Instead of demolishing Stadium Australia and rebuilding, the government of New South Wales has settled on a plan to renovate the structure originally constructed to serve the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics.

The original plan to replace the Olympic Stadium would have cost AU$2 Billion, which sparked a public outcry.  Remodeling will shave a half billion dollars off of that price tag.

"We've listened to the community, we know the public would have thought that is too much to spend," said NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.  She says the new plan will involve redesigning about "two thirds" of the Olympic Stadium, which will now lose the oval design that came from the 2001-2003 reconfiguration.

"This will change the atmosphere of the entire stadium," said Ms. Berejiklian.  "But importantly it will provide a rectangular stadium with fans closer to the action.  That is what is required for a world-class stadium."

But the NSW opposition says the reduced price tag is still too high when schools and hospitals need funding, which is where Opposition Leader Luke Foley says he'd invest if Labor comes into power in elections a year from now.