The Canterbury Bulldogs have been given New South Wales government approval to "return to ANZ Stadium and talks have begun about taking the grand final and State of Origin back to the ground as the NRL pushes for restrictions to be eased around their players and clubs in coming days." Canterbury now needs to "hold talks with stadium officials to determine whether the ground can be ready in two weeks to begin hosting sporting events once again." Canterbury also "need to decide whether there is value in playing at ANZ Stadium before 10,000 people when they could get a more intimate atmosphere at the smaller Bankwest Stadium." ANZ Stadium was "scheduled to undergo a rebuild later this month" but the A800M ($552.2M) renovation was "scrapped as the NSW government focused on other avenues to stimulate the economy in the wake of COVID-19" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 6/17).
Brisbane Broncos CEO Paul White has "revealed plans to have up to 10,000 Broncos fans at games by July after the Queensland government yesterday opened Suncorp Stadium to NRL supporters." The Queensland government is set to "allow 2000 fans to attend" the Gold Coast Titans-St. George Dragons match at Suncorp on Saturday as COVID-19 restrictions begin to ease. Meanwhile, White is "hopeful between 5,000 and 10,000 supporters will be granted entry for Brisbane’s round nine clash against the Bulldogs at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday, July 11" (Brisbane COURIER-MAIL, 6/17).
