The WACA decided to go their own way, and had plans to re-develop the WACA Ground, on the basis of property development that fell through. That meant that Burswood had to be pitched as a multi-purpose stadium to be able to support it being built. .
Cricket could have been an anchor tenant and manager the way cricket and footy are in Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Sydney. Instead, cricket and footy thumbed their noses at Burswood, and now we'll end up with a stadium like Stadium Australia - a jack of all codes, master of none. The land around and including the WACA Ground wasn't considered as part of the location for the new stadium, because the WACA wouldn't agree to it.
In the meantime, the WACA's facilities became so degraded it basically lost Test status, and now has become an afterthought at Burswood. I dare say if cricket has been at the forefront, they might have chosen a venue with less exposure to undulating turf.
