure upgrades including Master Plan and key hirer feedback to assess against industry good practice and identified areas for priority.

    3. Utilisation – consideration of both positives and negatives from a user/hirer perspective and incorporating findings into recommendations on future upgrades.

  • Insights collated by DHC were intended to assist Council in identifying, prioritising and providing justification for areas warranting further attention, including potential infrastructure upgrades of the venue.


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