NRL: New Zealand Warriors look at Central Coast for 2020 season base
NZ Warriors CEO Cameron George says the Central Coast is the ideal place for the team to call their home base for the 2020 season.
Central Coast
Don't miss out on the headlines from Central Coast. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Optus 5G comes to North Avoca with more locations planned
- Jason van Genderen’s videos with Oma embraced by Good Morning America, James Corden
The New Zealand Warriors could start training at Central Coast Stadium within the next fortnight.
Central Coast Council has confirmed the move is on the cards, as the team remains in self-isolation in Tamworth for another week.
“Central Coast Council is currently in discussions with New Zealand Warriors to train at Central Coast Stadium,” a council spokeswoman said.
Earlier this week, the Express revealed the Warriors were looking to call the coast home for the remainder of the 2020 season which is set to kick off at the end of the month.
The Express spoke to Warriors chief executive officer Cameron George about the coast being the ideal location for the team, which flew in from New Zealand on May 3.
The 2020 season, originally planned to kick off on March 12, was thrown into disarray after the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled sports across the world.
The NRL has since announced plans to kickstart rugby league again on May 28 with a shortened draw.
Mr George said as soon as accommodation was sorted, the location would be confirmed.
“We are currently going through the logistics at how it would look on the Central Coast,” he said.
“It’s a location which suits us and the NRL for a number of reasons. We don’t want to be city bound.
“The location we choose is where we will be based for the next five months.
“With that we also need a lot more space with families to join the players. The facility needs to be able to cater for a larger group and within that some strict protocols as well.”
In the past, sporting teams and identities have based themselves at locations such as Star of the Sea residential apartments in Terrigal, Kooindah Waters and Magenta Shores.
Mr Cameron said the coast had a few more training and high performance options which could also be used by the team.
“We also want to make sure we balance the work life scenario,” he said.
“It goes without saying that the location is beautiful. The Central Coast makes a lot of sense for us.”
The coast’s Impact Gym, based in Erina, has been contracted to supply all the equipment at the Camp Warrior base in Tamworth for the next two weeks.
Impact Gym co-owner Mick Ostini made the announcement on the gym’s social media site, indicating Terrigal may be the chosen location for the team’s home base.
“We’ve just set the gym up for the Auckland Warriors training camp area in lockdown for the next 14 days and Impact Gym have been contracted to set the gym up for them,” he said.
“Then they will return home to Terrigal. So it’s exciting news for Impact Gym.”
Mr George said decisions around the possible use of Central Coast Stadium would be made by the NRL as the season recommences.
“They may look to restrict the season to just a few stadiums in Sydney,” he said.