Revealed: How this inner Sydney park would look without a greyhound track

A plan to redevelop Wentworth Park into an urban park and sporting complex is ramping up as the City of Sydney Council releases images of what the site could look like if the long-standing greyhound racing track at the site is bulldozed to make way for green space.

Sporting fields, picnic areas and parkland would be created at Wentworth Park as part of a City of Sydney Council plan to transform the 13-hectare site into an urban oasis.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore is spearheading the plan to bulldoze the circuit and 3000-seat grandstand, arguing Wentworth Park is “dominated by the greyhound racing track” at the expense of broader community use.

Moore said redevelopment would create much-needed open space to address the anticipated population surge in Pyrmont over the next 20 years under the state government plan to add 4100 high-rise homes in the precinct, which includes the Sydney Fish Market.

The government has yet to confirm whether it will extend the current lease, held by the NSW Greyhound Breeders Owners and Trainers Association, and due to expire in 2027.

Greyhound Racing NSW, in applying to extend the lease, included a commitment to provide “additional investment in activating the precinct for greater use by the local community”.

A Greyhound Racing NSW spokesman said the track has been operating since 1938 and remains the “spiritual home of the sport in NSW”.

NSW Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig, who was quizzed in parliament on the site’s future, said the government is finalising its position on the lease but insisted it wants to see “greater utilisation and community activation” of the site.

“Having greyhound racing one or two nights a week is not enough,” he said.

Under the council’s plan, the redevelopment would add 44,000 square metres of open-space facilities, including new walking tracks, exercise stations, basketball courts, a youth recreation area and a wetland.

Moore – a vocal critic of animal welfare standards in greyhound racing – said the redevelopment would address heavy use of the adjoining sports fields, which are booked for 45 hours each week, 10 hours more than the council’s recommendation for standard turf fields.

“We are not going to solve the housing crisis without more housing, and we can’t expect people to live well in higher density without improved public amenity, including access to parkland and recreational space,” she said.

Tim Hesketh, a member of the local Glebe Society community group, has supported a redevelopment of the track, arguing greyhound racing has “had its days” in the inner west.

“Greyhound racing is not part of the culture of the inner west in the same way as it used to be when the track was built in the 1930s and we would far rather it be moved to another area such as western Sydney,” he said.

“The young families from Glebe and Pyrmont predominantly turn up for sport days held on the oval next to the track, that’s what the main use of the park is.”

If redeveloped, the closure of the greyhound track would leave just two racing facilities in the Greater Sydney area.

It would also follow the closure of the Dapto racing track in the Illawarra, which held its last race in September after 88 years of operation.

The Greyhound Racing NSW spokesman said a redevelopment of the Wentworth Park track would mean the sector “would need to invest in development of an alternative metropolitan venue” in Greater Sydney.

The plan will be considered at the council’s next meeting and, if supported, will be lodged with the government, accompanied by a demand for “all of Wentworth Park to be returned to public green space in 2027”.

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