Wests Tigers could play every home game of the 2028 season at Leichhardt Oval if they cannot strike a deal to stage some matches at CommBank Stadium, turning the old ground into the club’s fallback plan for an entire season. The possibility is now real enough that the Tigers are weighing a full Leichhardt return even as they negotiate over where part of that season should be played.
The timing is hard to miss. The clash with the Gold Coast on Sunday will be the Tigers’ last at Leichhardt for almost two years, with the venue due for renovation, while Campbelltown Stadium is also scheduled for refurbishment in 2028. If no agreement is reached with Venues NSW, the club is considering moving all of its home matches except the one scheduled for Suncorp Stadium during Magic Round back to Leichhardt Oval.
That would leave the Tigers with a season built almost entirely around one suburban ground just as the venue is being transformed. Leichhardt Oval is set to return with a new northern grandstand adding 1,500 seats, stadium seating for the western grandstand and lower seating bowl, and new change rooms and a gym. Shaun Mielekamp said the upgraded ground will give fans better bars and better food vendors, while the hill and scoreboard will stay in place.
He said the improvements would make the venue fit for purpose and commercially stronger, while also giving players better facilities. The upgraded change rooms and gym would also support pathways and NRLW training, he said. For supporters, the appeal is not just extra seats. It is the return of the same old Leichhardt atmosphere with more people able to get in and better amenities around them.
That plan sits alongside a separate negotiation that has not yet produced a deal. The Tigers have begun talks with Venues NSW about holding a handful of 2028 season games at CommBank Stadium, and the club has not locked in that arrangement. If it falls through, Leichhardt would become the default home for all of those fixtures, including what could be a blockbuster local derby against Parramatta.
The broader picture is that the Tigers are trying to juggle two redevelopments without losing a season in the middle. The Balmain Leagues Club is slated to reopen in 2028, and Daniel Paton said work on the former site at Victoria Rd in Rozelle is moving well and is on track to line up with the Leichhardt Oval revival. That makes Sunday’s game more than just the last match at the ground for almost two years. It is the start of a stretch in which the club is planning for a return that could redefine where it calls home.
