Canberra CEO says NRL clubs may face ruin

Canberra Raiders CEO David Furner fears for the financial future of NRL clubs, who he says will face a million-dollar hit if the crowd shut-out due to the coronavirus crisis stretches beyond a few weeks.

‘‘If we were having a home ground next week with zero crowd that’s a massive drop,’’ he said yesterday.

‘‘We’ve got the Dragons in two weeks and that’s a really big draw for us so it’s going to be financially troubling.’’

He said with no ticket sales, refunds to season ticket-holders and corporate hospitality, they would be in the red up to $400,000 a game. ‘‘If we have no crowds for one game, no crowds for another game – all of a sudden it’s up to a million bucks roughly,’’ Furner said.

He said that club bosses had been in ongoing crisis talks with the NRL about assistance packages, but couldn’t see how that could stretch to 16 clubs if the entire season was called off.

Meanwhile, Raiders coach Ricky Stuart earlier said they might host the Warriors at an empty stadium in Canberra next week, rather than play at Eden Park in the Codes of Auckland double-header.

The Raiders are supposed to be playing the Warriors on Saturday, followed by the Blues taking on the Brumbies in an Auckland v Canberra doubleheader. However, that was all thrown into doubt on Friday night when NRL CEO Todd Greenberg announced that from round two, all games must be played behind closed doors because of the pandemic.

The tough new travel laws announced by New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern last night also threatened to impact hugely on the Warriors’ season. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison had earlier banned public gatherings of more than 500 people and also advised Australians not to travel overseas unless it is essential.

The NRL appears desperate for games to continue to be played, so it continues getting the money from TV rights.

‘‘It’s an unusual landscape so we’ll have to wait and see,’’ Stuart said. ‘‘We could be playing New Zealand here [Canberra] or we could be playing in front of nobody.

‘‘It’s something we’ll bunker down with this week and prepare to play in front of whatever occurs.’’

It would be a logistical nightmare if the Warriors v Raiders game is moved to Australia, while the Blues against the Brumbies remains at Eden Park.

Earlier, North Queensland captain Michael Morgan called on the NRL to postpone the campaign.

‘‘If we have no crowds for one game, no crowds for another game – all of a sudden it’s up to a million bucks roughly.’’ Raiders CEO David Furner

AAP