Australian Rugby League Commission boss Peter V’landys has confirmed he’ll take the NRL grand final out of Sydney unless the NSW government honours a promise to fund upgrades to suburban grounds.
V’landys said the NSW government “wouldn’t know an event if they tripped over it” and stated “the grand final is up for grabs.”
Those comments came ahead of meetings with sports minister Stuart Ayres and premier Dominic Perrottet, with the ARLC insisting that money originally earmarked for the upgrade of Accor Stadium be spent on suburban grounds.
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“We just want our suburban stadiums in New South Wales,” V’landys told Nine’s Today.
“We want those promises honoured by the NSW government, and if they don’t, we’ll take it (the grand final) elsewhere.
“We had a deal. The deal was they would spend $800 million on stadiums, but rather than spending it on Accor Stadium, we wanted it spent on suburban stadiums.
“The government … is just so slow to move. We want ink on the paper, we want it in writing, and until we get that, the grand final is up for grabs.”
V’landys took a shot at Ayres, who yesterday said that if the NRL grand final was moved to Brisbane, then V’landys “probably should move up there, too.”
“What I’ve said to him was that I’d have to if I want to see a major event,” V’landys said.
“I’d have to go to Queensland, or live in Melbourne, god help me.
“That’s where we’re at in NSW. We don’t have events, they wouldn’t know an event if they tripped over it.
“It’s about time they started doing things, rather than asking their residents to leave the state to go and see events.”
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The Queensland government is reportedly ready to offer $10m per year to host the grand final, looking to secure the match on multiple occasions over the next decade.
“You only have to look at the other states and how much they’re investing in events,” V’landys said.
“The NSW government has got an event on its doorstep and it can’t even get that.
“You see Victoria picking up all these events that are contributing tens of millions of dollars to their local community, you see the Olympic Games go to Brisbane, and what’s NSW doing? Looking to get the world marbles championship.
“We need to start getting events.”
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