Rep showpiece a stadium ‘ option’
THE NRL will have to be convinced that money is not the only thing that matters in State of Origin scheduling if Townsville is to host a game in its new stadium.
The QRL and State Government are likely to have to play a patient game in winning over the NRL to the idea of taking Origin to Townsville’s 25,000- seat stadium, which is scheduled to open in 2020.
Major Events Minister Kate Jones said in the meantime she would continue negotiations with the NRL later this month about bringing an NRL grand final to Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium.
A Test match for Townsville in 2020 is the more likely first showcase representative game at the new CBD Stadium, although the NRL said last night that it “would not rule out any venue’’.
Queensland Rugby League chairman Bruce Hatcher said on Monday that the QRL would support Townsville hosting an Origin game as early as 2020 despite Melbourne and Perth offering stadiums providing better financial returns to the NRL.
The NRL says it is unable to schedule Origin games or grand finals beyond 2019, or say whether the 2020 NRL grand final will be at Suncorp Stadium, because it is yet to be told how long ANZ Stadium in Sydney will be subject to a major renovation.
“When we have that sched- ule we will be in a position to determine how many games we can take to other venues during the construction period,” an NRL spokesman said.
“In the meantime, we are talking with governments around Australia and New Zealand about the best place to take Origin while ANZ is being rebuilt. We would not rule out any venue but clearly the capacity of the stadium is one criteria we will take into account when we determine the best place to stage Origin.”
Jones called on the NSW Government to lay out time frames for construction at the Homebush venue, which may be out of action for as many as four years.
“Until we know if one or two years are available due to the construction work, we don’t have any clarity,’’ said Jones, who insisted the Government is “committed’’ to securing an NRL grand final which would require a multimillion dollar hire fee.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she wanted to see “all the options on the table’’ on whether a Townsville Origin match would be financially viable for the NRL.
“I’d rather have it in Townsville than Melbourne,’’ she said.