If there is any chance of hosting the 2015 City-Country match, then the city needs to grab it, according to Dubbo mayor Mathew Dickerson.
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Dickerson said he first found out there was doubt over Wagga Wagga's ability to host at the Group 11 grand final breakfast 10 days ago.
Group 11 president Ross McDermott mentioned the possibility Wagga's facility, Equex Centre, may not be up to standard in time for the May game and Dubbo was posited as the obvious replacement if a late venue change was required.
"I spoke to the guys from the CRL about it and said rather than speculate, why don't I ring Todd Greenberg and find out. I rang Todd on Monday and told him what I'd heard," the mayor said.
"He said he didn't know anything about it but he would look into it.
"This is one of the busiest times of the year for the NRL with the grand final so I haven't heard back from him yet but I have sent him a follow-up email and I'm waiting to hear back."
Dickerson said he did not want to take the match away from Wagga, which they have ties with because of the Evocities program but said Caltex Park would be ready to go if the worst did happen.
"We'd love to host the game every year if we could. It's a fantastic event and last year we had a crowd of 9627 turn out despite the poor weather," he said.
"We're certainly not trying to steal it but we are here as an option if required."
It is believed Mudgee, who hosted the event in 2011, and Cessnock are also interested in being a replacement.
However Dickerson doesn't think the situation is very likely.
"You see it quite often with events where there is a bit of a rush to get work completed, like Olympics and World Cups, there is always speculation that something won't be completed in time but it happens," he said.
"My honest opinion is that it will go ahead in Wagga but we owe it to ourselves to look into it."
Dickerson is also talking to Greenberg about the possibility of having Manly bring a game to Dubbo, While the discussions have slowed down, presumably over fees for the club to bring a game out to the city, Dickerson says it is still a possibility.
He said Group 11 would not have the funds to pay Manly and he was also extremely reluctant to use ratepayers' money, but he was hopeful some other arrangement could be worked out that suited everyone.