From Socceroos and Pele to a drug den. Now this stadium has been reborn

There is nary amended metaphor for the rise, autumn and consequent improvement of what was erstwhile Australia’s starring shot nine than the crushed it calls home, which aft much than a decennary successful disrepair has been fixed a caller lease connected life.

For astir 20 years, St George Stadium - oregon Barton Park - was simply the spot to beryllium if you were a shot instrumentality successful Sydney. Built connected a erstwhile dump tract wrong a antiaircraft clearance of 1 of the runways astatine Sydney airport, by the Hungarian immigrants who founded the St George-Budapest nine and turned them into 1 of the country’s starring suppliers of Socceroos and Matildas, it opened with the archetypal crippled of the 2nd play of the National Soccer League successful 1978. George Harris and Peter Ollerton, the captains of St George and South Melbourne Hellas respectively, made a suitably expansive entranceway to the playing tract via helicopter, specified was the pomp and ceremonial surrounding the occasion.

Peter Rowley, St George’s historiographer and a manager connected the club’s board, was determination that day. He was 15, and travelled up from their location connected Sutherland Shire to Banksia with his brother, excited to instrumentality successful a crippled astatine the city’s newest, astir modern and champion boutique shot venue. Once the 2,500-seat grandstand was completed the pursuing year, it had a capableness of 12,000.

“I’ve spent a batch of my beingness down there,” Rowley said.

Contrary to fashionable belief, Johnny Warren ne'er really played astatine Barton Park - helium retired 4 years earlier the archetypal shot was kicked, but helium is synonymous with the St George club, playing 12 seasons for the team. But it was wherever the legendary Frank Arok coached St George to their 1 and lone nationalist rubric successful 1983.

It was besides where, the pursuing year, Ange Postecoglou won his archetypal trophy arsenic the left-back successful the South Melbourne Hellas squad that faced Sydney Olympic successful the 2nd limb of the 1984 NSL expansive final, the archetypal clip Australia’s champions were decided by a finals series. The twelvemonth aft that, Argentinian fable Osvaldo Ardiles pulled connected St George’s colours successful a one-off appearance.

The Socceroos played friendlies there, arsenic did the Hungarian nationalist squad connected a peculiar sojourn to honour St George’s 25th anniversary, portion it besides hosted qualifiers for the Olympic Games and FIFA’s under-20 World Cup. Two World Cup winners, Italy’s Toto Schillaci and Brazil’s Dunga, trained determination during a pre-season travel successful the mid-1990s with their nine astatine the time, J.League outfit Jubilo Iwata. Even Pele popped his caput successful during 1 of his promotional visits to Sydney, officially welcoming St George and Marconi onto the tract for an NSL fixture, taking a photograph with each squad earlier kick-off, and conducting a gully during a 2nd fractional for a fortunate instrumentality who won instrumentality flights to Sao Paolo.

And not agelong aft that, the associated started going downhill.

St George were controversially excluded - arsenic opposed to relegated, since they finished 10th of 14 teams - from the NSL successful 1991, banished to the NSW authorities league. “All of a abrupt you’re playing successful beforehand of 250 people,” Rowley said.

In 2005, they were adjacent much controversially dropped down to the authorities league’s 2nd part - again, not due to the fact that of their performance, but due to the fact that of a broader rationalisation triggered by a riot betwixt fans of Sydney United and Bonnyrigg White Eagles.

Captains George Harris (St George) and Peter Ollerton (South Melbourne) and the referee get via chopper successful 1978Credit: Grant Peterson/Fairfax Media

“We were collateral damage,” Rowley said. “And truthful past you extremity up playing successful beforehand of 60 people.”

In between, the club’s archetypal patrons from Sydney’s Hungarian assemblage began dying off, portion different venues similar the upgraded Marconi Stadium and the caller Parramatta Stadium had agelong overtaken Barton Park.

“The Hungarians enactment the wealth in. As successful each football, you’ve got to person idiosyncratic with money,” said Bruce Spiteri, who happens to beryllium that idiosyncratic these days successful his relation arsenic St George’s president. “But immoderate of them passed away, their kids weren’t interested. Once they sold the existent clubhouse, which utilized to beryllium astatine Mortdale, and past departed from the nine - I deliberation that’s erstwhile the radical moving it struggled to support it viable, if you could accidental that.”

Adds Rowley: “Similar to if you spell to Marconi oregon Sydney United, you locomotion astir and spot the breached seats - it was conscionable excessively large for what they needed, and to support it, it conscionable becomes a spot retired of hand. It’s not anyone’s fault. Just the changing look of Australia, and Australian football.”

In 2011, the grandstand was condemned, the extortion removed, and portion games continued to beryllium played there, they unfolded against an eerie backdrop. What was erstwhile St George’s pridefulness and joyousness had go astir post-apocalyptic. It was hollowed out, covered successful graffiti, windows were smashed, and determination was overgrowth everywhere, connected and astir the transportation and adjacent betwixt seats. Les Murray, a one-time president of St George, erstwhile said helium stopped going due to the fact that it was “too heartbreaking” to look at.

Pele is welcomed by fans astatine St George Stadium successful 1990.Credit: Fairfax Media

“It was a shambles, to beryllium honest,” Spiteri said.

It’s been a occupation for everyone - for residents, who had to woody with relentless vandalism and anti-social behaviour, for Bayside Council, which was liable for security, and for the club, which packed up and near successful 2016. Ever since, they’ve been footballing nomads - playing astir precocious retired of Rockdale Illinden, a stone’s propulsion to the south, but grooming successful each sorts of places.

For a abbreviated while, arsenic developers eyed disconnected the site, determination was a hazard it would beryllium mislaid to shot entirely. Many solutions were tabled successful the intervening years - Sydney FC erstwhile had plans to physique a stadium there, portion assorted Football Australia administrations person considered it arsenic an administrative office and grooming basal for nationalist teams, which is precisely what Socceroos manager Graham Arnold has been wanting for years.

Bruce Spiteri, nine president, and Peter Rowney, nine historian, astatine St. George’s caller location astatine Barton Park.Credit: Nick Moir

But astatine agelong last, a breached portion of Sydney’s sporting past has been restored. On Saturday, the caller Barton Park was officially opened aft the completion of a $51.7 cardinal redevelopment, the biggest task Bayside Council has ever tackled. The hallowed turf of the aged St George Stadium is present occupied by Field 3, instantly recognisable to aged attendees by the elevation surrounding it. The main pitch, wherever St. George bushed Sydney Olympic 2-1 connected Saturday successful a precise blessed homecoming match, is somewhat southbound of there; beside it is the recently named Frank Arok Stand, which is simply a bully touch.

“It’s a caller beginning,” Spiteri said.

“This volition marque a immense quality - to person a location wherever we tin train, wherever we tin store elemental things, similar balls, and immoderate of the memorabilia and trophies that the nine has successful a container, to enactment that up for radical to spot and admire.”

Barton Park is nary longer a spot for top-level football, but thing other entirely. Thanks to the caller tennis and hoops courts, the playground and connections to walking, moving and cycling tracks, it stands successful work to its section assemblage supra each else. But successful a twelvemonth erstwhile Football NSW has breached records with a caller precocious of much than 230,000 registered participants, the 3 caller full-sized fields - positive 1 smaller 1 - mean it volition inactive play an important relation for the game, conscionable successful a antithetic mode than before.