"If it wasn't for the Wanderers, a new stadium wouldn't be being built," Western Sydney Wanderers chief executive John Tsatsimas declared ahead of his club's clash with Adelaide United in Sunday's A-League grand final.
The Wanderers are hell-bent on presenting their history at their new home having become arguably the biggest and most adorned sporting club in Sydney's west, they feel they have a legitimate claim to do so.
A win on Sunday will go a long way to creating the identity of the new ground by being reflected in the stadium's decor.
"Everything we do in football is its history, whether it's Wanderers or western Sydney, we're importing it into our DNA. What we do now is take our previous four years with us and last night captured in a nutshell four years of playing in Parramatta," Tsatsimas said.
So what would that look like? Stadium designs are yet to be completed, though the club's successes and moments to remember will form part of their new home.
One proposal put forward involves LED light screens around the stadium - similar to that of Allianz Arena in Munich. That would give the club a great opportunity to make Parramatta feel like a permanent Wanderers home.
Images of iconic players and footage of triumphs could be broadcast across the exterior and interior of the ground. A potential match-winner on Sunday could form part of the club's long-term identity.
It took Ray Price four rugby league titles to be immortalised outside Parramatta Stadium in bronze. The question is, how many will it take for the Wanderers to have a statue of their own outside the new stadium?
An A-League triumph could go a long way to making the strongest possible statement that the new Parramatta Stadium is as much their home as the Eels'.
Would it be Tony Popovic? Nikolai Topor-Stanley or maybe Brendon Santalab? We'll see, but that remains a long way off.
More pressing is getting safe-standing seats approved for their active fans, who Tsatsimas says played a role as big as the players in leading the club to the grand final.
"Let's make no mistake, without those fans and that stadium, [the semi-final] would have been a long bow to get back in," he said.
"We want standing areas, they have to be safe and compliant but we want you to come to Parramatta and know you're coming to watch the Wanderers."
The most pressing issues
Don't underestimate the value behind of the champion's tag. It can add another zero on the end of the salary of a player once a foreign club becomes interested and make the Wanderers a more attractive employer.
Already, the Wanderers have received a flurry of offers for key players this season, all of which were turned down or broke down before contract negotiations. The club has a policy of not selling players mid-season, allowing them to move only during the off-season.
Mitch Nichols and Mark Bridge had moves to Asia blocked, while scouts from Beijing Guoan travelled to watch two games of Nikolai Topor-Stanley over the summer with instructions to break the A-League transfer record for the experienced defender.
With an A-League winner's medal around their neck come Sunday, those three could again become some of the many Wanderers' on the shopping lists of clubs abroad at the end of the season.
Sources suggest the Chinese market remains interested in signing Australian players and a football economy that is excited as much about status as it is ability, the lure of signing a champion player could prove too strong to resist.
Then there are those coming off contract. Spaniards Andreu and Alberto Aguilar are yet to re-sign despite being offered improved deals. Romeo Castelen's hat-trick last week upped his value and another performance like that on Sunday could see the Dutchman in demand.
Merchandise
The Wanderers are already selling grand final T-shirts commemorating their third decider in just four years of existence and should it prove third time lucky, champions memorabilia will be quickly snapped up.
Jerseys sales are strong too, however, centralised revenue under the A-League means that the profits the Wanderers enjoy will also be shared by the FFA.
Under the current licencing deal, club's do not receive the same revenue streams from merchandising in the A-League as those abroad, so while their kit remains a popular item on the streets of western Sydney, it might not be enough to their margins from the red to the black.
Memberships
If there's an area the club will find the most benefits in from an A-League title it's members. This season the club sold 18,363 season tickets and had a waiting list of about 2000.
Their relocation to Olympic Park will give the club an opportunity to expand that with a bigger venue, with sources suggesting a minimum of 20,000 memberships could be sold.
The Wanderers will play primarily at Spotless Stadium as well as hosting major games at the 83,000 capacity ANZ Stadium, giving the club an opportunity to test football attendance records.
