Council keeps lips sealed on NRL game spend

Chief executive Wayne Jack

Napier City Council is tight-lipped about how much ratepayer money was spent on the weekend's NRL match but says it is confident an independent review will confirm the game had an "extremely positive" economic impact on the city and the region.

More than 14,500 league fans attended Saturday night's match between the Melbourne Storm and the St George Illawarra Dragons at McLean Park, exceeding the council's initial expectation of a crowd of between 12,000-13,000.

Chief executive Wayne Jack had said the council paid the Storm a fee to get the match held in Napier, but yesterday would not provide details, saying it was a "commercial arrangement".

Mr Jack said costs were still being finalised and more details would be released as part of an independent economic impact assessment report the council had commissioned to understand the benefits of hosting the NRL event.

Napier City Council's contribution is likely to have included waiving the cost of hiring McLean Park, which the council owns.

"I think you'll find the economic impact will be extremely positive," Mr Jack said. "There were a lot of people that came from out of the region for the game. A lot of people came across from Australia."

Television coverage included significant commentary on "the wonders of Napier and Hawke's Bay - that's huge publicity for us", Mr Jack said.

The Storm used the match to host leading executives of its major sponsors. Top executives from Crown Resorts, Channel 9 Victoria and other major supporters also attended. They stayed at Black Barn and played golf on Sunday at Cape Kidnappers.

Storm chairman and Australia-based New Zealander Bart Campbell said the whole contingent of more than 150 players, management and supporters were overwhelmed by their experiences in Hawke's Bay. "So there are a lot of extremely good positive benefits out of having the game here," Mr Jack said.

The experience showed there was an opportunity for future NRL games to be held in the city, and the council was planning discussions about that, he said.

Asked if local NRL franchise the Warriors might be lured to play a game in Hawkes' Bay, Mr Jack said: "Anything is a possibility."