NRL CEO Todd Greenberg says the future of the NRL grand final is in the hands of the government.
The 2019 NRL decider could be the last one played in Sydney for some time should an elected NSW Labour party hold its word of stopping infrastructure spending.
Labour leader Michael Daley has declared they will deflect the $1.5 billion budget allocated to stadium upgrades to school and hospital financing.
The current agreement between the NRL gives Sydney hosting rights of the grand final and State of Origin games for the next 25 years ifย Allianz, ANZ and Western Sydney Stadiums were rebuilt or upgraded.
The 2019 grand final is set to take place at the Sydney Cricket Ground due to Allianz Stadium's unavailability, however, should the government change its position, the NRL would be forced to relocate the big dance to Brisbane or Melbourne.
"Clearly, if we donโt have the very best stadiums, we will have to look at alternatives," Greenberg told Fairfax Media.
"Our expectation is that the memorandum of understanding will be acknowledged and executed, which effectively means we will continue to play grand finals here and they will continue to build the stadiums around the network.
"It starts next year with Western Sydney, thereโs clearlyย Allianz and Homebush.
"If that position changes, that forces us to make some changes to our strategy because ultimately we have a duty to both our fans and players who play in the biggest matches of the year to make sure they play them in the very best stadiums."
Daley vowed on Tuesday to not be "bullied" by the NRL.
โI am a reasonable person and I will sit down and talk with them but I will not be bullied by the NRL into capitulating,โโ he said.
โโThere will be no free public money for their stadiums. I will always put schools and hospitals before stadiums.โ
Greenberg added that there is potential for the government to budget spending for both stadium upgrades and schools and hospitals.
"I donโt think itโs a choice, I think you can do both," Greenberg said.
"This government will spend $200 billion on infrastructure investment (in schools and hospitals) and about $1 billion of that is on stadiums.
"If you look at every other city in this country - weโve played games in the new stadium in Perth, will will play in the new stadium in Adelaide, also at the MCG in Melbourne - we want to take our premium games to the very best facilities but unfortunately at this time Sydney is way behind.
"This infrastructure investment will make sure Sydney leads the way."
Comments are closed.