• The South Sydney Rabbitohs face an uncertain future over their home ground
• The Rabbitohs have played at Stadium Australia for nearly 20 years
• The club could move on from the Accor Stadium, if improvements are not made

By ED CARRUTHERS FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

Published: 16:27 GMT, 28 January 2025 | Updated: 16:28 GMT, 28 January 2025

The Rabbitohs are continuing to face a dilemma over their future home and the club has called upon the New South Wales Government to take action.

The saga over whether the Souths will move away from the Accor Stadium has raged for some time, with Bunnies fans calling for the club to move to the newly refurbished Allianz Stadium.

While they have played at the ground for 20 years, fans have called on South Syndey to find a new home.

The Accor Stadium last underwent major reconfiguration work back in 2001. Since then, some upgrades have been made including renovations to the changing rooms and media areas ahead of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Yet, the club has called on the government to help improve the stadium and spend money on improving the fan experience at Stadium Australia, which was first opened in 1999. It comes after the NSW government had axed a $810million refurbishment of the stadium back in 2020.

'We've been pretty consistent now for a long period of time,' chief executive Blake Solly said to SEN Radio.

The Rabbitohs are continuing to face a dilemma over their future home and the club has called upon the New South Wales Government to take action

Chief executive Blake Solly says the club will consider moving away from the Accor Stadium if the NSW Government does not take action to refurbish the Accor Stadium

The club want to stay at Stadium Australia but only if the government commit to refurbishing

'We want to stay at Accor, provided that the government and Venues NSW deliver on their commitment to invest in Accor.

'If the government for whatever reason doesn't want to - we accept it may not fit with their spending priorities - we'd like to move to Allianz, where the government has invested $1 billion in creating a fan experience that is fantastic.

'We will be patient, we are working with Venues NSW and the government, but at some stage, they are going to need to make a decision.

When they do that, hopefully, we can make a decision on our future because we want a long-term home.

'We have been at Accor for a long period of time, but we would like our next deal to be a 25-year deal, not a five or 10-year deal.'

In fact the club had originally played at the Sydney Football Stadium since 1988m before relocating to Stadium Australia in 2005.

There was some division from the fanbase over the decision, with the move taking the club closer towards Sydney's central business district.

But Solly has been vocal in calling for the Bunnies to move back to the newly refurbished $828million Allianz Stadium. Should a move materialise they would hope to share the sparkling new ground with the Roosters and the NSW Waratahs.

The Rabbitohs have been playing at the Accor Stadium for nearly 20 years but could move on if action is not taken to refurbish the stadium

The club states that they could look to move to the Allianz Arena, closer to Sydney's CBD, should no action be taken

But Solly believes that the upcoming Rugby Union World Cup in 2027 could help push the government into making much-needed improvements to the 83,500-capacity ground.

'It's a timeframe that is governed by the NSW Government,' he said.

'We understand that they have got a million different spending priorities … these aren't decisions that they can rush to.

'They have got a pretty big bid in to get the cream of the crop when it comes to the rugby union World Cup games in 2027, which will probably mean there will need to be an investment. We can be patient, but we just need a long-term plan.

'It's a great stadium, but it's up around 30 years old now and needs a really strong renovation and refurbishment process.'

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