First it was Brisbane. Then Papua New Guinea. Now a surprise location has been revealed as the primary target as the NRL sits on an expansion war chest of more than $400m to executive its bold vision.
Peter Badelin Los Angeles
February 28, 2024 - 11:44AM
ARL Commission boss Peter V’landys has revealed the NRL’s $420 million war chest to drive expansion as he plots the next offshore project to
match the code’s Vegas venture – a second team in New Zealand.
As V’landys touched down in Vegas ahead of Sunday’s historic NRL double header at Allegiant Stadium, the ARLC chair detailed the
financial goldmine to fund a 20-team NRL competition.
V’landys says the NRL could play premiership games in America for the next 20 years, revealed Wayne Bennett will be consulted on expansion and confirmed a second New Zealand team to rival the Warriors is on the agenda.
In another landmark moment for the sport, V’landys says a definitive call on fresh expansion will likely be made “in the next six months” _ giving the NRL an 18-team league for the first time in 26 years.
WAR CHEST
League Central last week revealed record revenue of $701 million, with net assets in excess of $260m.
Expansion critics have questioned whether the NRL has the talent pool to sustain an 18 or 20-team league. The addition of Bennett’s Dolphins last season required another 30 full-time players.
Three more teams would mean almost 100 additional players. There are fears a 20-team NRL would seriously erode the quality and competitiveness of the competition, but V’landys says the code has committed $420m from 2023-27 to game development to help generate more elite playing talent.
That’s an average of $84 million annually to ensure expansion does not cannibalise the existing 17 NRL clubs.
“We are spending $420 million on development and pathways, we will produce the talent to support expansion,” V’landys said.
“That level of funding is in this current five-year cycle, that includes payments to the states (NSW and Queensland Rugby League) and our own expenditure on development.
“We are putting money into places such as South Australia, Western Australia and New Zealand and then we have our own development teams.
“Once we go to 18 teams, we should be asking, should we go to 20 or not?
“And once you make that decision, you need to have the available talent and we’re addressing that.
“We need to keep growing the game, we have a lot of growth to go.”
TRANS-TASMAN EXPANSION
Sunday’s double header at Allegiant Stadium could be the preamble to more sustained offshore growth via the launch of a second NRL team in New Zealand.
While a Papua New Guinea franchise remains the frontrunner to win the NRL’s 18th licence, possibly by 2026 or 2027, V’landys says the prospect of expanding to New Zealand’s south island is real.
As part of moves to eventually expand to a 20-team league, V’landys wants a greater national and international footprint. That means franchises in Western Australia – the Perth Bears have been touted as a 19th team – while the NRL see promise in a second Kiwi outfit based in Christchurch.
“A second New Zealand team has merit,” V’landys said.
“Maybe not as the 18th team, because we are looking to PNG with the support of the Australian government, but it certainly has merit if we go to 20 teams.
“When Nick Politis (Roosters chairman) says we should be considering 20 teams, you certainly do it because he is a very successful businessman.
“The Warriors have been wonderful for the game _ there is a lot of support in New Zealand.
“When someone of Nick’s success says we must look at 20 teams, we’re going to look at it. And we should have a strategy to get there at a certain time, whether that’s three years, five years or 10 years.”
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