A CHANGE of heart from the state government is set to force the South Sydney Rabbitohs from their spiritual burrow at Redfern. With their hopes of building a Centre of Excellence next to Redfern Oval dashed a month ago, Souths officials have turned their sights to a proposed $19 million high-performance centre in Maroubra. The Rabbitohs opened talks in June with Randwick Council, which last week passed a 14-1 resolution to push ahead with plans to construct a multi-purpose facility and a new training oval at Heffron Park. Schoolboy league powerhouse Marcellin College currently holds a lease over the proposed site and has shown an early willingness to sub-let part of the venue for South Sydney's exclusive use. Expected to take three years to build, the facility would accommodate the club's entire operation - including football, administration, charitable arms and merchandise. Souths CEO Shane Richardson last night said the club had been left with no choice but to investigate options elsewhere after the state government recently slammed the door shut on any development at Redfern. The Rabbitohs were originally encouraged to devise plans for a high- performance centre, with which state politicians planned to replace a housing commission block on Elizabeth St opposite Redfern Oval. Officials spent around $50,000 to pursue the dream, hiring former Australian Test cricketer Graeme Watson to draw up plans that were never publicly released. Instead, they've been passed on to Randwick Council as a blueprint for the Heffron Park development. "After the government told us the Redfern development wouldn't go ahead, we needed to find another site because there was no more room around Redfern," Richardson said. "Souths juniors actually pointed us toward Randwick Council, which had some plans for Heffron Park. "The plans we'd already drawn up for Redfern fit in really well with what they were thinking and council last week passed a resolution to conduct further investigation into the project. "Being in Maroubra, in the heart of Souths territory, it's perfect for us." Federal government support will be sought to fund the development, which Souths won't have to pay a cent to build. The Rabbitohs would then lease the facility from council. The club's current lease with Redfern Oval does not expire until 2017 and Richardson vowed Souths would always maintain a presence there

Aug 7 Update

The South Sydney Rabbitohs are delighted to be able to proceed, in conjunction with Randwick City Council, with planning for the building of a High Performance Community Centre in the centre of the South Sydney district, following the announcement today that Council had received a $16 million grant from the Federal Government for the historic development at Maroubra’s Heffron Park. Federal Minister for Sport, Senator the Hon. Don Farrell, made the announcement about the funding at Heffron Park today. The Rabbitohs have been in discussions with Randwick City Council, the Federal Government, Marcellin College Randwick, Souths Juniors and the National Rugby League about building a 5000-square-metre facility at Heffron Park. This state-of-the-art centre will include a gymnasium, indoor sports arena, a high altitude chamber, rehabilitation pool and a community centre with theatrette seating for up to 120 people. The centre will also provide a new home for Souths Cares – the community service organisation established by Souths in 2007. More than 5,500 young people in the South Sydney district will benefit from education, training and employment programs administered by Souths Cares annually, with the High Performance Community Centre to house classrooms from which Souths Cares will run its many and varied community programs. This High Performance Community Centre will establish Heffron Park as one of the major sporting precincts in NSW and provide a wonderful sporting and educational facility in this densely populated area of Sydney. This initiative is in line with the overall development of Heffron Park as a Multi Regional Sporting Precinct and is expected to create employment opportunities during the development of the site, as well as post-completion which is expected to take approximately two years. “This is an exciting project for the Club, truly a watershed moment for the future of the Rabbitohs, and it will allow us to go to the next level both on and off field, whilst staying in the South Sydney district,” Rabbitohs CEO Shane Richardson said today. “We’re very excited about this project and we will be working closely with Randwick City Council, Souths Juniors, Marcellin College, the NRL and the team at Souths Cares to make it a state-of-the-art facility that suits the needs of all parties involved. “We want to make sure we can help Randwick City Council build the best Rugby League High Performance Community Centre and administration offices under one roof in the NRL in our district, whilst also providing great community facilities for the people in the South Sydney region. “Souths Cares and the Rabbitohs have worked closely with Randwick City Council over the past three years so they know firsthand the impact our Club and Souths Cares can have in the community. “As a Club, we thank the Federal Government, Randwick City Council, Marcellin College, Souths Juniors and the NRL for their assistance in getting this project started and we look forward to a long and rewarding partnership with all parties into the future.”

Rabbitohs officials and politicians took time out today (Wednesday) to announce the building of the Clubs’ new High Performance Community Centre at Heffron Park. The Honourable Don Farrell, Minister for Sport, was joined by current Member for Kingsford Smith Peter Garrett, Labor Candidate for Kingsford Smith Matt Thistlethwaite and others to announce the Government’s $16 million contribution to the project. “The Rabbitohs are of course an iconic club in the NRL – and we’re very pleased to be here today to support them in what will be their new home here at Heffron Park,” the Minister for Sport said. Rabbitohs CEO Shane Richardson, said the announcement is an important one not just for the Rabbitohs, but for the South Sydney community, with all of the organisation’s positive initiatives set to be housed all under the one roof. “It’s a really important day for South Sydney, and for the community in general,” said Mr Richardson. “We’ve been working with Souths Juniors and the schools in the area, through our indigenous programs (indigenous employment), through our teacher’s aide with our top 25 players working among the community in the district to deliver healthy lifestyle messages. But we’ve done all these things sort of ‘ad-hoc’ at different locations all over the area. “What we’ve been able to do here, with the assistance of the Juniors and Marcellin College – who have been fantastic in working with us – is to bring them all under the one roof. “This could never have happened without the tremendous support of Randwick Council, and also without the support of the Government today. “This truly is an opportunity for us to increase what we do in the district on a far larger scale, to make important contributions to the area on a far larger scale, and this is a really positive step forward for not only South Sydney, but the South Sydney community, and I really want to thank Randwick Council for allowing us to do that today." Mr Richardson also went on to thank the NRL for their support in making the project a reality, citing that their support will allow the Club to continue to make good on the positive work being done in the community with Rugby League as the vehicle.