Anna Bligh committed to building a $140 million, 25,000-seat stadium, which led to the building of momentum behind Central Queensland's NRL bid. Denis Keeffe, the CQ bid's CEO, shared that after meeting with Bligh, he had a "compelling case" to present to NRL boss David Gallop.

The Queensland Premier had a meeting with the bid's bosses on Sunday to assign funding to a stadium similar in size to the Gold Coast Titans' Skilled Park. It is expected to be built in Rockhampton.

The other main criteria demanded by Gallop are that Keeffe has to collect 30,000 signatures by the year's end. He became confident after the bid team already collected about 17,000. It also includes Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as "petitioner No. 1".

Keeffe said, "The onus is on us and the general community now to produce 30,000 bid members to back up this fantastic commitment by the very supportive state government and Regional Council".

CQ region brags almost 20,000 supporter members. CQ NRL chairman Geoff Murphy added that the big box - the stadium - is ticked. He further added that this stadium commitment from the Premier is very big for the CQ NRL bid.