The Queensland Government and the ARL have come to an agreement to keep Magic Round in Brisbane until 2032 in a mega six-year extension.
It will remain at Suncorp Stadium with the announcement coming on the eve of the seventh edition of the festival tournament, with the Courier Mail reporting its extension after thwarting rival offers from competing locations.
The city had the hosting rights until 2027 and will capitalise immensely with the extension all the way to the 2032 Olympic Games in the same city.
The NRL's Magic Round increased the Queensland economy by $41 million last year. Both ARL Chairman Peter V'landys and Queensland Premier David Crisafulli are looking to further capitalise with the increase of expansion teams into the NRL in coming years.
It is understood that there were raids from South Australia, New Zealand, Western Australia, and New South Wales that threatened Queensland's rights to host the event.
“Lock it in to 2032. Magic Round is staying in Queensland - exactly where it belongs,” Crisafulli told the Courier Mail.
“I told Queenslanders we would stare down those other states and get this deal done and now Magic Round is secured for Queensland for the next six years.
“It's a really big deal.
“When Queenslanders and footy come together magic happens and that's exactly what a six-year deal represents for our state.
“We're only just getting started with Magic Round, and soon we will have more details on how we will make it bigger and better than ever before.
“A buzz is building in Queensland for the first time in a long time and locking Magic Round in all the way to 2032 proves it.”
Since 2019, 840,445 fans have moved into Suncorp Stadium, with the ground documenting 149,326 at last year's fixture. A record-breaking year for the NRL and the Queensland Government.
It is an indication that Queensland locals cherish rugby league, further shown with quality crowd attendances for Broncos fixtures exceeding upwards of 40,000 fans at most home games.
With the introduction of the Perth Bears next year, a further fixture will be added to the weekend. It saw a team miss out with a bye because of the competition falling on an uneven number of clubs in the past three seasons.
V'landys was pleased with the extension of the ground rights, and said he is eager to make it the biggest event on the Australian sporting calendar.
“Queensland has been very good to us. We have always had a great relationship with the Queensland government,” V'landys said.
“David Crisafulli is one of the hardest negotiators I have ever had to deal with, I am thinking of hiring him to do our broadcast deal.
“What we liked about the Premier is that he is looking big picture. He wants to make it a much bigger event for Queensland and we want to be a part of it.
“It gives him the opportunity to promote Queensland and we want to be part of that.
“He has great plans, he has very good vision, a vision for the state and naturally we want to be in partnership with him.
“The fans have really got behind this event at Suncorp Stadium and we want to make it bigger, brighter and better.”
Magic Round will officially kick off with the Women's State of Origin on Thursday night, followed by Sharks vs Bulldogs on Friday.






















