This theatre was meant to cost $188 million. The real price is almost double

The redevelopment of western Sydney’s main performance space, the Riverside Theatres, has blown out to nearly double its original cost, forcing councillors to consider scaling down the project.

In 2024, the City of Parramatta costed the transformation of the beloved, ageing Riverside Theatres into a world-class complex at $188 million, including a new 1500-seat Broadway-style theatre, a 325-seat black box theatre and a smaller cinema. But tender applications have returned to the council with a price tag of $355 million, according to three sources.

The blowout follows warnings from the state’s audit office, revealed by this masthead, about the “extreme risk” associated with the plan. It forces councillors to discuss how to reduce the cost of the build. Options include using cheaper materials and removing the planned black box theatre, the cinema and the rehearsal spaces, which are considered critical for the local performing arts sector.

No decisions have been made, and the city’s Lord Mayor Martin Zaiter, a Liberal, said the “project of scale and ambition” would be subject to “robust project controls and regular reporting to ensure transparency and accountability”.

“We know our community want a world-class theatre in the heart of our CBD. Council is committed to delivering a project that meets those expectations within available resources,” he said.

The cost blowout marks the latest challenge the City of Parramatta has faced in redeveloping the 37-year-old precinct, the key problem being a lack of cash. The federal government has not yet responded to requests for funding for the site, and by the time the council agreed in July to fill the $93 million funding gap through a mix of philanthropy and use of its capital reserves, the cost of the project had already ballooned to $276 million.

The current Riverside Theatres precinct.Credit: City of Parramatta

The $355 million cost includes plans for new pathways and gardens along the river, opening up a mostly unused section of the waterway along a fast-growing northern edge of the CBD.

The council has also changed the way it manages interest on money allocated to the project, diverting interest earned on the project’s funds from the council’s main account into the project, resulting in increased cash.

The council is still waiting on a response to its February bid for $50 million from the federal government’s Urban Precincts and Partnerships program.

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State arts funding agency Create NSW is spending $915 million on the Powerhouse Museum development down the river but it has not indicated plans for any financial support for Riverside.

One Parramatta performing arts administrator associated with the project and not allowed to speak publicly said the “unequal funding situation risks history repeating itself”, referring to a gravel courtyard left unimproved for decades due to funding shortfalls.

“Either we have a fully realised vision for western Sydney’s growth or another truncated compromise. It’s in the hands of federal, state and local governments on that count.”

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