NRL purchases Mercure Hotel on the Gold Coast for around $20M
The NRL continues to improve its real estate standing, as it hopes to build a $300 million real estate portfolio.
Its latest purchase – for an undisclosed but estimated $20 million – is the Mercure Hotel on the Gold Coast, which is likely to be rebranded with a local rugby flavour paying tribute to the likes of game legends Wally Lewis and Darren Lockyer.
The NRL informed all 17 clubs of the acquisition and said there will be further acquisitions to come. The clubs along with the Rugby League Players Association has given Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys permission to chase the $300 million target. Current real estate assets are valued at around $65 million.
The NRL made the move into real estate to diversify its income streams away from traditional game revenues including broadcast, after it struggled to survive during the covid pandemic.
The latest purchase is the Mercure Kawana Waters: the NRL still has more than $200 million to spend on future-proofing the game.
The Mercure is a 4.5-star hotel near Sunshine Coast stadium, hospitals and an entertainment precinct.
It will also be near an international indoor sporting arena which will soon be built for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Following the purchase, the NRL will look to play more outside games at the stadium, following in the tradition of The Dolphins and Melbourne Storm’s regular games.
The NRL made its first purchase in July 2022, with the reported $25 million acquisition of Brisbane’s Gambaro Hotel. Its second property was the Quest Woolooware Bay Hotel, adjacent to Cronulla’s PointsBet Stadium in October 2023 for around $22 million.
Jonathan Jackson, 29th January 2024
