As Parsons laments: “Everybody loves it, but it’s starting to fall apart.” The sports ground has been thrust into the spotlight after the National Rugby League Commission last month said Perth would get its own NRL team, which will also honour the 117-year heritage of the North Sydney Bears. The team will play the majority of its home games in Perth when the NRL’s 18th franchise enters the competition in 2027; however, commission chairman Peter V’landys has said he wants the red-and-blacks to return to their spiritual home on the lower north shore once a season. Mayor Zoe Baker has vowed the council will do what it takes to accommodate one NRL match a season, but has urged the state and federal governments to chip in funds for renewal works. The council’s ambition to return the ground to its former glory has been further hampered after the independent pricing regulator shot down its attempt to raise rates. Parsons said the council had committed to hosting at least nine game days for the North Sydney Bears between April and August, but it hadn’t yet been approached about hosting an NRL match.