WIN Stadium is undoubtedly the Illawarra's premier sporting venue.
But the region's premier football team, Wollongong Wolves, feels it is once again being priced out of playing at the Wollongong venue.
For the past week, the Wollongong Wolves and Venues NSW have been working to find a solution. However, at the time of publication, the former two-time National Soccer League champions were still without a venue to host upcoming Australian Championship games.
Wolves head coach Luke Wilkshire is 'fuming' that the club has to consider playing its home games outside of the region.
"It's unacceptable that we're even having to consider leaving the region to play our Australian Championship games.
"WIN Stadium is a white elephant. The ground hardly gets used," Wilkshire said.
"There's got to be some way they can help a national team play on the best stadium in the region.
"I've learned through my experiences in life not to take common sense for granted. Because it would be common sense that there's some form of support.
"We've got such an iconic stadium that sits there and does absolutely nothing for 95 per cent of the year.
"It's there for the people of the region. And for them to price out this sort of opportunity for the people of the region and a club of the region is nothing short of disgraceful, simple as that.
"I'm dumbfounded and disgusted that we would have to contemplate taking national games, broadcast all over Australia, outside of our region, to get a good stadium and pitch and facility to play on.
"They're talking about doing upgrades and spending X amount of millions of dollars on a stadium that does not get used and is not fit for purpose for the people of this region.
"So what for? It's disgusting.
"We've struggled with training facilities, playing facilities, everything in this region. But now we are competing on the national stage, and there is a stadium there that's been used, what, five times a year.
"They've got full-time staff. Full-time groundsman to do what? Manicure the back garden that doesn't get used. It's disgusting.
"The players, the club, and the people of the region deserve to be able to have access to this stadium at a reasonable cost.
"We're not saying give it to us for free. We're saying give this to us at a reasonable cost and allow people to enjoy the game and the iconic stadium that is here for the region's use."
The Illawarra Mercury reached out to Venues NSW earlier in the week for comment on the Wolves' request, as well as the concerns from Football South Coast (FSC).
The crisis extends to grassroots football, with Football South Coast (FSC) also reviewing whether to move its Men's and Women's Premier League Grand Final weekend away from the Wollongong seaside stadium due to similar cost pressures.
FSC would not comment on this, only to say it was currently reviewing its finals arrangements.
But it's believed that, like the Wolves, they're being priced out of playing at Wollongong's premier sports stadium.
"We're currently in discussions with Football South Coast to host its upcoming grand final weekend at WIN Stadium," a Venues NSW spokesperson said.
"As the region's premier venue, it offers a fitting stage for this two-day event, showcasing the Illawarra's top football talent and rewarding teams for a successful season.
"We're also finalising negotiations with the Wollongong Wolves to host Australian Championship matches at WIN Stadium.
"While there are certain hard costs to host events at the stadium, playing at WIN Stadium provides Football South Coast and the Wollongong Wolves with significant opportunities to generate stronger commercial returns than at alternate venues."
This is a view not shared by the Wollongong Wolves, who are running out of time to secure a ground for the Australian Championships starting on October 16.
The Wolves were given an extension after missing Football Australia's initial Monday, August 17 deadline to nominate their home ground for the championships.
Wollongong Wolves football operations manager Susan Gatt said time was running out.
"As things stand, it's just not financially viable for us to play our championship games at WIN Stadium. Hopefully Venues NSW and others come to the party and make it viable for us because these players and our region deserve to see the Wolves playing at our iconic WIN Stadium," Gatt said.
long time between drinks my friend but having been relegated you got the NPL2 title 2017 - must have been like winning the golden trillions WC lottery that one 
