The Warriors had been planning to commemorate their 20th anniversary season with a re-enactment of their inaugural game, which was played in front of a sellout crowd at Mt Smart in 1995. It was a memorable occasion, particularly for the extravagant pre-match entertainment with army cannons, fireworks and hundreds of dancers.
"Our No 1 priority in terms of the schedule for next season was to play the Broncos at home in round two," Doyle said. "We had always planned to have our first home game against Brisbane. Our whole promotion could have been geared off that game and it could have set us up for the season. It could have been massive."
The Warriors will instead play their first home game against the Eels in round three, before hosting the Broncos a week later.
The Broncos are a huge revenue earner in the NRL, and their schedule is carefully put together, with a lot of input from the television networks.
"Channel Nine's big priority was to have the Broncos play the champions [Souths] for Wayne Bennett's homecoming," Doyle said. "Then they play the Cowboys for the big Queensland derby for their next home game in round three. We were locked in for round two."
Doyle said they had taken legal advice and will take legal action if necessary.
"You can't allow people to break a contract," he said. "It's completely wrong and shows a blatant disregard for their public. We will take the appropriate action we think is necessary."
The dispute has added to a strained relationship with the council, and Regional Facilities Auckland, over their stadiums strategy which aims to move the Warriors from Mt Smart by 2018 (to Eden Park or QBE stadium) and also the Warriors' announcement last year that they wouldn't be using Eden Park in 2018.
An RFA spokesman said they had "no comment" in reaction to Doyle's statements, and "nothing further to add from their previous position".
In October, RFA director of stadium management Paul Nisbet wouldn't comment on the sequence of events but said, "in essence, the Warriors have had up to 10 months' notice of those concerts happening at Mt Smart".
The Warriors, however, claim they weren't told about the concert before the booking was made, contravening their scheduling rights as principal tenant during the NRL season. It's believed the club and NRL were not informed of the concert booking until a week before the advertising and publicity was unveiled.
"I'm scratching my head that we could be in this situation - I find it extraordinary," Warriors co-owner Eric Watson told the Herald on Sunday earlier this year.
