Subi stands may survive in oval revamp

Some stands at Subiaco Oval could be kept as part of the inner-city college and community sporting ground planned for the area.

Planning Minister Rita Saffioti said the school would form part of a wider transformation of Subiaco, with works in planning for the oval and the old Princess Margaret Hospital site.

She said demolition works at the oval would be finished before the first Year 7 students started in 2020.

“We are looking at whether we keep some of the seats and some of the stands, but it would not be a significant stand,” Ms Saffioti said.

“It is just a matter of which ones we keep, if we keep any.

“I suspect by the end of this year and early next year demolition will start.”

Education Minister Sue Ellery said with construction work under way at the school the time frame would still be achieved.

She also dismissed concerns about potential traffic congestion at the college, highlighting its closeness to train stations and a push for staff and students to catch public transport to the school.

College principal John Burke said he had started building the school’s teaching program as well as designing the “modern” environment that students would study in.