Peter V'landys wants to officially turn Newcastle into Bluecastle for one night only on July 14.
And provided the ARL Commission chairman gets the final tick of approval from the NSW Government, he seems certain to get his way with McDonald Jones Stadium in the box seat to host State of Origin III in less than a fortnight.
An official announcement on the choice of venue is likely to be made as early as Friday with V'landys telling the Newcastle Herald he is confident of having it finalised by the end of this week.
"As long as we get it worked out by the end of the week, that will give everyone plenty of notice," he said.
It will be a massive shot in the arm for the code in the Hunter Region and Northern NSW if, as expected, Newcastle gets the nod.
It will be the first time in Origin history a designated NSW Origin game will be played in a regional centre with the COVID restrictions in place in Greater Sydney ruling out venues such as Stadium Australia and Bankwest Stadium.
As the current restrictions stand, anyone who resides in Greater Sydney will also be shut out from attending the game, opening the door for more Newcastle, Hunter Region and country fans to attend.
V'landys confirmed he wanted the game to be played in NSW and Newcastle was his preferred option. It's understood all the negotiations with the State government have centred around taking the game to McDonald Jones Stadium.
"I'd love to take it to Newcastle because it's rugby league heartland and we'd love to reward the supporters up there because they deserve it," he said.
"That's what we are working towards with the State government and we are hoping they will be able to assist us in making it happen."
V'landys refused to divulge details of the negotiations but it's understood they centre around financial help with potential COVID restrictions.
"It would be fantastic to have it up there," he said.
