The Queensland government has reportedly launched an audacious bid to steal the NRL grand final from Sydney as early as this year.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports Australian Rugby League Committee chairman Peter V’landys has “sought an urgent meeting with NSW premier Dominic Perrottet”.
Queensland powerbrokers are apparently willing to fork out upwards of $10 million a year to host the season decider.
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Suncorp Stadium hosted last year’s grand final between Penrith and South Sydney thanks to the NSW COVID-19 situation forcing the entire NRL to relocate north.
https://twitter.com/9NewsSyd/status/1518875808269541377?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The sunshine state now wants to host “multiple” grand finals over the next decade, according to journalist Michael Chammas.
The NRL and NSW government had a deal in place stating Sydney would host the grand final until 2042, but that contract was voided when the government failed to uphold a key part of the bargain.
They were supposed to redevelop Stadium Australia into a first-class NRL facility, but that has not happened.
The NRL wants the government to redirect those funds now to upgrading suburban grounds.
Chammas also says the NRL is considering putting the grand final out to tender and selling it to the highest bidder – whether it be Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Canberra, Auckland, or any other major city.
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