Grand final coup as Sydney beats Brisbane to keep NRL decider

The NRL grand final is now locked in to Sydney for another 27 years after rival states’ furious $20 million interstate bidding war to steal the decider from NSW spectacularly failed.

Roosters. Picture: Getty

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A furious $20 million interstate bidding war to pinch the NRL grand final from NSW has failed.

And in an echo back to Olympic boss Juan Antonio Samaranch’s famous announcement back in 1993: “the winner is Syd-en-ey.”

The city will retain the NRL grand final over the next two years in a $16 million package deal with the State Government,quashing an attempted interstate hijack of our showpiece sporting event.

NRL boss Todd Greenberg revealed the funding deal late Wednesday, which prevents the NRL from selling the premiership decider to either Brisbane, Melbourne or Perth, the state capitals that were all desperately bidding to host the rugby league showdown.

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The Sydney Roosters celebrate their 2019 grand final victory over Canberra. The premiers will attempt to win three straight when the SCG hosts next year’s decider. Picture: Getty

All three cities wanted the event at either Suncorp Stadium, the MCG or Optus Stadium and were prepared to offer million-dollar deals to get it.

The GF is now locked in to Sydney for 27 years until 2046 in a major victory for footy fans in rugby league heartland.

The government paid $6.7 million to compensate the NRL for lost revenue in ticket sales, with Destination NSW chipping in the remainder of the funding package. Premier Gladys Berejiklian drew on her friendship with NRL boss Todd Greenberg to ensure the state could seal a satisfactory deal in the face of keen rivals.

Melbourne’s plan was to hold the game the weekend after the AFL grand final in October 2021. It had appeal in that it would allow the NRL to sell more than 90,000 seats and also take an upfront multimillion-dollar payment from Tourism Victoria.

Johnathan Thurston’s Cowboys beat the Broncos in an all-Queensland decider in 2015 in one of the greatest ever grand finals. Picture: Brett Costello

Sydney’s major triumph comes the same week of NSW and Victoria’s slanging match over which state now hosts Australia’s premier racing carnival on the weekend of The Everest-Caulfield Cup clash.

Under the new agreement, the 2020 and 2021 grand finals will be at the Sydney Cricket Ground — for the first time since 1987 — while both Allianz Stadium and ANZ Stadium are in construction phases.

With ANZ Stadium’s rebuild not due for completion until late 2022, the grand final that year will be played at the new Allianz Stadium, which will have a capacity of between 43,000 and 45,000.

The SCG holds only 46,000 seats. Up to 15,000 of those will go to members.

NRL boss Todd Greenberg says the SCG grand final deal will help the game invest in grassroots rugby league. Picture: AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi

The Sydney grand final had been under threat because of the State Government’s delay in starting work on ANZ Stadium until after the State of Origin next year.

The delay cancelled out the original memorandum of understanding that all grand finals would stay in Sydney for the next 25 years.

The loss of earnings from tickets at the SCG put the NRL in a position to demand compensation from NSW. The $16 million will now cancel out what the code could have got by moving interstate.

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Footy fans have complained about spectator experiences at the SCG this year in being so far away from the action at a cricket and AFL venue. “There will be some short-term pain,” Mr Greenberg said. “But the ultimate gain is $2 billion of stadium infrastructure and three state-of-the-art purpose-built rectangular stadiums to give rugby league fans probably the best game-day experience anywhere in the world.

“So we’ve done a partnership and, at the same time, ensured the game won’t go backwards commercially.”

The news comes a day after Queensland Tourism Minister Kate Jones tried to use a league-cricket scheduling fiasco at the SCG to further Brisbane’s claims to host the NRL’s showpiece event.

Originally published as Grand final coup as Sydney beats Brisbane to keep NRL decider