The National Rugby League is seeking a sponsor for its "state-of-the-art video referees bunker to help justify" its reported A$2M ($1.44M)-a-season price tag, according to Stuart Honeysett of THE AUSTRALIAN. NRL Head of Football Todd Greenberg and referees boss Tony Archer unveiled the new facility at Australian Technology Park at Eveleigh in inner Sydney Tuesday, which he described as the "most innovative video review system in Australian sport." The system will officially make its debut in the opening game of the season between Parramatta and Brisbane next week and "will be in operation for every other game throughout the season." Greenberg said that the Australian Rugby League Commission was "hoping the game would receive a return on its investment" and it is understood a "specially formed sponsorship team in the NRL is already sounding out potential backers." As it stands, fast food chain KFC holds only the rights to "branding during the screen shot that announces whether the try has been awarded or disallowed at both the ground and with the broadcaster." Greenberg: "There’s a number of ways (to recoup our investment). One is a naming-rights sponsor for the bunker itself. We’re going to showcase what it is. What we want to do is get it up, get it built, get it working, prove the concept and obviously we want to commercialize it" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 2/24).
