an american nrl club

[alien]

So is success of International Expansion gauged by how many players developing countries can have play in the NRL, and the idea of having a developing country enter the NRL comp. Or is it more to hope that players in developing countries can one day rival those from Australia, and build a comp closer to the NRL?
Are developing nations looked at as nothing more than breeding grounds to feed into the NRL, or are they looked at as one day having a professional competition on their own soil? What is the ultimate goal when we talk about true International Expansion of Rugby League?
I seem to believe it depends on where you live that determines how you view what is success, and what the ultimate goal is. For Rugby League to truly be a global sport, and a real voice in the the international landscape, the game must flourish outside the nations where is it already a mainstay. Looking at developing nations as nothing more than ever expanding hunting grounds for NRL talent is not going to grow the game on a domestic basis.

I thought it would help make the game bigger over there at a quicker rate. I think it would make the NRL alot of money, which some of it could be used for the development of the game in America.

 

[Rodney]

It probably wouldn't make the NRL any money,
look at how much money the MLS and preceding comps have lost before they got a foothold.

IMO the US is too big a country divided by too many lines to have an NRL team just put on as an attachment.
Its such a big, competetive market I doubt americans will really accept a competition that isn't their own.
An entire USA team would be way too big and a smaller team would have a tough sell selling an American team playing in an Australian rugby competition playing at god knows when in the morning half the time.

NRL support would be nice for individual teams, but that's as far as I think it can go.

 

[spinnerhowland]

I am not saying the exposing USA Players to comps in Australia is not valuable and is not something that we hope happens in the short range future. It is certainly something for some guys to shoot for. But in the long term, spending the kind of money you are talking about on a USA based NRL (millions $'s) would be better used on developing a semi-pro/or pro comp in the USA.
You are right, the US market is unlike any other in the world. If it is not big here then they don't really care too much. For RL to work in the USA the sport, the comp and the players must be reliant HERE. That is just the way it is.
If RL truly wants to be a global sport it needs to start thinking on a global scale when it comes to development. The USA is too far away from any other nation and has no ties to Commonwealth sports to make anything outside of the USA really work, or matter to the domestic sports fan.

 

[Wellsy4HullFC]

Would be more realistic for an American side to join SL surely? It's a lot closer and the standard and salary cap would be much more achievable.

I'd love to see a four team North American conference and four team French conference as part of a Northern Hemisphere Super League!

Pipe dream I know!

 

[DC_fan]

The one thing that really is holding back a true world club competition is travel time.

Until a passenger jet that can travel, say Sydney to Los Angeles in about three hours is developed then I don't see it happening. I thought the Concorde was going to solve this problem, but that didn't go anywhere.

 

[spinnerhowland]

After the Leeds v Souths in 2008 and the Leeds v Salford in 2009, we did a budget to see what the costs, and viability of having a FL team play in the Championship 1 comp in the UK would be. After looking at flights, what you would need to pay the import players to get them to the USA (you would need some to compete at that level), accommodation both for import players and the team during travel, medical insurance (Huge in the USA), a venue and the operation on game day, legal fees to sort out all the visa challenges you would have with some players to be able to be paid in the USA, wages of the staff needed, PR, Marketing/Advertising, Club Insurance, rent on an office, at least online shop operations to help merch sales. The list went on and on, with everything we could think of that would be needed. Costs PER YEAR would be about $3.5 to $4 million. And that was without subsidizing the teams from the UK who would need to come here once a season. Firstly you would need good TV income to even consider that, as sponsor dollars, tickets and merch sales are not going to cover that alone. So imagine if half that money was available to set up a comp just in the USA, or the Ameircas in general where you would not have anywhere near the expenses of International Travel, and competition with talent at that level of teams. You could run a very good top end Semi-Pro domestic USA comp for less than half that because you have VERY low operating costs, and it would be taken very seriously because it would still be the BEST RL in the USA and that is all the fans care about. Providing you are the TOP LEVEL in your sport, you are the BEST LEVEL in the sport, with the nation. The challenge is finding someone who is willing to Risk $1.5 million to get it started.

 

[alien]

New Zealand doesn't have a pro Rugby League comp, but the NZ Warriors being in the NRL has been great for New Zealand rugby league, and I think an American NRL team based in Hawaii would be good for American rugby league. More people in America would be interested in Rugby League (especially in Hawaii) and more Americans would play the game. Honolulu has a population of 337,300. The island Honolulu is on has a population of 953,200. Aloha Stadium in Honolulu hosted the rugby league test between USA and Samoa in 2013. The capacity of the stadium is 50,000.

