Shane Warne once took 12 wickets in a match against South Africa at the SCG, but NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian produced far more spin on Wednesday when she announced the cost of the stadium had ballooned from $729 million to $828 million. “While the estimated total cost for this build is higher than what we originally anticipated, it is much better value than what we would have achieved had we not gone back to the market,” she said. More cost — but better value? When Berejiklian announced in March 2018 that Allianz was being knocked down and rebuilt, the Roosters were told they would be given the keys to their new digs in 2021. Then they were told it would be ready for the start of 2022. Now it’s likely to be towards the end of the 2022 NRL season. Maybe. Hopefully. Fingers crossed.

Ever since early 2016 when former Premier Mike Baird first announced his “stadium strategy”, the state government has failed miserably in trying to sell its shiny new sporting infrastructure to the taxpayer. Yes, Sydney will eventually have a world-class stadium, right on the edge of the CBD, just as any cosmopolitan city should. The new Allianz Stadium will be a game-changer once it rises from the dusty patch where the old Sydney Football Stadium once stood. But the journey to get to this point has moved as slowly as the new light rail (which also, God help us, services the Moore Park precinct). Rugby league will be the code most affected by this latest delay.

There had been grand plans at League Central for the first major event at the stadium to be the third Origin match between NSW and Queensland, because the 80,000-seat ANZ Stadium will still be out of commission as it undergoes its major facelift. Given the regular closeness of the interstate series, there’s every chance it will be a decider. Instead of being played at the rectangular Allianz, the match will be shifted next door to the oval-shaped SCG. The state government had to cough up $10 million in compensation to the NRL when it couldn’t get Allianz Stadium done in time for the 2021 grand final. What happens if it can’t get the stadium completed for the 2022 decider? Nothing quite captures the chaos of this project, however, like the infamous "LED curtain" that allows the stadium to switch to an intimate “club” mode when only 7000 people turn up to watch the Roosters thrash the Gold Coast Titans on a wet Saturday night in the middle of winter. The Curtain is actually a myth. No other stadium in the world has it. The technology doesn’t exist.

At the March 2018 announcement, then sports minister Stuart Ayres was asked if there was any money for “two modes” and he said no. There is no money for “two modes” in the $828 million rebuild the Premier announced on Wednesday. The Roosters, Sydney FC and the Waratahs confirmed they expect that feature to be a part of the new Allianz. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Despite all of this, the new Allianz Stadium will be a game-changer once it rises from the dusty patch where the old Sydney Football Stadium once stood. There’s an argument the old SFS was sufficient. It just needed some new toilets and a lick of paint. Those who regularly attended the stadium would disagree.

There’s also an argument it should be a 30,000-seat stadium instead of 45,000, but that doesn’t make sense. Sydney already has one that size and it is the new Bankwest Stadium. In 2018, in its final year of operation, the old Allianz had seven crowds of 25,000-plus — including the all-time venue record when the Roosters and Souths played in the preliminary final. A modern, comfortable stadium will attract greater numbers. There is an onus, of course, on the sports to grow crowds to justify the spend. The computer program that works out the NRL draw should be sacked, scheduling blockbuster games and derbies at times and locations when it will attract the smallest crowd. The NRL will look to push blockbuster sell-outs from suburban grounds to the new stadium, if the clubs agree.