Toowoomba ready to cash in on city hosting NRL match between Dragons and Roosters

Toowoomba will enjoy a strong financial windfall from hosting its first NRL game in three years. But the city’s leaders are looking to future opportunities ahead of the match on the Sunday.

From left to right: Professor Ben Lyons, Roosters halfback Sam Walker and Toowoomba Mayor Paul Antonio.

Toowoomba’s first NRL match in three years will deliver a massive economic windfall for the region and help propel further opportunities, according to the city’s major, political and economic leaders.

The Garden City will host superstar James Tedesco and his high-flying Sydney Roosters on Sunday afternoon, as they take on a wounded St George Illawarra Dragons side desperate to stay in the hunt for a finals spot.

Economics experts are already putting the value of the game at more than $500,000, while the event is expected to give Toowoomba “unquantifiable” exposure to a national audience when it is broadcast to homes across Australia.

Mayor Paul Antonio was all smiles on Monday as he revealed details of the negotiations between the Toowoomba Regional Council and the NRL.

He said the game would not have been achieved without a unified effort from the city’s key stakeholders, which was publicly highlighted in The Chronicle’s Give Us A Game campaign.

“We continually talked to the NRL about the history of rugby league here, what it would mean from an economic point of view, and it wasn’t long before they came down with the price and reached an outcome that I think the community will be proud of,” Mr Antonio said.

“It’s been a uniform, strong message – we’ve been talking to the NRL, and The Chronicle has been promoting this in a positive sense.

“Positivity wins things, and that’s how we got here.”

Mr Antonio said details of the council’s contribution towards the match would be revealed at Tuesday’s ordinary meeting, but he said it was far lower than the $250,000 figure initially floated at the start of negotiations.

“I think you’ll be quite amazed with the deal that’s been done,” he said.

Mr Antonio said he wanted to see a packed house at Clive Berghofer Stadium as he looks to negotiate a long-term arrangement with the NRL that would secure an annual match in Toowoomba.

“This is a real badge of honour for Toowoomba, it’s recognition of the amazing role that rugby league has played in this area for a long period of time,” he said.

“I’ve got a friend of mine who played for Australia, and he’s coming up to see the game.

“My grandchildren are coming with my son and his wife, and in (my hometown of) Millmerran, there will be a lot of people doing that drive to see these NRL stars going around.

“This coming week you’ll see a build-up of people coming to town, a lot of people might social on Saturday or Sunday, but there’s also the local pride of having an NRL game in this town.”

Happy St George Illawarra Dragons supporters after defeating Gold Coast Titans in NRL round three at Clive Berghofer Stadium, Sunday, March 25, 2018.

Professor Ben Lyons, director of the Rural Economy Centre of Excellence at the University of Southern Queensland, put the economic output of the match this weekend at over half a million dollars, not including national exposure.

With thousands expected to pack out the stadium, it’s a prime opportunity to pre-promote one of the city’s biggest events – Carnival of Flowers.

Professor Lyons, who based this on a crowd of 8500 spending about $55 each on the day aside from their admission.

“That number is made up of direct impact, industrial impact and consumption impact,” he said.

“The hospitality, food and beverage and hotel industries are all going to benefit.”

Professor Lyons said the raw economic data and clear interest in the game begged the question why Toowoomba didn’t have a larger stadium.

“Why haven’t we got a bigger and better facility waiting to go, that would be the first question I’d be asking,” he said.

“Part of the delay in getting this game was because I don’t think this is as a good a venue as the Sunshine Coast, Rockhampton and Mackay — a lot of people are going to miss out on a ticket because the stadium is too small.

“I still think that’s the missing piece from the regional story — I just don’t think we think big enough as a region.”

His comments are echoed by the mayor’s, who has already started lobbying the State Government to either upgrade the current stadium or build a new one.

Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce CEO Todd Rohl said small businesses were looking forward to an increase in business this weekend.

Tickets for the match go on sale on Tuesday from 11am and can be bought at www.tickets.nrl.com.