Crowded house: Bankwest success could push Sky Blues into derby switch

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Crowded house: Bankwest success could push Sky Blues into derby switch

By Dominic Bossi
Jubilee Oval has been a hit with fans but has a limited capacity of just 20,000.

Jubilee Oval has been a hit with fans but has a limited capacity of just 20,000.Credit: AAP

The off-field success of Saturday night's Sydney A-League derby could heap pressure on Sydney FC to relocate their only home derby to Bankwest Stadium from their temporary home venue in Kogarah.

Sources close to the clubs suggest talks have taken place over a possible relocation of theFebruary 8 Sydney derby from Jubilee Oval to the new 30,000-seat Wanderers home in Parramatta to accommodate more fans.

The "housefull" sign would undoubtedly be put up at Jubilee Oval on February 8 but, with a capacity of just 20,000, there has been a push from Sydney FC to relocate the match to the Bankwest Stadium, which is controlled by Venues NSW.

The possible move is likely to be met with stiff opposition from Western Sydney Wanderers, who strongly oppose a Sydney FC incursion into their territory.

Despite the possible extra revenue from moving the game to Parramatta, Sydney FC sources informed The Herald that they will probably keep their February 8 match against Western Sydney Wanderers at Jubilee Oval at this stage.

With Sydney Football Stadium undergoing reconstruction, the Sky Blues had few alternative venues to host the derby in the middle of summer. They had previously brought derby games to the Sydney Cricket Ground,  but that stadium is unavailable for football in February as it will still have a cricket wicket in place, and ANZ Stadium hasn't proven popular among football fans due to its size and location.

Saturday night's derby is edging closer towards becoming a sell-out fixture. The last tickets were released on Tuesday. Members of Western Sydney Wanderers and Sydney FC had first option to purchase tickets when they went on sale months ago and now only a limited number are available to the general public as part of its final release.

Club sources suggest all but a handful of isolated single tickets will be sold before kick-off, potentially making Saturday's derby the first clash between Sydney FC and Western Sydney to be played in front of a full stadium since January 2017.

Meanwhile, Sydney FC's "Big Blue" against Melbourne Victory has been moved from Saturday November 16 to Sunday, November 17 to allow for players returning from international duty. The Sky Blues and Victory are set to lose several players each during the international break but should receive most back in time to play the game on a Sunday.

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