In a coup for the Woodies, the club yesterday announced that they had received a $30 million grant from the New South Wales Government to build the new Wood Dome stadium at Eastwood.

In a small ceremony at the current home of the Woodies in Eastwood, NSW Premier Kristina Keneally, along with NSW Planning Minister Tony Kelly, presented the president of the Woodies with a novelty cheque for $30 million and unveiled the design for the new stadium.

The new 11,000 seat state-of-the-art stadium will be built on an old brick pit along Mobbs lane in Eastwood. The main attraction of the stadium will be a 30 metre high 'Woody' made out of solid brass, located at the southern end of the stadium. The structure is a tribute to the club's notorious mascot, Captain Pecker. Whenever the home side hit the back of the net, The Captain will voice his approval by ejaculating colourful fireworks into the sky. This is sure to excite the crowd inside the ground, and draw plenty of attention from the locals outside.

The design, for which there were twelve international bidders, was finally won by an Australian company from Melbourne. “The guys from Melbourne got the nod from us. They knew exactly what we wanted in the design. They did the hard yards against some stiff opposition and in the end they got in all the features we wanted”, Woodies spokesperson Phil Jones commented.

The new stadium is due to start construction mid February 2010 and will open for the first match of the Woodies 2011 season.

The New Wood Dome Stadium due for completion early 2011.