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ARL Commission chairman Peter V'landys is adamant that a new stadium at Penrith still stacks up amid the fight on further Sydney suburban ground upgrades.
Peter V'landys has demanded the NSW Government follow through on plans to deliver Penrith's new stadium as the battle over suburban grounds enters a new chapter.
The NRL and NSW Government finally brokered a ceasefire on stadiums on Thursday, with the 2022 grand final to stay in Sydney.
But beyond that, the NRL remains desperate for several suburban grounds around Sydney to be upgraded at the same time as the planned $300 million Penrith stadium rebuild.
Top of the list remain Leichhardt, Brookvale and Cronulla as community spaces, with V'landys adamant they are owed as part of a previous deal with the NSW government.
The ARL Commission chairman was also concerned on Thursday by any suggestion Penrith's stadium could be jeopardised, after former sports minister Stuart Ayres' resignation from the role earlier this month.
"That would be another broken promise and they would have to explain that to the people of Penrith," V'landys said.
"All their strategies to be fair to the NSW government have been to look at investment in Western Sydney.
"It is an investment. It is not a handout.
"I am really very positive that that stadium will be as good as CommBank (in Parramatta), and it will return on investment.
"I would be very surprised if the NSW government reneged on that because they would be reneging on good economic management."
Panthers officials told AAP they were working under the assumption the stadium was proceeding and had not been contacted regarding any change in plans.
New NSW sports minister Alister Henskens said work would go ahead at Penrith when quizzed but was coy on details.
Henskens said it was yet to be confirmed if work would take place on the site of the original Penrith Stadium or next door via the acquisition of the Paceway as the Panthers had believed.
"We are committed to the Penrith upgrade. We are not committed to how we're going to deliver that and where we're going to deliver that," Henskens said.
"Those are the issues that have been investigated and consulted on and that's something that I'll be looking at.
"All options are open other than the fact that we're sticking to our decision to make that investment."
V'landys said he had already met with NSW Labor leader Chris Minns ahead of next year's state election, after the party stated they supported premier Dominic Perrottet's call to not prioritise suburban grounds after the state's recent flood crisis.
But V'landys was confident an agreement could be reached in line with the initial 2018 stadia deal that locked the grand final into Sydney until 2042.
"You have to have a business case that you will get a return on capital. It is up to us show that the suburb will get a return just like Parramatta has (with CommBank)," V'landys said.
"We are not doing it for the sake of having a multi-use field, we are doing it because we believe it is good for that local community."
