The PNG Chiefs will consider major upgrades to their home stadium as the NRL’s 19th franchise prepares to welcome rival clubs to Port Moresby to one of the smallest venues in the competition.
The Chiefs will enter the NRL in 2028 and play out of the National Football Stadium in the Papua New Guinean capital.
Currently the venue, which was sold out for Saturday’s World Cup match between the Kumuls and Samoa, only has the capacity to host 15,000 people.
There are limited corporate boxes, no shaded areas on three of the four stands, and no working wi-fi in an open-air press box.
It is also home to the offices of the PNG Rugby Football League and the Chiefs, whose staff will base themselves at their training ground once construction is completed.
Among other NRL clubs, only Cronulla's Shark Park has a comparable attendance limit.
But the PNG club’s chief executive Lorna McPherson will explore options to nearly double the venue’s capacity in the years that follow the club’s maiden season.
“We can take this from 15,000 to 25,000 easily,” McPherson told AAP.
“I don’t want to do that for day one because I want to make sure that the security and broadcast people work, so let's walk before we run.
“But I do want to build another 15 to 20 corporate boxes.”
The Chiefs also insist ticket prices and merchandise will be affordable to locals.
The maiden Chiefs jersey, unveiled at a ceremony attended by the country’s prime minister James Marape and Australia’s foreign minister Penny Wong Port Moresby last week, is estimated to be worth $20 million in sponsorship.
The club has released an affordable replica playing shirt retailing at K99 ($32).
The minimum wage in PNG in 2026 is K5 ($1.59) an hour.
“We had a conversation with (NRL executive chairman) Peter V’landys where we said we know the market and what will work in PNG," McPherson said.
“If you're going to build a team and you're going to build your following and your fan base, you have to listen to your customers.
“We're working on the price of tickets, so I can't tell you what that's going to look like just now.
“We've got a little bit of breathing space now, and maybe around September time we’ll be ready to announce that.”
