The NRL is again threatening to take the grand final to Queensland amid fears several Sydney suburban stadiums will not be upgraded.
A decision must be made on the grand final venue this week in order to release tickets, with the NRL yet to commit to Sydney due to a stoush with the state government over stadiums.
At the heart of the issue remains the upgrading of a number of suburban grounds, after money initially meant to be spent on the rebuild of Accor Stadium at Olympic Park was reallocated.
The NRL initially signed a contract with the state government in 2018 to keep the grand final in Sydney until 2042, conditional upon the $800 million Accor Stadium rebuild.
When that was put off during COVID-19 the deal was technically null-and-void, with the NRL hopeful a significant amount of the money would be switched to suburban refurbishments.
A $300 million commitment to the new Penrith stadium has already been made, but there was nothing in the 2022 budget regarding the rebuild of other grounds.
League bosses left meetings with the government in April believing a deal had been struck, and that venues such as Brookvale Oval, Leichhardt and Shark Park would benefit.
But there is now concern that won't be the case, with key powerbrokers at the NRL believing the NSW Government has backflipped on them.
League bosses spent Tuesday awaiting a resolution from premier Dominic Perrottet, and confirmation on what money would be allocated and where.
But sports minister Stuart Ayres has indicated that any plans for redevelopments may need to wait, with funding limited.
"We know that we've always got limitations on what we can do," Ayres said on Tuesday.
"We're continuing our engagement with the NRL, we want to be able to upgrade suburban infrastructure, but we want to be able to do that when the fiscal capacity of the state allows for it.
"Let's recognise we've just been through some of the most significant floods and consistent flooding over the last couple of years.
"So there are lots of costs that are associated with it."
Ayres' comments came as the NSW opposition expressed fears that the government had backflipped on ARL Commission chairman Peter V'landys.
But the minister pointed to fact that money had been spent on centres of excellence for Manly and Wests Tigers recently, as well as the Parramatta and Moore Park stadium redevelopments.
He also said money had been reallocated to the health response for COVID-19 when the Accor Stadium rebuild was put off in 2020.
"If the NRL took the grand final away from Sydney after the NSW government has spent in excess of $1.5 billion on sporting infrastructure ... That would be an extraordinary move," Ayres said.
"I'm very confident that the NRL will keep the grand final here in NSW. They know what's the right thing to do."
Brisbane hosted its first grand final last year due to Sydney's COVID lockdown, and the Queensland government has long been keen to lure the event north.