 

[jim_57]

Hawaii should definitely be part of any 'Pacific Strategy' by the NRL, whether an NRL team could ever be possible would depend on building a support base and financial backing.

To start with though playing a few high profile games there would be good. They already have the Aloha Cup but a few more high profile games like USA Internationals, and NRL games or trials are needed.

How about a Hawaii 9's?..

 

[Sjrugby]

I think having a NRL club in Hawaii would be a great step forward for the game in North America. Closer flights then having to have the other teams fly to LA or SF. But I would also suggest they set aside 1-2 games to play in the main land. Take the Toronto approch where there's blocks of away and home games played and 1-2 played in California or Washington to help spread the league code and start preparing the market for the world cup.

 

[Knownothing]

An NRL club in Hawaii? For a holiday, maybe.

Hawaii does not have a single professional sporting team.

 

[adamkungl]

Not gonna happen. PNG is the only non-Aus country aside from NZ that should be considered for an NRL team.

 

[Knownothing]

Not gonna happen. PNG is the only non-Aus country aside from NZ that should be considered for an NRL team.

That has to happen, sooner or later, surely. But local financing has to be the prime requirement.

 

[alien]

Hawaii does not have a single professional sporting team.

which means an NRL team there would have no competition with other sports!

 

[adamkungl]

That has to happen, sooner or later, surely. But local financing has to be the prime requirement.

Political stability, social and financial development is a big issue.

But I can't see the point of the NRL expanding any further than that. It's an Australian competition.

Super League is
1) Originally conceived as a European competition (however short-lived PSG was)
2) A lot closer geographically to many other countries that are culturally and economically similar.
3) Requires, desperately imo, outside big city money and influence for its own growth and perhaps even survival.

Toronto entering SL is not similar to Hawaii (or anyone else) entering the NRL. The comparison fails on all 3 points.

NRL is an Australian competition.
The only country within reasonable distance which is economically and culturally similar to Australia is New Zealand.
NRL has multiple expansion opportunities in Australian major cities, and doesn't need further international club sides to develop financially.

 

[Knownothing]

The best single thing that the NRL could do for rugby league internationally is to properly fund the international governing body, and then get out of its way.

 

[Knownothing]

which means an NRL team there would have no competition with other sports!

Mmmmm. Maybe you are being whimsical.


If you are being serious, have you considered that there might be a good reason that there aren't any pro franchises?

 

[Marlins]

1. A 2nd PNG Team in the qcup should be first for the Nrl. The PNG government & Port Mossby council have a lot issues to sort out with crime & Security before the Nrl could ever consider having a team in the Top Flight. If the government could sort out the issues a PNG team in the Nrl could be a gold mine for the Nrl & RL.

2. Fiji should be a big priority for the Nrl they need a team in the Nsw cup pronto. That team then should be a feeder club to the Warriors & the warriors should play a home game there once a year to promote RL.

3. Two NZ sides should be added to the Nsw Cup Wellington & Christchurch by 2020. In the next 6-10 years I'd like to see a 10 team NZ Cup similar to nsw & Qld
Auckland
Wellington
Christchurch
Dunedin
Napier
Hamilton
Hawaii
Fiji/Suva
Tonga
Somoa

4. In terms of International growth to RL I think Australia & The Nrl can could really make a difference.
- Have a Three week break for Origin period and have a 4 nations type Comp between PNG, Fiji, Tonga, Somoa during this period with each team playing each other once with half the games played in the countries homes & the other half in Australia. A Nz style origin would be cool as well a 3 match series having North Vs South.

- when it comes to Selection of what country to play for I think the rules should be if born in Australia but have parents/family from other countries they should be able to play Origin and pick what country they want to play for.

- having a Origin game & a 9's comp played in Nz & Hawaii would be great growth as well.

 

[Knownothing]

Forget about Hawaii, mate, that road leads nowhere.

 

[alien]

Hawaii (with a population of 1.432 million) should be a part of any pacific strategy when it comes to Rugby League.

 

[jim_57]

Forget about Hawaii, mate, that road leads nowhere.

I'd like to hear some reasoning behind this opinion.

An NRL club is a long stretch, but there is definitely potential to develop the game there. Don't think it's any coincidence why NRL clubs have been looking to taking trials there and Grand Pacific Events run the Ohana Cup our of Aloha Stadiun.