NRL considering moving entire competition to Calliope mining facility amid virus
By WWOS staff
2 hours a
ARLC chairman Peter V'landys has confirmed that the entire NRL competition could be moved to a Central Queensland mining town to keep playing games amid coronavirus.
The audacious plan would see NRL players and officials - some 500 people - housed at a
vacant mining accommodation in Calliope, near Gladstone.
The drastic measure is being considered because the NRL may be able to survive just six weeks if it can't play games and retain its broadcast income, which amounts to a reported $13 million per week.
The loss of the whole season would create a $500 million black hole that would bankrupt the game and push clubs into extinction.
"Relocation is definitely an option and we are looking at that right at the moment,"
V'landys told The Courier-Mail.
"Gladstone is the one place we could go to but there are some logistic problems to overcome before we go through with it. But certainly relocating the players is on the table.
"The experts are saying we can go on at the moment, but things can change at any time."
NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg and ARLC chairman Peter V'landys. (Getty)
The Homeground Villages facility at Calliope is vast, having been built to house more than 2000 fly-in, fly-out mining workers at one time. It has 1392 rooms and would provide the NRL with an isolated accommodation for players and officials.
"These are some of the best facilities you will ever see," Gladstone Region Mayor Matt Burnett
told The Sydney Morning Herald last week.
"If you've ever worked in fly-in, fly-out accommodation, this is the best bar none. It has swimming pools, each room has its own ensuite.
"We have the capacity to host every NRL team, plus (broadcasters) and offer them a quarantined, insulated facility away from COVID-19.
"I don't believe anywhere else in Queensland, or Australia for that matter, could offer what we could offer."
It is unclear how the arrangement would fit within federal government rules around mass gatherings; it would require players to stringently self-isolate between training and games, and any outbreak of COVID-19 within the accommodation would surely spread quickly.
Games would be played at Marley Brown Oval, which hosted a Titans vs Manly NRL match in 2018.
The NRL could consider playing until as late as December 20 to ensure all matches are played this season.
League bosses are expected to provide further updates on Monday. While desperate plans are being made to play on, increasing COVID-19 crackdowns from the federal and state governments may leave no option but to suspend the competition.
"At this stage, our intent is to play on and we remain committed to the continuation of the 2020 season as far as government advice allows it," NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg said on Sunday.
"We have, and always will, stringently followed all government health advice and medical protocols to protect the health and safety of the community and our players."
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