The redevelopment of the EnergyAustralia stadium in northern NSW will be hitting the final stages in the next couple of weeks.
Stage three of the Western Grandstand will include completion of the 13,500-seat grandstand as well as the construction of a media level and corporate boxes.
Stadium operator, Hunter Venues, is hoping that the preferred tenderer, the John Holland group, will start work in the next two weeks, increasing the likelihood that the stadium will be complete for the start of the National Rugby League season in March 2011.
"It's like any tender, you get your prices back and then you have to try and make it fit within the budget that you've got. We've been in a negotiation period with the preferred tenderer and we are hoping that we will have sign-off on that contract very shortly, with the work to start in the next couple of weeks," said Hunter Venues CEO, Mark Zundans.
The redevelopment is costing $60 million, $50 million of which was provided by the NSW government, and the remaining $10 million by the federal government.
The first stage of the development, completed in 2004, consisted of the construction of the lower level of the Eastern Stand, which holds 7,700 people, and the relocation of corporate boxes and seating to the North and South stands.
The second stage was completed in 2005 and included construction of the Eastern Stand's second level of seating and corporate boxes and a new scoreboard. When complete, the stadium, which will be home to the Newcastle Knights NRL team, will seat around 27,000 people.
