Super Rugby side ACT Brumbies is "considering taking a home game or two to ANZ Stadium" after the Waratahs recently decided it would abandon western Sydney and play all its games at Allianz Stadium, according to Payten & Pandaram of the Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH.
The idea "is at an embryonic stage and though staying tight-lipped, both organisations are keen to talk about a deal." The administrators of ANZ Stadium, Stadium Australia Operations, "are still fuming after the NSWRU recently backflipped" on a A$12M ($9.3M), six-year deal that would have seen SAO "take over the front-office of the Tahs, but not buy the whole team."
The deal was worth A$2M a year, and with a five-year option could be worth A$22M over 11 years. Press releases "were drawn up before Christmas but fierce opposition by the Sydney Cricket and Football Ground Trust saw the deal sunk." The net result is the Waratahs "will have no presence in western Sydney next year." ANZ Stadium effectively has A$2M a year "to now spend on new deals, and a chance for the Brumbies to enter the Waratahs’ vacated territory in the fertile western Sydney market would be icing on the cake." With plenty of rugby fans "disenfranchised with the Tahs’ eastern retreat," the Brumbies "could mine the region for fans, memberships and even talent" (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 2/19).
