The Queensland Government has reportedly launched a bid to host the NRL Grand Final as early as 2022.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald’s Michael Chammas, the Queensland Government is willing to spend north of $10 million per year to host the decider in Brisbane.
Responding to the report, SEN host Andrew Voss added that the NRL’s current deal with the NSW Government no longer stands due to the state not holding up their end of the bargain with touted renovations to Accor Stadium.
“Michael Chammas reporting in the Herald that Peter V’Landys has sought an urgent meeting with the NSW Premier after the Queensland Government launched a multi-million dollar bid to steal the Grand Final away from Sydney as early as this year,” Voss said on *SEN 1170 Breakfast.
“I would’ve thought this year was locked in, this year’s Grand Final stolen? That really would be a steal.
“According to the Herald, the Queensland Government is willing to spend more than $10 million per year to take the game north of the border.
“They got it last year due to the COVID situation, but the NRL previously struck a deal with the NSW Government to keep the Grand Final in Sydney until 2042, but that agreement no longer stands after the Government failed to deliver on its promise to turn Accor Stadium into a rectangular facility.”
While NSW Premier Dominic Perrotet has responded to the report stating that the game won’t be moving, Voss says the league is right to chase the money – as long as the game doesn’t go to a non-rugby league stronghold.
“All bets are off, but Premier Dominic Perrotet has claimed that the Grand Final isn’t going anywhere,” Voss said.
“I don’t know who you can say that, I think the league is right to say, ‘Show us the money’.
“Brisbane has shown they can put on a good Grand Final and put on a good event, so I’m not totally against it.
“I’m not for throwing it out to tender for Perth or Adelaide or Melbourne getting the Grand Final, but in the two rugby league strongholds in Queensland and New South Wales, I’m not so adamant that it has to be Sydney all the time.”
The report states that Queensland want to host ‘multiple’ Grand Finals over the next decade.