NRL closes in on fifth hotel as $1bn property push gathers pace
The NRL's push to build a $1 billion property portfolio is gathering momentum, with the ARL Commission conducting due diligence on a Sydney hotel worth an estimated $100 million.
If successful, this will be the NRL’s biggest real estate play to date.
ARLC chairman and interim CEO Peter V'landys confirmed the code is deep in the due diligence process on what he described as its largest-ever investment, though he declined to disclose the property's location or size. An announcement is expected within one to two weeks.
The prospective purchase, believed to be an institutional-grade hotel in Sydney's tightly held market, would be the NRL's first major move since locking in a national record $5.3 billion broadcast rights deal earlier this month.
The Sydney hotel would become the NRL's fifth hospitality asset, following roughly $90 million spent on four properties since 2022 as part of a deliberate diversification strategy.
The code's current holdings include the Beetson Hotel (formerly Gambaro's) in Brisbane, Quest Hotel Woolooware Bay in Sydney's south, the Mercure Sunshine Coast Kawana Waters, and the Mantra Terrace Brisbane and Ibis Styles Port Macquarie, acquired together in late 2024 for a combined $38 million.
The strategy stems from the financial strain the code faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the NRL was left with just two weeks of cash reserves.
“For me, it's important that we have a billion dollars worth of assets in rugby league moving forward,” V'landys said. “Who knows what happens with the broadcast deal after the seven years? You may not get that sort of money again and you need to be self-sufficient.”
“So we need to have diversified revenues and we need a lot of assets to get those diversified revenues. If we don't we'll end up like we did during Covid, where we had two weeks' worth of cash. Otherwise we would have been bankrupt and we will never want to be in that position again.”
The commission has already amassed close to $300 million in assets and is targeting $1 billion, positioning the code to be self-sufficient beyond the life of its current broadcast agreement. The strategy centres on acquiring income-producing hotel properties near major stadiums and rugby league heartlands, giving the NRL a stable revenue stream independent of broadcast and gate takings.
Jonathan Jackson, 20th July 2026
