In short:
Redeveloping a football field in Sydney's north will cost Ku-ring-gai Council at least $24 million, according to a new report from NSW Public Works.
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Redeveloping → redevelop → Works
The project has been going on for five years and has been subject to several cost blowouts since originally being estimated at $3.3 million.
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project → go → million
An independent consultant will run a representative survey to assess the community's preference for either natural turf or a synthetic surface.
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consultant → run → turf
A Sydney council is facing another seven-figure cost blowout to upgrade a single football pitch five years after it closed to become a synthetic playing field.
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it → face → pitch
Ku-ring-gai Council in the city's north will have to spend at least $24 million to complete the transformation of Norman Griffiths Oval into a synthetic field or a natural turf field, according to a report to council by NSW Public Works.
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Council → have → Works
The $24 million price tag is a $4 million increase from estimates earlier this year that the field would cost $20 million to complete.
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field → cost → million
Turning the washout-prone pitch into a synthetic pitch was expected to cost $3.3 million in 2021, before a dispute with the contractor and a move to change from an aggregate-based stormwater system to a concrete system caused cost blowouts.
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dispute → turn → blowouts
Council voted in April this year to increase the budget to $20 million to cover a $4.4 million termination payout for the contractor and the new stormwater detention system.
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Council → vote → contractor
In August, it was revealed council had spent just over $1.29 million since repossessing the site in May 2025 on dewatering, CCTV, fencing and labour costs to maintain the unusable field.
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council → reveal → field
On Tuesday night, council voted to hold a representative survey on the synthetic and natural turf options.
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council → vote → options
Council's motion noted another part of the public works report that suggested returning Norman Griffiths Oval to a natural turf field with above-ground wastewater detention would cost $28 million.
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returning → note → million
However, on Wednesday, an extraordinary meeting was scheduled next week to vote through the $24.4 million synthetic option and rescind the survey.
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meeting → schedule → survey
ABC Radio 702 ABC Sydney approached Ku-ring-gai Mayor Kim Wheatley, who was elected to the mayoralty on Tuesday, for comment.
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who → approach → comment
Councillor Sam Ngai was the sole vote against Tuesday's motion because he felt the community surveying had already been done.
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surveying → feel → motion
"Council already did this in 2020; 94 per cent of surveyed residents within 500 metres of the facility strongly supported the synthetic proposal," Cr Ngai said.
"
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Ngai → do → proposal
In the last 12 months, cost estimates have risen $1 million per month, while council received multiple independent reports showing natural versus synthetic to cost largely the same."
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natural → rise → same
A leading sporting field consultant said council should have rejected the report because it did not provide council with field options that represented best practice.
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that → lead → practice
Paul Lamble, who co-authored the NSW best practice guidelines for sporting fields, said those options did not respect council's request for a report that asked for the comparison of delivering a best practice natural turf field compared to a synthetic turf field.
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that → co → field
"They are all alternative construction types that are unsuitable for this site, and none represent best practice for a community sporting field," Dr Lamble told a council forum last week.
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Lamble → represent → forum
Football club pushes for synthetic option
West Pymble FC president Kieron Fitzpatrick, whose club calls Norman Griffiths Oval its home ground, said council needed to get on with the synthetic field option because the public works report showed it could handle more regular players.
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it → push → players
In the report, the Northern Suburbs Football Association said the club would have 990 players using the ground.
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club → say → ground
That number is based on the club's 979 registered players in 2022, which has dipped since the field's closure but was expected to recover after reopening.
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which → base → reopening
"The choice is remarkably simple," Mr Fitzpatrick told a council forum on the matter.
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Fitzpatrick → tell → matter
"Spend $24 million on something that does meet the requirement, or spend $24 million on something we know does not."
Mr Fitzpatrick also cited a Lancet journal that found 14 per cent fewer player injuries occurred on synthetic fields compared to natural fields.
Dr Lamble said the report's use of the club figures was misleading.
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use → spend → figures
He said the entire club would not use the single field, as the club has historically used other nearby fields including Mimosa, Comenarra and West Pymble Public School.
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club → say → Mimosa
Oval redevelopment avoiding scrutiny, critic says
Public policy specialist Bron Hanna said the project was "Australia's most expensive synthetic football pitch upgrade" and should be terminated.
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project → avoid → scrutiny
Ms Hanna said the project had recently avoided scrutiny from a state government capital expenditure review after messages between the council's general manager and the NSW Office of Local Government's (OLG) deputy secretary Brett Whitworth discussed overturning an OLG directive for a review of the Norman Griffiths project.
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messages → say → project
"The revelations that the council's general manager and the Office of Local Government's deputy secretary shared texts on how council could avoid undertaking these legally mandated guidelines are deeply concerning," Ms Hanna said.
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Hanna → share → guidelines
"Had council undertaken a proper risk assessment and review of the planned project in the first place, it is doubtful it would be in the multi-million dollar hole it now finds itself in.
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it → undertake → itself
Under NSW government guidelines, all infrastructure projects expected to cost either 10 per cent of council's ordinary rate revenue or $1 million are subject to capital expenditure review guidelines.
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projects → expect → guidelines
Projects expected to cost in excess of $10 million have additional requirements including more intensive community consultation.
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Projects → expect → consultation
A spokesperson for the OLG said it was satisfied the council had met those additional requirements with the exception of a probity plan yet to be provided by the council.
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council → say → council
"There are considerable environmental risks in having a large, incomplete construction site located above the Lane Cove River," the spokesperson said.
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spokesperson → be → River
"As the project was already well advanced, the OLG determined that requiring council to return to the beginning of the process and undertake a CRE [capital expenditure review] would have resulted in further delays to the project.
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requiring → advance → project
However, Ms Hanna said the project was effectively being started again and should be subject to a complete capital expenditure review with the additional requirements.
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project → say → requirements
"The whole idea of a capital expenditure review is that it's value for money, a benefit for the community and has community support and they must do this," Ms Hanna said.
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Hanna → have → this
The Aporia
