The complex will be built in seven stages on land leased at Blacktown International Sportspark, with the club headquarters and player facilities due to be built within the next six months, along with the first of 9.5 pitches and spectator facilities.
The precinct, covering some eight hectares, will be home to all of the club’s teams, from Tony Popovic’s first-team squad to the W-League, youth teams and down the academy teams, with each of the pitches costing around $1m.
Lederer called it “the largest investment by any Australian sporting club”, based on a tour of 13 European clubs he and CEO John Tsatsimas undertook last year.
The project will be funded by the owners, and though it may eventually include revenue-generating office blocks and a club, for now it is just “an investment” in the future of the game, Lederer said.
“It’s massive – I’m sure it’s the largest investment by any Australian sporting club in facilities of this kind,” he said.
