The NRL will lock thousands of fans out of a week one showdown between western Sydney rivals Penrith and Parramatta and turn its back on a financial windfall by sticking to its position on home finals.
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo says the governing body has no intention of changing its policy, with a qualifying final set to be played at Penrith’s 22,500-seat BlueBet Stadium in week one of the play-offs.
The decision to keep the match in Penrith rather than shift it to a bigger venue like 83,500-seat Accor Stadium means thousands of fans are set to miss out on one of the most highly anticipated games of the year.
The Panthers have little appetite to move the game, having earned hosting rights after finishing the regular season as minor premiers. Tickets are expected to sell out in rapid time.
But the NRL is willing to turn its back on a massive financial boost which would have come with moving the game to Homebush.
“Sport is not always just about the bottom line, we have to take a bigger-picture view to this,” Abdo said.
The Panthers will host a final in Penrith.Credit:Getty
“From a football perspective and from a fan perspective, we believe it’s the right thing to honour the current policy and allow, in week one of finals, those fans the opportunity to support their team in their home stadium.
“Our current policy in week one of the finals is to reward the fans and to reward the clubs who have toiled over 24 home and away fixtures, which is a long season. Our current policy in week one is providing a home ground to that team has earned that right, in this particular case, Penrith.
“It’s a great reward for the club and the fans, and in that particular fixture, no matter the outcome, both those teams get an opportunity to play again.
“Therefore their fans will get a chance to show their colours even if they don’t get a ticket to game one. That’s how we sit at the moment and there are no plans to alter it.”
It comes as Abdo vows to support South Sydney in their push to relocate to the new Allianz Stadium, which is the site of a turf war with the Sydney Roosters, but the NRL chief concedes the Rabbitohs’ hopes of ending their deal at Accor Stadium – after the NSW government shelved plans to upgrade the Sydney Olympic Park venue – rest with the club and Venues NSW.
The Rabbitohs are pushing to move their home games to Allianz Stadium from 2023, where they played before taking games to Accor Stadium in 2006.
“Our job as a code is to help ensure we help all of our clubs get the best possible facilities. Ultimately they choose where they play their matches,” Abdo said.
“There are commercial contracts in place that clubs will have with the owners, managers or operators of stadiums. We’ll work as hard as we can supporting clubs with what they want, but ultimately the constraints are around what has been commercially agreed. That’s a matter for the Rabbitohs and Venues NSW in terms of what their configuration of games will look like.”
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