NSW hasn’t agreed to $800m NRL grand final deal yet, Premier says
The NSW Premier has said holding the NRL grand final in Sydney is “non-negotiable”- but admitted the government has yet to sign anything to formally ink the proposed $800m deal.
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The NRL grand final being held in Sydney is “non-negotiable”, but Premier Dominic Perrottet has insisted no deal has yet been struck which would see $800m pumped into four suburban rugby league grounds.
Mr Perrottet wouldn’t confirm when the deal would be signed off on, despite the Daily Telegraph revealing today an agreement had been struck between the Premier and Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys over the upgrades.
Earlier this week Mr Perrottet accused the NRL boss of “circus and theatre” for threatening to take the grand final to Queensland if the suburban stadiums deal was not inked quickly.
But Mr Perrottet indicated on Thursday it was unlikely an announcement would be made ahead of next month’s budget.
“The government has not made a decision. As I’ve said, I met with Peter V’landys last week and we had a robust discussion in relation to how we’ll move forward. We obviously have said the grand final will remain non-negotiable. He knows that. I know that it’s not going anywhere,” he said.
“We’ve said to that we’ll work through the process and we’ll work through those speakers as part of the budget process and the Expenditure Review Committee has already started meeting in relation to the budget.”
The $800m has already been set aside but its allocation has been brought into question by calls for some of it to be used to put a retractable roof on Accor Stadium.
The roof would weatherproof the stadium for live concerts and improve Sydney’s chances of hosting the 2027 Rugby World Cup final.
“It was a very robust meeting and both sides walked away unhappy, which probably means it was a good deal for everyone,” Mr V’landys told The Daily Telegraph as revealed on Thursday.
That deal was to deliver at least four upgraded suburban stadiums with Brookvale Oval, Leichhardt Oval, and Shark Park in Cronulla expected to be upgraded and work on a new stadium at Penrith due to begin in early 2023.
It’s understood the deal won’t be announced until it has been rubber stamped by cabinet.
The Daily Telegraph revealed today that Premier Dominic Perrottet and Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys shook hands on the deal after a “robust” meeting last week.
But government sources confirmed there can be no official announcement of the $800 million spend until it has been rubber stamped by the NSW cabinet.
“It was a very robust meeting and both sides walked away unhappy, which probably means it was a good deal for everyone,” Mr V’landys told The Daily Telegraph.
This week Mr Perrottet accused the NRL boss of “circus and theatre” in threatening to take the grand final to Queensland if the suburban stadiums deal was not inked quickly.
On Wednesday Mr V’landys hit back saying: “Dominic Perrottet should know all about circuses considering he runs one in Macquarie Street.
“However, in saying that I have full confidence in him delivering the agreement that we have and have always had with the government on suburban stadiums.”
That deal was to deliver at least four upgraded suburban stadiums with Brookvale Oval, Leichhardt Oval, and Shark Park in Cronulla expected to be upgraded and work on an already announced new stadium at Penrith due to begin in early 2023.
If the deal is rubber stamped the NRL grand final will stay in Sydney. “We honour our promises,” Mr V’landys said.
He has been a passionate advocate for suburban stadiums being “community assets that are part of the suburb and owned by the suburb. The narcs that want to portray them as just for rugby league are wrong.”
The $800 million has already been set aside but its allocation has been brought into question by calls for some of it to be used to put a retractable roof on Accor Stadium. The roof would weatherproof the stadium for live concerts and improve Sydney’s chances of hosting the 2027 Rugby World Cup final and 2034 FIFA World Cup.
Mr V’landys said: “It is good to have the minor sports coming out about Accor Stadium as we have no problem with any expenditure at Accor – that’s a decision for the government not the NRL.”
But he insists it should not be at the cost of the suburban grounds. “We had a deal. The deal was they would spend $800 million on stadiums, but rather than spending it on Accor Stadium, we wanted it spent on suburban stadiums,” he said last week.
“The government … is just so slow to move. We want ink on the paper, we want it in writing, and until we get that, the grand final is up for grabs.”
Mr Perrottet said this week: “Last week was just Peter V’landys circus and theatre. That’s what it was. We have an agreement, he knows where we’re going, the grand final is staying and we have said we’d work through suburban stadiums.”
Government sources have told The Daily Telegraph that “there was a constructive discussion on Friday but nothing has been signed. The agreement has to go through cabinet for approval.”
NSW Sports Minister Stuart Ayres virtually confirmed the deal on Triple M yesterday saying: “We entered into an agreement with the NRL to make sure that we upgraded our stadium infrastructure and as part of that we will have the grand final here for a long time.
“There’s no doubt that there’s a good opportunity for us to upgrade some of the suburban grounds but we want to make sure that we get the mix right and allow teams to play in the venues that best suit them.”
Originally published as NSW hasn’t agreed to $800m NRL grand final deal yet, Premier says
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