A squabble over just 5000 seats is delaying the announcement of a brand new, state-of-the-art, world-class Allianz Stadium – although it is expected to finally be unveiled "in coming weeks".

It will be the biggest sporting infrastructure announcement in Sydney's history. Finally.

The pointier question, though, isn't whether it should hold 55,000 or 60,000 fans, but who will fill just half of it? Or a third? Or a quarter …

After only 12,036 souls turned up for the alleged blockbuster between South Sydney and Brisbane on Thursday, it's a question the NRL is struggling to answer.

You want a new billion-dollar stadium to be paid for by NSW taxpayers? Sure. Here you go. But you better fill it.

On Thursday night, NRL chief executive Dave Smith and his full management team sat in a private suite in the south-east corner of the current Allianz Stadium, entertaining the weighty issues for the greatest game of all.

Let's hope there was no back-slapping. Because if the game's suits walked outside, into the cool August air, and peered over the balcony, they would have seen an embarrassing disasterbelow.

And we're not talking about the game.

South Sydney – the defending premiers with more than 35,000 members – were playing Brisbane Broncos, back in their traditional heartland. It was two versus four, a fortnight out from the finals. Minor premierships and top-four positions were on the line. Big game. Massive game.

The talking point wasn't just about how bad the Rabbitohs played, or Issac Luke's shoulder charge, or John Sutton's broken leg, but how few turned up to watch.

A crowd of about 20,000 had been optimistically anticipated. They were lucky to get half of that.

The timing of the inferior crowd figure could not have been worse as arguments continue behind closed doors between the Premier's Office and other government departments over long-awaited stadium policy.

At the heart of it is 5000 seats, with Premier Mike Baird wanting a 55,000-seat stadium to replace Allianz while Sports Minister Stuart Ayres - backed by Smith and ARU boss Bill Pulver - wants 60,000-plus.

During the Souths-Broncos match, there was speculation in other suites around Allianz that news of a new stadium would be announced on Friday morning.

It turned out to be misguided, but a decision is said to be imminent.

The centrepiece will be the levelling of the outdated but much loved Allianz, with "the best rectangular stadium in the world" to replace it.

ANZ Stadium is set to remain for the city's major sporting and music events, although the home of the Sydney Olympics will be afforded scant upgrade and the NRL plans to play Origins out of the new stadium at Moore Park.

Parramatta Stadium will be redeveloped into a 30,000-seat venue, servicing the fans of the west.

It will be a win for Smith, who has been lobbying and cajoling Baird for new stadia to showcase the game.

The NRL has been quick on the draw when it comes to its product, often flagging the juicy statistic that rugby league provides 70 per cent of the content for NSW stadiums.

It's the same "you need us more than we need you" edict Smith recently slapped on News Corp about television broadcast rights, hatching a $925 million deal with Channel Nine.

There's also been much posturing from Smith about the jewels in the crown – the grand final and State of Origin matches – and the possibility of them being shifted interstate if the NRL doesn't get its way.

The NRL barely obscured the fact that the ARL Commission flew to Brisbane a month ago to meet with Queensland government and sporting powerbrokers about the possibility of moving the grand final to Suncorp Stadium from 2019. It was a shot across the NSW government's bow.

Smith has a strong relationship with Ayres. Both are aspirational about Sydney's sporting landscape, and that's foresight that has long been needed.

But the NRL boss's relationship with Baird has become strained in recent months.

First, it was about the delay in the announcement of stadium policy.

There's a strong belief among those at League Central that key staffers in the Premier's office prefer and follow the AFL, looking down their noses at rugby league as an inferior sport. Others have expressed that opinion, too, which suggests a misread of the game's importance to the city and state.

More recently, Baird publicly admonished Smith, demanding the game's fans "need to see some stronger leadership" after Roosters player Shaun Kenny-Dowall wasn't immediately stood down in the face of domestic violence charges.

Despite this, Smith is now set to get the stadium he as long coveted. But can he fill it?

Comparisons have been made with Levi's Stadium in San Francisco, which has been given greater exposure to Australian sports fans in the past week after Jarryd Hayne sizzled in an NFL pre-season match there for the San Francisco 49ers.

Every major football code compares itself to the NFL.

But does the NRL truly believe it can replicate that palpable atmosphere, on a weekly basis, by building a new stadium?

Debates about diminishing NRL crowds have becoming mind-numbing. Ticket prices, food prices, public transport, outdated stadiums, pre-match entertainment, half-time entertainment, a game that's better on TV, a game that's become dull to watch ... Monday night is dead. So let's play on Thursday night ...

The finger-pointing was on in earnest on Friday morning, with some saying Souths didn't promote the one-off game away from their home base of ANZ Stadium enough. Souths deny this.

NRL officials were also quick to point out that 711,000 people watched the match on Nine across five cities, making it the third most watched match of the season.

Rugby league's popularity on television is hardly breaking news. But if diminishing crowds keep dawdling through the turnstiles – not least in the coming finals series – they will continue to be an issue for the NRL.

Sydney deserves a world-class stadium. A brand new Allianz Stadium is the right move, give or take 5000 seats. But the real challenge for Smith and and those in the south-east corner suite is making sure it is filled.