The Hordern Pavilion will remain a live music venue but the Sydney Swans will take over the Royal Hall of Industries, in a $65 million revamp of the old showground site at Moore Park's sports and entertainment precinct.
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The state government will set aside $20 million to transform the two historic buildings, following speculation both sites would be turned over to private use and sporting groups.
Instead, the music concert venue at the Entertainment Quarter in Sydney's east will undergo a major renovation to protect its heritage and enable it to host a wider variety of events and performances.
But the adjacent Royal Hall of Industries will be used by the Sydney Swans for its headquarters and a community centre, after the AFL club outgrew its nearby SCG offices.
The building will house the Sydney Swans Academy, the NSW Swifts Netball Club and the future Sydney Swans AFL Women’s Team.
A cafe, museum, event and recreation space will be for public use.
The Clontarf Foundation and GO Foundation, for Indigenous education, and an Australian Red Cross Blood Service donation centre will also move into the building.
The new outdoor area between the buildings will connect to the Moore Park light-rail stop, creating an entrance to the Entertainment Quarter.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Friday the pavilion and hall held "a special place in the hearts of Sydneysiders".
“This exciting new project will create a vibrant community place that respects the great cultural, architectural and heritage significance of these iconic venues.”
Local Government Minister Gabrielle Upton said: “Attending concerts at the Hordern holds a special place in the memories of so many Sydneysiders and visitors, so it’s very pleasing to see that the future of this live music
venue is now secured.”
Sports Minister Stuart Ayres said the project "ensures long-term public access to the precinct, and balances the needs of the community, live entertainment and sport".
Uncertainty over future use of the buildings had prompted Sydney lord mayor Clover Moore to raise concerns the Hordern could also be turned into offices for sporting groups. She feared the area would no longer be available for the Mardi Gras after-party.
But the government said both buildings would remain available for events, including Mardi Gras.
Playbill Venue Management and the Sydney Swans formed a partnership to lease the buildings after the Centennial and Moore Park Trust last year put out a tender for the use of the site.
Playbill managing director Michael Nebenzahl said preservation of the concert venue for musicians was "a victory for Australia’s live entertainment scene".
The Hordern Pavilion opened in the 1920s and has attracted a flood of high-profile music acts including Coldplay, Elton John and INXS.
The Royal Hall of Industries was once the showbag pavilion for the Royal Easter Show, until the event moved to Homebush.
Sydney Swans chief executive Andrew Ireland said the club wanted to establish a "world-class facility that will enable our football club to grow".
Work on the new precinct is expected to start by the middle of 2019, as the government forges ahead with its controversial plan to knock down and replace nearby Allianz Stadium.
The government said it hoped to have the demolition approved by November.
Separately, an attempt by the SCG Trust to use new and heritage buildings for activities dislocated by the stadium revamp triggered criticism from local politicians.
Cr Moore and Sydney MP Alex Greenwich said the uses would be at odds with the intention that land around the old showgrounds be used for public and entertainment purposes.
