On Thursday, Leichhardt Council announced their support of the proposal and will prepare a funding plan for the $2 million third phase of the famous ground's upgrade.

The proposal for the Council-owned facility will include the replacement of antiquated seating in one grandstand and concourse, the construction of a new amenities and toilet blocks and the installation of a new scoreboard and big screen.

The upgrade is designed to improve the match-day experience and is largely aimed at enticing more games from local NRL club Wests Tigers

But it offers up another intriguing possibility. What if Sydney FC - currently struggling to fill even a third of the SFS and, like many A-League clubs, losing big money as a result of their stadium deal - were to consider a ground move? And what if the $2m upgrade went ahead?

A move from Moore Park is something that is being canvassed by sky blues management reeling from low crowds and the resulting financial hits on the balance sheet.

Leichhardt Oval, for what it's worth, ticks a number of boxes. It's only about 6km from Moore Park across the CBD.  It holds a 21,000 capacity which offers a much better atmosphere than at the 45,000 capacity SFS with the current 10,000-15,000 Sydney FC fans.

And the Oval is accessible by light rail and bus in an area filled with other attractions - namely pubs, cafes and restaurants. What's more, the ground's famous hill would make for a wonderful setting for summer A-League football, while the northern end would be the logical home of The Cove.

The surface is A-League standard. The Olyroos trained on it on Thursday just a day before leaving for  a tournament overseas while an interest free loan from the NSW government to the Leichhardt Council helped pay for a recent resurfacing of the pitch.

Additionally, and importantly, by saving Sydney FC significant dollars - music to the ears of the bean-counters - the club could boost other areas of its operation while keeping the SFS up its sleeve for finals games and the Sydney Festival of Football.

In fact, Sydney FC has played a friendly against Central Coast at the venue while the club's W-League side played Perth Glory there last season. Glasgow Rangers also trained at the venue in July during the Sydney Festival of Football. And going back to the NSL in the 1990s, Sydney Olympic played at Leichhardt Oval in the days of Nick Meredith, Kimon Taliadoros and Kris Trajanovski. Many remember the wonderful atmosphere even just 5-10,000 fans can make.


One man who knows what it's like to play at the venue is former Sydney Olympic junior and youth team player Darcy Byrne - who just happens to be a councillor on the Leichhardt council.

He told au.fourfourtwo.com at today's announcement: "By investing in the council's asset and upgrading the field it'll make it easier in the future for more Tigers games to be played here in the future. But it'll also make it easier for all sorts of sporting events to be held here.

"The aim is for it to be a state of the art sporting facility for the whole community. As a former player, I'd like to see the maximum possible usage of the ground by both rugby league teams and other sporting codes so it can be used for decades to come."

The NRL's return to Leichhardt for the Tigers' final home game against Storm in August was a huge success. It was close to a sellout with a wonderful atmosphere.

If it's good enough for Wests Tigers, is it good enough for Sydney FC? And given the tough financial times across the board, it time for boutique stadiums to be looked at in Sydney and elsewhere in the A-League?