NRL team unveils temporary new home at WACA

Incoming WA-based NRL team the Perth Bears have been given a temporary home at a site normally reserved for another sporting code.

The state government has announced that the historic WACA Ground, the home of cricket in WA, will host the Bear’s administration and high-performance space, with the nearby Waterbank site to be used as the club’s professional training field.

The Lillee Marsh stand at the WACA will be upgraded to an NRL club standard, while the Waterbank site will be upgraded with new goal posts, additional subsoil drainage and improved soil profile and the installation of higher quality couch grass to improve the reliability of the training surface. A cost of $12.9 million has been budgeted for the upgrades.

Perth Bears chief executive Anthony De Ceglie said the organisation was extremely grateful for the opportunity to use the WACA as a temporary home.

“I don’t think there’s anything more West Australian than the WACA and a very proud history, not just for cricket, but a proud history for rugby league,” he said.

“The Western Reds obviously used to call it home, and there’s been rugby league matches at the WACA since 1948 so we’re incredibly excited about the opportunity, incredibly proud, and we think it’ll be a great temporary home for the Perth bears.

De Ceglie said the new location will present an opportunity for the club to develop a strong bond with the local Perth community.

“Most exciting is its location and the highly visible location of the water bank. You know, the people of Perth will be able to watch NRL players train at Waterbank as they come and go to work and they go about their business,” he said.

“We’ve had already some really proactive and exciting discussions with Trinity, and there’s an opportunity for an elite school to have elite players, elite NRL players next door.

“We think it’s an awesome opportunity for a temporary home for the Perth Bears until we move into our High Performance Centre in Malaga.

Sport and Recreation Minister Rita Saffioti said there is currently some unused space at the ground as part of the redevelopment of the site.

“We’ve been working about how we can use some of the existing facilities and how we can equip some existing facilities to ensure the bears have a home straight away,” she said.

“As we know, there’s a massive redevelopment of the WACA ground that’s happening right now, and as a result, there will be some unused space here in the Lillee-Marsh Stand and also in other buildings.

“What we’re doing is upgrading the plans to ensure it is a high-class venue, including drainage and other parts, to make sure it can host an NRL team for training. The cost is $12.9 million. Some of that includes funding for some existing works as well.”

De Ceglie said the team was still planning to be based at the proposed Malaga grounds by the 2028 NRL season, with its first matches set to be played at HBF Park, shared with Perth Glory and the Western Force.