Last night’s epic and exciting State of Origin Game III has been hailed as a win-win for the visitor economy of New South Wales.
NSW showed its support for its rugby league side by lighting up the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge in blue ahead of the Holden State of Origin game. Who knows, maybe it helped push the Blues over the line. It was one of the most thrilling and nail-biting State of Origin series deciders ever.
The NSW Government partnered with the NRL to secure this year’s State of Origin Game III to determine which state took home the coveted shield for 2019.
In the event, NSW took the shield, but it was head-to-head throughout, eight-all at half time and locked 20-20 just minutes before the final superb try by James Tedesco that took the title for the Blues.
Minister for Tourism Stuart Ayres said State of Origin is not only one of the most fiercely fought battles in Australian sport, it’s one of the country’s premier events for tourism.
“It’s the perfect situation for NSW with State of Origin Game III being the series decider, and the Blues in prime position to claim back-to-back titles,” he said.
“We expect this game will generate approximately AUD 17 million in tourism related expenditure for NSW, with a sell-out crowd anticipated for ANZ Stadium.
“Of an 83,000-strong capacity crowd, it’s estimated 24,000 attendees will be visitors to Sydney, either from interstate, regional NSW or overseas, so to show our excitement we’re lighting the Harbour Bridge blue to support the team to hold onto the shield in NSW.”
The stadium was full to capacity last night.
Last year the NSW Blues won the series in just two games and it was the state’s first title since 2014.
NSW has hosted 47 State of Origin games since the series began with 2.7 million avid fans enjoying the highs and lows.
The Tourism & Transport Forum described the match as a win-win for the visitor economy, drawing an estimated 24,000 visitors from interstate and regional NSW.
Speaking ahead of last night’s series decider, TTF chief executive Margy Osmond said “that when you look at just how many people come together to make sure an event like Origin is a success, a great series means success for everyone.”
“While the big picture is around the sporting codes benefiting from such events, so to do the staff pulling the beers and selling the pies at the stadium and the security checking your ticket.
“From pub and restaurant staff, aviation, hotel workers and event staff, each of these groups play a major role in the delivery of these events,” Osmond said.
A recent TTF Survey in collaboration with Nielsen Data shows that when it comes to attending major events, sporting events come in as the number one choice.
ANZ Stadium
Those interviewed also recognised the importance of major events with 54% believing that the most important outcome from events is that “it brings jobs and money to my state”.
While 50% of those surveyed also called for both the state and federal governments to invest more to attract and hosting more major events.
“The more events, the more work, the better the economy and when talking about this it is important to recognise the impact on the everyday Aussies as well,” Osmond said.
State of Origin 11 host in Perth was recently declared an economic success with more than 12,000 interstate fans jetting in for game two of the series at Optus Stadium generating a AUD 15 million windfall.
Written by Peter Needham
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