THE Country Rugby League has confirmed Dubbo as a possible venue for the 2015 Country-City fixture with reports Wagga’s Equex Centre will not be ready in time for next year’s match.
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After first hosting the fixture in 2006, Dubbo’s Caltex Park played host to the match again in May.
And with Wagga still reportedly waiting on a final grant to finish the upgrade of facilities at its main rugby league ground, Equex Centre, Dubbo has been quick to throw its hat in the ring as a possible replacement venue.
CRL chief executive Terry Quinn stated Dubbo mayor Mathew Dickerson had been in contact with NRL football manager Todd Greenberg to say Dubbo was ready to host the event, while he also admitted the likes of Mudgee, Cessnock and Bathurst had also been in touch with the CRL to confirm their interest.
Despite Wagga being far from certain as the host, Quinn admitted he and the CRL were keen to see the match played there next year.
He will make a trip to Wagga in the coming weeks to cast his eye over proceedings and he admitted if Equex Centre wasn’t up to scratch then the CRL would be quick to name a replacement venue.
“I’ll be going down there soon and if it’s not looking good then we’ll make a decision quickly,” he said.
“We’ll be heading down there to make sure it’s right to go and we’ll be going with Channel 9.
“A lot [of the facilities] are pre-made but they’re just waiting on a grant and apparently no one has been told when it’s going to happen, so it’s a slow process.”
As part of the hosting rights, the ground must include two coaches boxes, a video referee’s box, a television broadcast box and a camera platform, and Quinn admitted there were concerns over the current facilities.
Greenberg made a trip to Wagga in March this year and was blunt in his assessment of the venue at that time.
“It’s the simple things here [at Equex Centre] that are of concern,” Greenburg said.
“Broadcast facilities, coaches boxes, corporate facilities, media facilities and even the grandstand, which seats maybe three or four hundred compared to facilities that can seat a thousand.
“The reality is there are regional grounds with more advanced facilities which are what are required for the modern game.”
The ground has undergone upgrades since then and Wagga council has never wavered from its belief the venue will be hosting the match next year.
Group 11 president Ross McDermott confirmed his association would be keen to host the event again but was quick to point out there was nothing official yet.
“At this stage it’s still at Wagga but we’ve made ourselves known that if the game is moved we’d be interested in filling the gap,” he said.