This year’s NRL grand final will be played in New South Wales after the Australian Rugby League Commission confirmed October’s showpiece event will be held at Sydney’s Accor Stadium.
But the long-term location of the match remains uncertain, with ARLC chair, Peter V’landys, touting a Super Bowl-style concept, where the game could be taken around the country to the highest bidder.
The NSW government’s final pitch to host this year’s game on 2 October, was accepted by the commission on Thursday, despite the premier, Dominic Perrottet, admitting his state’s offer did not match that of Queensland.
“After extensive negotiations we have made a decision which we believe is in the best interests of our fans and that is to hold the game in Sydney this year,” V’landys said.
V’landys confirmed that the NSW government’s additional investment – believed to have been in the region of $8m – is for one year only, and that “all options remain open from 2023”.
“It is not for the long term,” he said. “Negotiations will recommence for future grand finals. We were hoping we would have an exclusive arrangement with the New South Wales government. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. It opens the door for a Super Bowl-type concept or, who can give us the best deal for the game.”
The interstate battle for hosting rights was a close-run thing, and V’landys revealed Queensland had been in pole position late Wednesday evening.
Crucially though, Queensland remains in the frame to host future grand finals.
“It’s got to the situation now where out of negative is a positive,” V’landys said.
“And the positive here is we have four clubs in Queensland. If you look at it pro-rata, one in every four years should be in Queensland, by rights.”
The long-awaited announcement ends four months of uncertainty, during which the NSW government and the league have been at odds, after Gladys Berejiklian’s administration went back on a promise to upgrade the Olympic stadium at Homebush – now called Accor Stadium.
The NRL wanted those funds to be reallocated to the upgrade of several suburban grounds – and appeared to use the location of future grand finals as a high-value bargaining chip.
But Perrottet confirmed two weeks ago that suburban stadiums were no longer a priority for his state government, with money for flood relief funds instead taking precedence – a stance that does not sit well with the NRL.
“Enough is enough when you honour your deal,” V’landys said. “We don’t want to be pitted against the flood victims. I think that’s not appropriate. We’re the first ones that want to help the flood victims.
“The NSW government has $123bn infrastructure spend. Our [deal] was $300m. It’s hardly a drop in the bucket. It’s not even a rounding error. So to say that they needed it for the flood victims is a little bit rich.”
Without a green light for the suburban upgrades, the initial deal to host in Sydney until 2042 is effectively dead and the stand-off opened the door to Queensland, after last year’s grand final between Penrith and South Sydney was switched to Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium due to the Covid-19 lockdown in NSW.
But Perrottet said Thursday’s decision was “the right outcome for rugby league”.
“NSW has always been the home of rugby league and our government has made record investments in the sport,” he said. “We’ve invested more than $1.5bn in all levels of the game, from grassroots, to funding for regional content, to the very best purpose-built rugby league infrastructure in the world.”
The grand final is traditionally played in Sydney, the game’s heartland where the majority of NRL clubs are based, and where every grand final since 1908 had been held before Brisbane had its moment in the spotlight last year.
Queensland’s capital also hosted the one-off Super League grand final in 1997, but otherwise Sydney has managed to maintain a tight hold on the game for over a century.
