The NRL has been forced into an embarrassing date switch for its Magic Round in Brisbane next season.
NRL CEO Todd Greenberg held a media conference in Brisbane on Sunday morning to announce that all eight games of round 10 next year would be held at Suncorp Stadium over the weekend of May 17-19.
However it soon emerged that the Queensland Reds were booked in to play their Super Rugby clash with the NSW Waratahs at the ground on May 18.
Hours later the NRL announced the Magic Round would come a week earlier.
"There has been some miscommunication over the availability of dates," the NRL said in a statement.
"NRL Brisbane Magic Round will occur in Round Nine of next year's NRL Premiership from May 10-12."
Earlier, Greenberg said the round would "showcase our game and create a festival-like occasion."
Greenberg spruiked Brisbane as the best place to launch Magic Round, forecast to become an annual event.
The NRL has signed a multi-year agreement with the Queensland government and Brisbane City Council to hold it in Brisbane but he admitted it could move locations in the future.
"I think it's a fitting start for what will be an annual event," Greenberg said.
"There's probably not a better place to try it than here in Queensland.
"I expect it to be a roaring success.
"The community interaction that we will have with all 16 clubs in place will be phenomenal," he said.
"Our coaches would be in grass roots clubs helping junior coaches, our players will be doing community work and on top of that you will see a great spectacle here on Friday night, Saturday and Sunday."
Both Greenberg and Brisbane Broncos skipper Darius Boyd played down any concerns about whether the Suncorp Stadium surface would be able to cope with eight games over one weekend.
Ticket prices will be aimed at families and patrons can buy one ticket for access to any of the double-header or triple-header sessions, as well as one covering all three sessions.
The NRL sees Magic Round as its premier innovation event for 2019 but Greenberg is also optimistic about kicking off the season with a game on the United States west coast, dubbed Round Zero.
"We can't get a confirmation yet because there's a lot of parts still to play including broadcasters and clubs and travel and, of course, cost but we're working our way through that," he said.
The Magic Round is tipped to pump more than $60 million into the Queensland economy.
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