Update on possible Ashes venues as IMG make bold State of Origin comparison

IMG’s Matt Dwyer insists those picking the venues for next year’s Ashes have to show some ‘aspiration’ when deciding how big a location they choose for the three Tests.

England will take on Australia on these shores after dramatic late talks ensued over switching the series to the other side of the world, with the Kangaroos indicating a willingness to travel to the United Kingdom to play the games.

That has immediately set tongues wagging about where the matches could be played – with calls as wide-ranging as traditional rugby league grounds all the way through to some of the biggest stadia in the country, including Wembley Stadium.

Dwyer was reluctant to discuss specific locations, but admitted the key for the game was to strike a balance between serving loyal supporters of the sport but also ensuring as many new fans can be attracted to the Tests as possible.

“We’ve got to match it to the right stadium,” Dwyer said. “That’s the key point here. That’s where the RL Commercial team needs to go off the data of World Cups, internationals and other events and match us up to the right stadium.

“Don’t quote me on these figures, but if it was going to be say, 50,000, you wouldn’t want it at Wembley, but you would want it at the Etihad. It’s really about trying to match the demand versus the stadium size.

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“But you want some aspiration there. If you do get Australia and see the demand is there, you do want to not only serve your existing audience but take it to markets where you can tap into new fans as well. England put in a great performance against Samoa and are looking good as an international team, so it could be a great series.”

Dwyer then suggested the ideal comparison would be Australian sporting powerhouse State of Origin – which has started to take its games away from New South Wales and Queensland and into other territories.

He said: “So we want to serve the loyal, existing fanbase and make sure they get to see this Test match, but also be able to try and expand a little bit and get new people watching this sport, a bit like State of Origin have explored playing games in Victoria.”

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