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Queensland is lobbying to host the 2028 NRL grand final should a scheduling clash force Sydney to drop the marquee event, Premier David Crisafulli has revealed.
This masthead revealed last week a planned address by the Pope on the same day in the NSW capital could raise significant logistical challenges.
It prompted Western Australia Premier Roger Cook to announce his state was prepared to make a bid for the Grand Final, after securing its first NRL team the Perth Bears.
Asked on Monday if Queensland would also appeal for hosting rights, Crisafulli said: “We might even be talking about it already.
“I’m not sure WA is rugby league heartland just quite yet. I know they’re working on it and the Bears will be a great addition, but I reckon Queensland might be a better location.”
Sydney has hosted the NRL grand final every year except 2021, when it was moved to Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium due to COVID restrictions.
Major upgrades are planned at that venue ahead of next year’s Rugby World Cup, with new screens and 1000 new seats set to be installed.
“When you have big events like that, they should be in places where there’s a great vibe and a great buzz,” Crisafulli added.
“By ’28 you’re going to have a Suncorp that looks and feels like a modern venue and will be the best rectangular stadium in the … Southern Hemisphere.
“They’re the sort of things that we put on the table to incentivise those decisions … I think it would make complete sense for the NRL to choose Queensland and we will continue to put that case forward.”
The Pope’s 2028 public address in Sydney is likely to take place at Royal Randwick Racecourse, while the NRL grand final is played further west at Accor Stadium in the Olympic precinct.
However, questions have been raised about the pressure hosting both events within a few hours of each other would place on public transport, police and other resources.
Crisafulli added he’d spoken to NRL chairman Peter V’landys about a range of matters as part of Magic Round negotiations.
Asked about the scheduling clash at an event in Western Australia, V’landys said he had a “sense of loyalty” to the NSW Premier Chris Minns, but the NRL had to make contingencies.
“It’s going to be hard, but as a business, we have to look at every option. [Perth] is an option,” he said.
He added the NFL’s Super Bowl model, where the event is held in various cities from year to year as a travelling showcase, could be considered in the future.
“If you take a grand final to a certain city, the two teams that are in it, those fans will follow,” V’landys said.
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