NRL expansion: Second Brisbane team for 2023 season hangs in the balance

The NRL’s plans to launch a second Brisbane team in 2023 are hanging in the balance after ARLC chairman Peter V’landys revealed the Covid crisis could force expansion to be delayed. V’landys is forging ahead with investigating the merits of a 17th club based in south east Queensland entering the NRL from 2023 when the game’s new free-to-air broadcast deal commences. Meetings between the NRL and three bid teams – the Firehawks, Dolphins and Jets – were due to be held in Brisbane on Monday this week, but were cancelled due to government Covid restrictions. Watch The 2021 NRL Telstra Premiership Live & On-Demand on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-Days Free Now > The NRL’s focus has since turned to ensuring the current premiership season continues amid a growing list of Covid-related hurdles. The players have been placed into bubbles and will travel on charter flights, games in Sydney will be contested at empty stadiums and State of Origin III will be moved from Stadium Australia. The extreme measures will impact the NRL’s revenue streams and profitability for 2021 while also diverting attention from expansion. The NRL was planning to make a decision on expansion for 2023 by the end of July, however it now appears inevitable the deadline will be pushed back. At least one of the expansion bid teams believes 2024 is a more realistic date for a new team to launch due to the NRL’s more pressing priorities and the lingering uncertainty of Covid. The NRL is nearing the pointy end of negotiations with Channel 9 over a new broadcast deal from 2023, with the result of that to decide whether expansion is financially viable. V’landys said the cancellation of this week’s meetings would not have a huge impact and he had not given up hope of a 2023 launch date. “I’m not worried about the delays – a couple of weeks in the scheme of things is neither here nor there,” he said. “It gives us a chance to read the documents substantially more because there are mountains of documents. NRL EXPANSION “We will hold a special meeting of the board after the interviews. There won’t be much time lost. “My theory is nothing is impossible. You’ve got to have a ‘can-do’ attitude. If it means 2024 then it’s 2024. If it’s 2023 it’s 2023. “We’re not giving up on 2023 just yet but if the financial position worsens then we will have no option. “The whole idea of having another team is to improve the revenues of the game. If it was going to be a burden you wouldn’t do it. “It’s the overall economy you’d be worried about. There are certain conditions in the economy and our financial position we have to take into account.” V’landys first revealed plans to expand the game with a fourth Queensland NRL club in late 2019. Momentum gathered in the lead-up to the 2020 season before the Covid pandemic brought the world to a standstill. The NRL’s focus for much of last year was on rescuing the premiership following a two-month suspension which prompted a complete renegotiation of broadcast rights and costly biosecurity protocols. That put expansion investigations on the backburner and contributed to the NRL slashing $50 million in operating costs and recording a $24.7 million loss, although revenue from the 2020 State of Origin series was not included in the annual result. V’landys said expansion ultimately relied on what broadcasters were willing to pay. “If we proceed or don’t proceed all depends on broadcast revenue,” he said. “You can always put it back and start the new broadcast revenue from the next year but that’s not ideal. “Our financial position at the moment is reasonably good considering the circumstances. A lot will depend on the next month or two. If things don’t go very well with Covid then naturally we will have to re-look at it. “We will never put financial pressure on the game, never ever. We will always make the decisions for the best overall benefit of the game. “If the next two or three months causes us to haemorrhage in finances then we will naturally have to look at it. I absolutely agree with that. I can’t see that happening, but if it did that’s being responsible. “The broadcasters have got to provide the additional revenue or else it doesn’t proceed. “We’ve been negotiating on that for quite a while. We will know that in the next couple of weeks. It will all come together and we can make an informed decision. “As I’ve said from day one, the business case has to stack up and it’s got to be for the benefit of the game as a whole. If it’s not for the benefit of the game as a whole we’re not going to proceed.” If a 17th club is given the green-light from 2023, they face a race to set up their operations and begin recruiting available players from November this year. South Sydney CEO Blake Solly and Broncos chairman Karl Morris this week called for a decision on expansion to be delayed a year due to the uncertainty engulfing the game. V’landys said the current clubs would be consulted before a decision was made. “Expansion has been on the table for many years and this is the first time we’ve gone to this length to decide once and for all,” he said. “We have got the courage to look at it, analyse it and if it’s beneficial to the game as a whole we will present that case to the club CEOs and chairs. “That’s part of the process. We’re not going to make the decision without going to them, even though we don’t have to. “We have to show that it’s to the full benefit of the game. If we can’t convince ourselves that step won’t need to proceed.”