Brisbane Broncos set to move NRL games to Gabba next season amid Suncorp Stadium lockout

Brisbane Broncos are set to combat a Suncorp Stadium lockout by ending a 67-year rugby league drought at the city’s iconic venue.

The Gabba is set to host Brisbane next season. Picture: Jono Searle/AFL/Getty

The Brisbane Broncos are set to take NRL games to the Gabba next season in a bombshell move that will snap a 67-year rugby league drought at the iconic Queensland venue.

The Courier-Mail can reveal the Broncos are investigating playing up to three games at the home of the AFL’s Brisbane Lions next year.

The Broncos have been forced to move matches from their traditional Suncorp Stadium home ground due to the FIFA Women’s World Cup – which will trigger a two-month blackout of multiple stadiums around the country in July-August.

Faced with the prospect of being homeless in the middle of the NRL season, the Broncos investigated multiple venues including the club’s old home ground in Nathan - now known as Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre - and taking matches to regions like Toowoomba, Sunshine Coast and Bundaberg.

However the Gabba has emerged as the most likely suitor, allowing the Broncos to play all 12 home games in Brisbane and best serve the club’s36,000 members.

A predominantly cricket and AFL venue, the Gabba has not hosted a top flight rugby league match since a 1956 Test between Australia and New Zealand and has never witnessed an NRL fixture.

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The Gabba is set to host Brisbane next season. Picture: Jono Searle/AFL/Getty

But that is set to change in 2023 as the Broncos look at taking games to the south side of the Brisbane River and into AFL territory.

On the back of the NSW Government’s suburban ground funding backflip, the NRL is facing another stadiums crisis as it scrambles to produce a 2023 season draw.

FIFA has secured Sydney’s Allianz Stadium and Accor Stadium along with Melbourne’s AAMI Park and Suncorp exclusively for the Women’s World Cup – blocking out all other sports for a two-month period.

The lockout periods differ across venues, with Suncorp out of action from late June until late August, displacing the Broncos and expansion club the Dolphins, who on Thursday announced they will play seven home games at the Milton venue in their foundation NRL season.

While the Dolphins – who plan to launch their season against the Roosters with the inaugural Arthur Beetson Cup – can navigate the period by playing home games at Redcliffe and Sunshine Coast, Suncorp is the Broncos’ sole home ground.

The Broncos have an agreement to play 12 games-a-year at the old Lang Park, with that contract set to be altered to facilitate the Gabba move.

Sydney clubs the Roosters, Bulldogs and Rabbitohs along with the Melbourne Storm have been left scrambling to find venues and are likely to take games to regional centres.

NRL CEO Andrew Abdo said the release of the 2023 draw was likely to be delayed due to the venues issue.

“Next year’s draw will be the most complex we’ve had in a while with some constraints around those venues,” he said.

“We’re looking at a whole bunch of ways we can work with each club on that. Some of it will be scheduling, some of it will be moving matches regional and creating opportunities to play in potentially new locations.

Broncos at Suncorp Stadium. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty

Suncorp Stadium will host World Cup matches. Picture: AAP/Darren England

“That will all unfold over the next six weeks or so. The draw typically comes out at the end of October, but we might need a bit of time, depending on how we go with the complexities. The focus for the next two months is certainly on this.

“We are working with every club on a customised solution. If a stadium isn’t available and they can’t fulfil that (contract) due to a blackout then there will be some flexibility there.”

The stadiums blackout initially raised doubts about the structure of next year’s State of Origin series, which will see games played at the Adelaide Oval, Accor and Suncorp.

However Abdo said the series would not be affected despite a resolution not yet being reached.

“We will play in our normal venues,” he said.

“We are busy working on that and should have a solution. We are not expecting Origin to be disrupted.”