NSW Premier Mike Baird at Penrith Panthers announcing $12 Million for the western Sydney community and sports centre at Penrith Panthers in March 2015.Credit:Brendan Esposito
The site,which is adjacent to Panthers Leagues Club in Penrith,will also contain a 150-room hotel as part of a redevelopment now estimated to cost $88 million in total.
The revelation follows the federal"sports rorts"saga that has consumed the Morrison government after a damning audit indicated the $100 million Community Sport Infrastructure Grant program may have been used to funnel money to seats the Coalition wanted to win at last year's election.
The scandal led Nationals deputy leader Bridget McKenzie,who was the sports minister in charge of the grants program,to resign from cabinet,prompting a reshuffle and an unsuccessful leadership challenge by former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce.
Mr Ayres met with Panthers 20 times between November 2014 and May 2018 when he was NSW sports minister.
In February 2019,a"funding agreement"to supply the $12 million election commitment was made by the NSW Office of Sport. But it is not publicly available,and questions about why the Office of Sport is funding a function centre went unanswered.
The federal money for the WSCSC was signed off in April 2019 as a"closed non-competitive"grant"to improve access to community,exhibition and event facilities and increase employment opportunities,multiculturalism,education and tourism to the local community."