NRL boss Todd Greenberg weighs in on likelihood of second team in Brisbane in 2023
NRL CEO Todd Greenberg delivered the news Queensland rugby league fans have been waiting to hear at The Courier-Mail’s NRL season launch on Monday. READ HIS COMMENTS HERE.
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NRL boss Todd Greenberg declared Brisbane was in the “box seat” to secure the game’s next team and the Broncos would benefit from a River City rival.
Greenberg spoke extensively about Queensland’s hopes of securing the NRL’s 17th franchise at The Courier-Mail’s NRL season launch at Howard Smith Wharves.
The NRL is hoping to welcome a new franchise in 2023 and Brisbane is the leading location for the club’s home.
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A battle is brewing between Ipswich, Redcliffe and Brisbane city-based bids to secure an NRL licence and Greenberg said Queensland’s capital was ready for another club.
“They’re certainly in the box seat, that’s for sure,” Greenberg said. “It’s been made very clear to us there is an appetite for another club here.
“There is the best part of one million people in Brisbane who are avid rugby league fans, but only half of them go for the Broncos.
“We know there is an enormous market for rugby league here. What we have to do is strengthen the next broadcast deal and figure out how that funds the rest of our clubs.
“We’ve got six-nine months at best to answer those questions to give us the runway for 2023. We are perfectly poised to make some of those decisions this year.”
The Broncos have enjoyed a monopoly in Brisbane for most of the club’s 32-year existence, becoming the NRL’s richest club and boasting an impressive supporter base.
Greenberg said a new team in Brisbane would help boost the Broncos by creating an intracity rivalry.
“It’s an absolute rugby league town,” he said. “The strength of the game here from participation to ratings and crowds has been phenomenal.
“I say they are in the box seat because that’s genuine through the numbers and analysis.
“Finding rivalries between towns creates enormous value for the current team that sits there. The Broncos could really drive more value from that local rivalry.
“Fans here in Brisbane love the game so we want to give them every opportunity to watch as much footy as possible.”
Greenberg spoke at the third instalment of the season launch along with the coaches of Queensland’s three NRL clubs – Anthony Seibold (Broncos), Paul Green (Cowboys) and Justin Holbrook (Titans).
As part of a legends panel with Queensland greats Mal Meninga and Gorden Tallis, Broncos board member Darren Lockyer said he was in favour of expansion and Redcliffe was the place to go.
“As long as the NRL is adamant it won’t fail,” he said.
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“That is why they are taking their time, they want to make sure that if they do this it is going to work.
“One extra team doesn’t generate an extra game so from a broadcast perspective it doesn’t bring in more money but it grows the game and grows the footprint.
“As long as they do their due diligence I think it is the right thing to do, and at this stage just the one team.
“If you look at a club that is financially strong in its own right then that’s Redcliffe.
“It is a growing population, they have been known as a rugby league community and I think they are one of the potential clubs that could make it work.
“There are other good candidates but from my perspective Redcliffe makes sense.”
The NRL season will begin with a bang next week when the Broncos and Cowboys battle in a blockbuster Round 1 clash at Townsville’s new stadium.
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