The controversial rebuild of Allianz Stadium has hit another hurdle, with the NSW government returning to tender after a dispute with contractor Lendlease over the project’s budget.

Lendlease was slated to rebuild the venue after completing the first stage demolition of the stadium. Infrastructure NSW inked the initial contract with Lendlease in 2017.

Sports minister John Sidoti said that Lendlease was not able to meet the projected $729 million budget to rebuild the Sydney Football Stadium at Moore Park.

“Lendlease’s stage two offer did not meet the government’s expectations so we are looking for another builder in a competitive market,” Sidoti said on Friday.

Lendlease remained tight-lipped on the details of the contract but said it was “pleased” to have partnered with Infrastructure NSW on the first stage of the Sydney Football Stadium redevelopment.

“Building social infrastructure in partnership with government is a source of pride for Lendlease and we look forward to supporting future projects.”

Sports minister Sidoti told the ABC on Friday that the government was “showing leadership” in moving forward without Lendlease and negotiations were already under way with other builders.

“There’s a lot of competitive tension in the industry at the moment. There’s a lot of interest being shown.”

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Sports minister Sidoti told the ABC on Friday that the government was “showing leadership” in moving forward without Lendlease and negotiations were already under way with other builders.

“There’s a lot of competitive tension in the industry at the moment. There’s a lot of interest being shown.”

The government is keen to keep costs from blowing out after its expensive $2 billion-plus stadium plans for Moore Park and ANZ were heavily-criticised in the lead up to the March election.

“The [Moore Park] stadium was always going to cost more,” opposition sports minister Linda Voltz told the ABC.

“We said that from the start. They originally had a billion-dollar price tag on this stadium.”

The government has also played down concerns that the $810 million reconfiguration of Stadium Australia was on the back burner after no mention was made of it in the 2019-20 state budget.