The $50m secret: City leaders won't talk about Christchurch's NRL future

Thursday, 25 June 2026

One NZ Stadium hosted its first NRL match on Sunday, strengthening Christchurch’s case for a permanent team.

Christchurch’s mayor and city council are staying silent on whether the city is backing a push for a National Rugby League (NRL) franchise.

It follows a report by Sport Nation that the council is helping bring two rival Christchurch bid groups together behind a single proposal following advice that a successful NRL venture would need community backing, not private ownership alone.

The renewed push comes as the NRL considers adding a 20th team, with Christchurch viewed as a contender because of its new stadium, strong crowds and established rugby league following across the South Island.

The council declined to say whether it was supporting a proposal, helping unite rival bidders or considering money, land or other assistance.

It said questions about expanding the competition should be directed to the NRL. The league did not respond to questions before deadline.

Mayor Phil Mauger separately declined to comment.

Councillor Sam MacDonald said it was no secret the NRL wanted a 20th team, but any expansion decision ultimately rested with the league.

“If we were leading a bid, I imagine we’d have to make a council decision on it,” he said. “There’s been nothing in terms of a decision that’s come to council.”

One NZ Stadium hosted its first NRL match on Sunday, with nearly 6000 visitors from outside the region helping generate about $4.7 million in spending from the Warriors-Cowboys clash.

Sunday’s NRL match brought in nearly 6000 visitors from outside the region helping generate about $4.7 million in spending.

Australian Rugby League Commission chair Peter V’landys and NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo attended Sunday’s match as the league considers where to base a 20th team, potentially from 2029 or 2030.

Council records show the city’s involvement in an earlier proposal went beyond receiving a briefing.

At a public workshop in June 2024, representatives of the South Island NRL Bid - associated with former Kiwis coach Frank Endacott - said they were working with staff from the council, ChristchurchNZ and Venues Ōtautahi and wanted that relationship to continue.

The group asked councillors to consider providing data, advice, resources and possible funding to help develop its proposal.

It was also seeking about 5ha for a high-performance centre and said it was considering options including leasing or eventually buying a council-owned site.

Bid representatives claimed a Christchurch-based team could generate about $50 million a season for the city, although the modelling behind that estimate has not been made public.

They said it would cost about $250,000 to prepare the next stage of the bid and about $30m to establish and initially operate the franchise. That did not include the proposed training facility.

The workshop had no decision-making powers and the transcript does not show elected members agreed to provide money or land.

Council records show staff had previously been directed to work with the South Island NRL Bid - associated with former Kiwis coach Frank Endacott - to identify possible sites for a training base on council-owned land.

Two Christchurch-based bid camps appear to remain. One is associated with Endacott and former MP Poto Williams, while the Southern Orcas proposal is led by Sir Graham Lowe and Andrew Chalmers.

It remains unclear which groups are involved in the reported combined proposal.

Venues Ōtautahi chief executive Caroline Harvie-Teare said the stadium operator had provided commercial information to four or five groups interested in using One NZ Stadium as a home ground for an NRL team.

The groups included proposals based solely in Christchurch and others considering games across several South Island venues.

Harvie-Teare said Venues Ōtautahi had modelled what about 12 home games could mean for the stadium and considered the benefit “material”.

“We know what a Warriors game is worth to us individually, we know what a Crusaders game is worth to us individually, so we can easily map out a season,” she said.

She would not put a dollar figure on a full season, saying the return would depend on venue hire, ticketing, advertising, food and beverage, and other commercial rights.

Harvie-Teare said a permanent home team would be more valuable than one-off matches because guaranteed fixtures helped sell premium hospitality and provided more consistent revenue.

She said an NRL season could be accommodated alongside the Crusaders, Canterbury rugby and other events, although the stadium calendar would become more crowded.