Origin match in Auckland still on the cards

A State of Origin match could be staged in Auckland by 2020.

The NRL’s showpiece series is being moved around Australia over the next few years, with Melbourne to host a match in 2018 before a game is held at the new Perth stadium the following year.

Interest in the event is greater than ever, with record television ratings across Australia for last week’s series decider, which featured the usual mix of compelling storylines and top drawer action.

Auckland Council’s events arm Ateed has long been interested in pitching for an interstate game, which would draw thousands of Australians from across the Tasman.

Ateed have built a strong relationship with the NRL, especially over the course of hosting the Nines for the past four years.

Auckland faces strong competition from several Australian cities, but is “definitely a possibility”, according to senior Ateed officials.

The stumbling block is the stringent conditions around the use of Eden Park. The match would have to kick off after 10pm to suit Australian broadcasters, which would mean the event, including post-game activity, would stretch past midnight.

However, the NRL have indicated they will look at stand-alone Origin weekend matches in the future, which would strengthen Auckland’s prospects, as it would be easier to gain a one-off resource consent for a Saturday or Sunday night.

The other positive in Auckland’s favour is the impending redevelopment works at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium from 2019 onwards, which are expected to take up to four years.

During that time the NRL grand final will be hosted outside New South Wales, and the NRL is also unlikely to stage Origins at Sydney’s biggest stadium.

“As a sport, we are not particularly interested to play inside a construction zone,” NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg told Australian media earlier this year. “One, for commercial and capacity reasons but two, I saw what happened in 2001-03 when it was under reconfiguration [after the Sydney Olympics] and it’s a tough place for fans to come and enjoy big events.”