NRL to trade for suburban oval upgrades after ANZ stadium dumped

ANZ Stadium anchor tenants will seek urgent talks as the NRL’s focus quickly shifts to the promise of upgraded suburban grounds.

The NRL’s focus has switched to redeveloping venues such as Brookvale Oval.

ANZ Stadium anchor tenants Canterbury and South Sydney will seek urgent talks with ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys and the NSW government this week as the NRL’s focus quickly shifts from the aborted rebuild of the Olympic venue to the promise of upgraded suburban grounds.

The Bulldogs and Rabbitohs have long-term agreements to play out of ANZ Stadium, but are likely to explore the fine print amid revelations over the weekend that the government has dumped its plan to revamp the stadium, instead pledging to put the $810 million of savings into job creation ­programs.

On the surface, the government decision would seem to jeopardise its memorandum of understanding with the NRL that guarantees the grand final stays in Sydney for the next 27 years.

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V’landys declined to comment on Sunday, other than to cryptically suggest that the game supported the government and a good resolution would be reached.

V’landys has been campaigning for money to be directed to suburban grounds and it may be that the NRL secures a package to regenerate the likes of Leichhardt and Brookvale Ovals in return for keeping the grand final in Sydney.

“We are not making any comment other than the fact we support the NSW government 100 per cent,” V’landys told The Australian. “We are not going to be discussing the matter until we meet the government. We are going to meet them, absolutely. We’re very confident a good resolution to this will be brought to the table.”

It is understood the NRL is yet to sign a contract with the state government over this year’s grand final, which had been earmarked for the SCG.

There now seems a realistic possibility it could return to ANZ Stadium, provided the NRL doesn’t take the game to Queensland. The Bulldogs and Rabbitohs just want some clarity after seeing their dream of a rebuilt ANZ Stadium go up in smoke.

The clubs, in concert with the NRL, had campaigned long and hard for the Olympic venue to be rebuilt and they appeared to get their wish in return for the grand final staying put.

Those hopes have now evaporated, at least in the short term.

“We just want to find out what the government’s new policy is,” Souths chief executive Blake Solly said. “We did a long-term deal based on the upgrade and we have been big supporters of the stadium policy. We just want to find out what the next stage is.

“If ANZ (Stadium) is not a priority for them (the government), they just need to tell us what is. We based our whole operational planning on not playing at ANZ Stadium again until 2023. We had planned on Bankwest (Stadium) being it. We need to do some thinking.”

Solly and Canterbury chief executive Andrew Hill spoke first thing on Sunday morning as they digested the news.

“We are very disappointed in the decision,” Hill said. “We are even more disappointed over the fact that to date no one has spoken to us, either the government or anyone from the league. Tomorrow morning we will be asking for a meeting with both the NSW government and Peter V’landys to understand what this means for Bulldogs supporters, and rugby league followers in NSW.”

Only last week, Balmain mayor Darcy Byrne revealed on social media that he had received a letter from V’landys in which the ARL Commission chair said he was committed to attracting funding for Leichhardt Oval. V’landys spoke openly at his first press conference as chair about his support for suburban grounds, singling out Brookvale Oval as a venue that needed attention.

At that same press conference in October last year, he warned the NSW government he would have no hesitation moving the grand final if it didn’t live up to its commitments. One of those was the $800m rebuild of ANZ Stadium. That promise is now in tatters and V’landys has the leverage he needs to extract money to invest in suburban grounds.

That won’t help Canterbury or Souths, but it could prove a godsend for Manly, Wests Tigers and potentially Penrith, another club that would benefit from some money being spent on Panthers Stadium. It could take as little as $100m to upgrade all the three ­venues.

Manly chief executive Steve Humphreys said the redevelopment of Brookvale Oval was a worthy project and he would be pushing hard for its support.

“This brilliant new grandstand is only the first phase of our broader plans and has been specifically designed to allow it to be integrated into a full redevelopment of the site. So this is the perfect time to be more ambitious, set our sights higher and deliver a total redevelopment of the iconic venue,” Humphreys said.

“This project would immediately generate significant jobs and finally provide the long-suffering northern beaches community with the modern, multi-purpose venue they both deserve and can be proud of, for many decades to come.