Victoria sports cash splash amid rising debt

Article posted by Coliseum, February 13^th, 2025

Image: Ministry of Sport and NFL

The cash-strapped Jacinta Allan Government (Premier of Victoria, Australia) has refused to confirm the cost of bringing the National Football League (NFL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) games to Victoria after the New South Wales (NSW) Government was told to expect a “ballpark” figure of $15 million a game for the rights to the American football matches.

The above comes even as the Government of Victoria is in a tight fiscal position with its net debt projected to rise even more.

The NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced that in 2026 the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) will be the first international location for an NFL season game.

The Premier of Victoria Jacinta Allan confirmed the multiyear deal recently and said that the Los Angeles Rams will be the ‘home team’ for the Australian NFL games. She calls the new deal a major “touchdown” for Australia’s sporting capital. Melbourne will host three in-season games over several years marking a significant expansion of the NFL’s global strategy.

‘The Sydney Morning Herald’ stated that recently the Victorian Government confirmed it had pulled off a coup to stage the first regular-season NFL game featuring the Los Angeles Rams in Australia next year at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia). Close on its heels another major announcement appears imminent with the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Basketball League (NBL) and the Victorian Government finalizing a deal to bring at least one NBA team to Australia in October to play multiple exhibition games.

New York (US)-based the National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league composed of 32 teams divided equally between the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference.

New York (US)-based the National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams. The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered the premier professional basketball league in the world.

Melbourne (Australia)-based the National Basketball League (NBL) is a men’s professional basketball league in Australasia currently composed of 10 teams: Nine in Australia and one in New Zealand. It is the premier professional men’s basketball league in Australia and New Zealand.

The 1,00,024-capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground, also known locally as the ‘G’, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the 11th largest globally and the second-largest cricket arena by capacity.

‘The Sydney Morning Herald’ further stated that the matches are likely to be between an NBA team and an NBL side. The deal is likely to be for one year and only in Melbourne although the NBL and the Government would like it to become a semi-regular event.

The NBL Chief Executive David Stevenson said the league was working closely with the NBA – “We have built a strong relationship with the NBA and it’s a partnership we value immensely. We are constantly exploring possibilities and opportunities for the NBL and the NBA’s incredibly passionate shared fan base across Australia and New Zealand.”

NBA Asia Head of Strategy Rajah Chaudhry said the league was determined to engage with the Australian fans – “Basketball and the NBA’s popularity in Australia is at an all-time high. We are committed to engaging the passionate NBA fans across the country, including in collaboration with the NBL.”

MCG Factor

When announcing the three-year deal for the NFL games to be played at the MCG neither Premier Jacinta Allan nor Visit Victoria Chair Andy Penn would say how much the Government paid insisting it was commercial in confidence.

Sources stated that the NFL deal put to the NSW Government was in the “ballpark” of $15 million a game. This masthead confirmed that figure with a source familiar with the negotiations.

The New South Wales (NSW) Premier Chris Minns said he rejected the proposal because the NFL, one of the richest sports by revenue, wanted a “king’s ransom”.

However, a source with knowledge of discussions said money was not the defining factor for the NFL. Rather, the opportunity to stage a game at the MCG, Australia’s most famous arena, the NFL’s relationship with the Australian Football League (AFL), along with the training facilities and medical support on offer, meant Melbourne was the best destination.

On the other hand, the NBA said full details had yet to be finalized. However, the league is likely keen to have a team featuring a leading Australian player.

Rising Debt

The sports cash splash comes at a time when Victoria’s net debt is forecast to rise to $187.3 billion by 2028 from $155.2 billion this year.

Sam Groth, the Opposition’s Spokesman for Tourism, Sport, Events, and Hospitality, said to be a true events capital Melbourne needed strategic partnerships that benefited the entire tourism economy, not just short-term gains – “Overpaying for quick events after Labor slashed $25 million from tourism destination marketing isn’t being the events capital – it’s just pretending.”

While sports events can bring a healthy economic benefit to the State, as Allan pointed out, with a huge number of tourists from interState and overseas expected to visit, this did not stop the former Premier Daniel Andrews citing cost blowouts of nearly $7 billion as the reason why his Government pulled out of hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

‘Massive Coup’

‘AUSTRALIA FORBES’ quoted the NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell as stating, “Expanding to Melbourne, Australia, a beautiful City with a rich sports history, underlines our ambitions to become a global sport and accelerate international growth.”

Stated Steve Dimopoulos, Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, “It is a massive coup, thousands of jobs, millions of people watching our State – a huge boost to the Victorian economy. This is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the fans on the hallowed turf of the MCG.”

‘AUSTRALIA FORBES’ further stated that the NFL currently has 6.6 million fans in Australia, according to the league, a number it hopes will grow over the term of the deal. Some 20 million Americans tuned into NFL games in 2024 presenting an opportunity to showcase Victoria to an enormous audience.

NFL Global Expansion

‘Ministry of Sport’ stated that the NFL has aggressively expanded its global footprint staging games in London (UK), Germany, Mexico, and Brazil. A regular-season game in Australia is another significant step allowing the league to tap into a new fan base and commercial market. The reported week-long NFL-related events in Melbourne, including fan zones and live viewing activations, would further cement the league’s local presence.

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