Regional centres preparing for feast of NRL finals footy

Preparations are well under way in parts of regional Queensland as NRL powerhouse teams prepare to play there in the run-up to the historic grand final in Brisbane.

Queensland’s rugby league heartland is basking in an “invaluable” two-week window worth millions in national exposure as the best NRL teams in the country battle it out in regional towns ahead of a historic Brisbane grand final.

Six out of the nine finals games will be played across Townsville, Rockhampton, the Sunshine Coast and Mackay which are all benefiting from the extended Covid lockdowns of NSW and Victoria.

Those games are tipped to put $5m into those communities as fans descend.

Mackay, which proved its passion for the game in the three regular season matches, has been rewarded with a semi-finals double header next weekend.

Mayor Greg Williamson said it was an “unbelievable” financial boost to the region as well as a big tick of approval that Mackay could host big events.

“What it does with the television coverage for finals, which can get into seven figures, provides an unbelievable kick for our region, you can’t put a price on that,” Mr Williamson said.

Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville will be home to some of the NRL finals games. Amy Louise O'Brien

The events team in Mackay are preparing for a festival-like atmosphere for the two games to celebrate the once in a lifetime occasion for the town.

“We’ve scrounged every spare seat we can find in the region and they will be all there at the stadium, we have done a lot of work and if we can squeeze more seats in we will,” Mr Williamson said.

Tourism Mackay chief executive, Tas Webber, said national media coverage alone will bring millions of dollars worth of exposure into the area.

“We will see some good visitation from interstate markets but the media value and exposure to Mackay itself will be exponential in terms of future events and visitation,” he said.

Hotels were making the most of the demand with prices doubling at some Townsville venues ahead of the Panthers versus Rabbitohs qualifying final on Saturday night.

Booking sites showed the Allure Hotel was available on Friday and Saturday nights for $950, compared to $455 for the following weekend. Similarly the Grand Hotel was available for $568 this weekend compared to $392 the following.

The Melbourne Storm and Manly Sea Eagles qualifying final this Friday on the Sunshine Coast has already sold out and Rockhampton’s Sunday game between Parramatta and Newcastle is set to follow suit.

The two regular season games there were estimated to have brought in $1.2 million, but Rockhampton Mayor Tony Williams said that will be surpassed this weekend.

“We are hoping for a bit more with people to travel … as it is a do or die final and they will spend a bit more time in Rocky and really make a weekend of it,” Mr Williams said.

“We are looking to get more of an injection in there, to have a final here is fantastic and we really do thank the NRL.”

The October 3 Brisbane Grand Final will be the first time the event has been held outside Sydney in the game’s 114-year history.

Originally published as Regional centres preparing for feast of NRL finals footy