The New Zealand Rugby League is out of pocket after the Denver test between the Kiwis and England and faces the prospect of carrying a debt of up to $500,000.

There are fears the 2025 Rugby League World Cup may not go ahead in the US as planned due to financial troubles surrounding the promoter.



The Rugby League International Federation had conditionally awarded the event to North America almost two years ago, signifying the first time the tournament will be taken out of traditional heartland areas.

The bold foray into the US and Canada is still seven years away, but already there are concerns whether the event's promoter, Moore Sports International, is still in a position to bankroll the event.

The company made history by taking an England-New Zealand test to Colorado earlier this year, a game that was well received in the Denver region. However, a crowd of less than 20,000 resulted in Moore Sports International chief executive Jason Moore suffering an estimated seven-figure loss.

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While the players have been paid, the New Zealand Rugby League and the Rugby Football League (the governing body for professional rugby league in England) claim they are out of pocket and are facing the prospect of carrying a debt of up to $500,000 each.

Under a revised timeline, the NZRL has given the promoter until Friday to pay the money they say is owed.

"We haven't been paid, but we're running a timeline on that, that hasn't expired yet," NZRL boss Greg Peters said.

The parties had signed a three-year deal to play tests in the US. However, a report into the controversial Denver fixture found it was

"inappropriately scheduled" and suffered from a number of organisational oversights, meaning it will likely remain a one-off match.

Asked if the Kiwis would consider heading to Denver again next year, Peters said: "I would say it's unlikely at this stage, unless the

promoter delivers pretty quickly."

One of Moore's other projects, snowboarding competition Air + Style, was slated to be held in Sydney's Domain this month. However, it has been scrapped and Moore's subsidiary firm, Moore Snow Sports, is one his companies currently in administration.

Moore has proven he can make big events happen. He brought Los Angeles and Arizona to the SCG for an historic Major League Baseball series opener in 2014. While that project was a success, his foray into Denver was impeded by resistance from the NRL and its clubs, which didn't want the fixture to proceed.

Moore declined to comment when contacted by Fairfax Media.



It is hoped Moore will find the funds required to fulfil his financial commitments from the Denver test, the first step towards proving he can deliver on his World Cup commitments. But the large financial loss and the delays in paying up cast a doubt on the US venture.

"MSI has been awarded the 2025 World Cup subject to appropriate guarantees and finalisation of a staging agreement," RLIF chairman

John Grant said.

"When we have greater clarity on MSI's position we will know whether we have to deal with anything or not. We'll wait until things become clear."



The RLIF has yet to contact Moore about the issues, but said, "there are always contingency plans", which could include the prospect of seeking alternative partners to promote the 2025 World Cup.

"There are always options, particularly when we're talking about an event seven years out and also particularly when there is every indication RLWC2021 [in England] will be very successful," Grant said.

The fallout from the Denver foray comes at a time when the NRL is seeking to take more matches to the American market. The governing body gave some consideration to staging a season-ending Australia-Tonga test in New York, but the promoter behind the initiative couldn't convince head office he could make the project stack up financially at short notice.



Negotiations are also advanced to take the opening round match for 2019, most likely between Melbourne and South Sydney, to the US. A decision on the "round zero" project is imminent, although the NRL is wary of green lighting another loss-making match in America.