ON THE back of healthy crowds of nearly 10,000 at both the Wagga Gold Cup and the City-Country rugby league match, Wagga has shown it is ready to host major sporting events.
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Today, The Daily Advertiser launches its Our Sporting Chance campaign – designed to bring big ticket events such as a premiership NRL match for competition points and a standalone Saturday horse racing meeting to the city.
Already, the idea of Wagga playing host to a proper competition NRL match has gained the backing of key figures in the sport, with both coaches from the weekend’s representative clash talking up the city’s chances of hosting a fixture.
“I’ve got to say I watched the Cairns game and the Bathurst game and it was nothing on this,” City coach Brad Fittler said of premiership fixtures taken to other regional centres this year following the City-Country clash.
“It would be great if we did have NRL matches here we had the same vibe because it’s been absolutely brilliant.”
His Country counterpart, Temora-born Trent Barrett, added: “Wagga was fantastic and the crowd there (on Sunday) there was actually a real atmosphere”.
In recent years, various NRL clubs have taken their home games to Mudgee (Parramatta), Bathurst (Penrith), Cairns (Souths) and Albury (Manly).
Wagga last saw NRL action way back in August 1998, when Eric Weissel Oval played host to the Sydney Roosters and now-defunct Gold Coast Chargers.
Mayor Rod Kendall recalled that clash was a major success for the city.
“It was an almost capacity crowd at Weissel Oval for that event,” he said.
“Every time to date these major events have been held, Wagga and district residents have turned up and supported them.”
Cr Kendall has thrown his support behind the Our Sporting Chance campaign, and revealed yesterday the NRL had told council they believed Equex Centre could host a premiership match.
The success of the Wagga Gold Cup this year, which attracted 8500 punters, has sparked calls for the city to be granted a standalone Saturday race meeting, which would pull in top-class horses, jockeys and trainers and national attention.
“It’s great to think the profile of the carnival warrants these suggestions – it’d be a huge boost for country racing,” Murrumbidgee Turf Club chief executive Scott Sanbrook said.
