Barton Park

Barton Park officially re-opened on May 4, 2024 following a major $51.7 million redevelopment of the entire precinct which previously housed St George Stadium. The 12,000-capacity stadium was demolished in early 2023 and the precinct now includes three pitches including a main pitch which incorporates the 450-seat Frank Arok Grandstand, which serves as the home ground of NPL NSW club St George FC. Located near Sydney Airport, the precinct also now features two multi-use courts suitable for basketball, futsal and handball, four tennis courts, new amenities, improved road access and parking.

The old St George Stadium opened in 1978 with an NSL match between St George and South Melbourne in front of 3,853 fans. The 2,500-seat grandstand opened the following year, boosting its capacity to 12,000. The structure was deemed unsafe in 2008 and closed to the public, before being demolished in 2023. As well as being the home of the St George Soccer Club, St George Stadium hosted many big matches including international club sides, the Socceroos and was the major stadium for Sydney-based finals matches in the NSL. 11,221 fans packed the ground for the 1984 NSL Grand Final second leg between Sydney Olympic and South Melbourne. St George’s relegation from the NSL in 1991 saw the stadiums role diminish, despite Sydney Olympic continuing at the ground for a further couple of seasons.

There had been various proposals to restore St George Stadium to its former glory, including redeveloping it into a 20,000 all-seat stadium with 12,000 undercover seats. This plan would see NRL club St George Illawarra play at the stadium, however the club decided to instead upgrade Kogarah. There were also preliminary discussions in 2005 with Football Federation Australia to revisit the concept of converting the stadium into a boutique 15,000-seat venue for Sydney's A-League club and as a training venue for the national teams, the site of an academy and an administrative headquarters for the national body. These discussions once again resurfaced in 2020, but never eventuated.