Australian rugby league fans could fly direct to Napier for Hawke's Bay's first NRL match on July 25 at McLean Park, home of the Magpies who have moved a Ranfurly Shield rugby union match to make the league game possible.
The possibility was revealed yesterday by Napier Mayor Bill Dalton after the transfer of a Melbourne Storm "home" game against Sydney side St George Illawarra Dragons was confirmed in a statement from council CEO Wayne Jack and Storm CEO Mark Evans.
It will be a 7.30pm Saturday night game in Round 20, just after a New Zealand Warriors home game in Auckland. The Magpies' Ranfurly Shield defence against Mid-Canterbury was to have been played the previous night, but will now be played on the Thursday, July 23.
The big league match is likely to feature a range of international players, including Storm player and former Hastings Boys' High School pupil Tohu Harris, and Kiwis superstar Benji Marshall, who now plays for the Dragons.
Mr Dalton said negotiations continue with airlines over the possibility of charter flights into Napier for Storm fans, although many are angry over losing a game from their 12-match home schedule at AAMI Park in Melbourne, where winter sport is dominated by the AFL (Aussie Rules).
It impacts on the viability of a club now entering its 18th NRL season, with two titles and two other finals behind it and owned for the last two years by New Zealand-born and raised Bart Campbell.
Club management sought a partner to stage a Storm "home" game outside Melbourne for the first time, depending on the financial arrangements, and Mr Evans, who toured New Zealand as a rugby union player, said the club was contacted by the Napier Council.
The Napier Council contribution to secure the match is expected to be well into six-figures, possibly more than the $250,00 by which it agreed to underwrite up to $250,000 in costs to secure an All Blacks rugby test against Argentina which was played in front over 23,000 people at McLean Park last September.
Mr Dalton said the amount this time, part of an events budget, is commercially sensitive, although it is public information and will be disclosed in the "wash-up."
The influx of fans - including transtasman flights through Wellington or Auckland if Hawke's Bay Airport is not practical for direct flights - is calculated to bring income of between $3 million and $5 million to the region, although Mr Evans said most of the crowd would come from within New Zealand.
Mr Jack said securing the NRL game is another "coup" for events in the city. "We are committed to bringing events to Napier and Hawke's Bay. We see real value in them and the flow-on effect is very positive," he said.
Melbourne club members will have first dibs on tickets today, but for those not interested the club is offering a one-12th refund on their season tickets, over A$100 ($103) in some cases. Tickets to the general public will go on sale on Monday, through Ticketek.
The match-switch decision, two months after the draw was announced, was attacked by Storm fans on Facebook, some fearing that while only a one-match deal it will lead to more of Melbourne's games being played elsewhere.
Storm CEO Mark Evans thanked Napier City Council "for providing Storm with the opportunity to bring an NRL game to their city."