The New Zealand Warriors will resist any move to make them play finals at Auckland’s Eden Park rather than their home ground, Go Media Stadium – a stance that could cost the NRL up to $3 million in gate takings.
The Warriors are pushing hard for a top-two finish, which would give them the chance to host a qualifying final then either a semi-final or preliminary final.
Clubs are allowed to host qualifying and elimination finals at their home grounds in week one, while the NRL decides which venues are used for the semi-finals and beyond.
Because the NRL collects the gate takings for all finals matches, their preference is to have blockbuster games played at bigger venues.
Go Media Stadium holds 26,000 people, while Eden Park’s capacity is just north of 50,000. Based on the average $50 cost of an NRL finals ticket, the difference in host venue would be worth around $1.5 million to the governing body. That figure doubles should the Warriors host two finals matches.
The NRL waits until the completion of finals games before deciding on the date, venue and kick-off times for the following weekend’s fixtures.
But Warriors CEO Cameron George made it clear the club had no appetite to leave its smaller home in September, even though the club would have few dramas selling out Eden Park.
“I’ll argue against any move to Eden Park for the finals,” George said. “Our stadium fits the bill when it comes to hosting finals.
“They don’t ask Melbourne to move any finals to the MCG. They wouldn’t ask Penrith to move any finals away from their home to Accor Stadium. So I’m not expecting any phone calls from the NRL about playing at Eden Park.
“At the end of the day, Go Media Stadium is our home and we’re entitled to play there. I get that it could be a consideration for the NRL, but we can still get 26,000 at our venue, which satisfies [the finals policy].
“Maybe the NRL can look at playing all preliminary finals at bigger stadiums in future years, but you wouldn’t imagine they’d move us this year.
“That’s nothing against Eden Park. We’ll be playing there next year. But we have a home, and we deserve to be at home during the finals.”
The Warriors are third on the ladder but only ten points behind Penrith on points differential. They play South Sydney at Accor Stadium on Saturday evening, then host Newcastle and Manly the final fortnight.
The first-placed Sydney Roosters play out of Allianz Stadium, while the Panthers will be based at CommBank Stadium, their temporary home until their new $309 million stadium is open for business at the start of next season.
The fourth-placed Dolphins will have no issues moving during the finals because they play their bigger games at Suncorp Stadium.
Cronulla are desperate to play at their Ocean Protect Stadium home ground should they earn the right to host a final in week one or two.
They unsuccessfully pleaded to host a semi-final against North Queensland in 2024, arguing that the Cowboys would not have a large number of travelling fans and that the Sydney Swans were playing an AFL final next door at the SCG next door to Allianz.
Cronulla would object to playing a “home” final at the home ground of an opponent, like Allianz or Accor Stadium.
“If we host a final in week one or two, regardless of who it is against, we’ll argue for it to be played here at Ocean Protect Stadium,” Cronulla CEO Dino Mezzatesta said.
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