Zero support for moving the team
27/06/2008 9:05:00 AM
NRL chief executive David Gallop said yesterday that the game's governing body was unlikely to support any full or partial move of the Newcastle Knights but was happy for the club to privatise.
Mr Gallop was speaking in response to an interview in yesterday's Herald, in which Knights chief executive Steve Burraston warned that the club's financial position was in danger of becoming terminal unless home-crowd figures improved.
In other revelations yesterday:
Advertising tycoon John Singleton revealed that he and fellow multimillionaire Nathan Tinkler had informally discussed the possibility of buying the Knights.
Knights chairman Robbie Tew was dubious about the merits of either transfer or privatisation and said the Knights might need to start catering for a "generational change" of fans.
High-profile sponsors indicated they would re-consider their support should the Knights leave Newcastle.
Knights coach Brian Smith was optimistic that his new-look team would win fans over with consistently strong performances.
After Mr Burraston revealed in The Herald yesterday that Knights management might be forced to consider a range of survival strategies including mergers, moving games away from EnergyAustralia Stadium and privatisation Mr Gallop said yesterday that only the latter was likely to gain the NRL's blessing.
He also said the $8 million relocation incentive would be made available only to Sydney clubs who were willing to base themselves totally in Gosford.
"Our preference is to have a team on the Central Coast, lock, stock and barrel," Mr Gallop said.
"At this stage, we're not contemplating incentives for partial relocation. That [$8 million] is not available for partial relocation . . . you need your teams, whether they be new teams or relocated teams, to be living in the community and part of the community".
Mr Gallop said the NRL had an "open mind" to privatisation of any club.
"If investors were willing to get involved, we've certainly got an interest in that," he said.
Mr Gallop said it was important for the NRL to have a team based in Newcastle and described Mr Burraston's suggestion that the Knights might consider moving interstate as "a very drastic move and not one we'd be supportive of at this stage".
"Newcastle is the second-biggest city in NSW and a rugby league heartland for 100 years," Mr Gallop said.
"We very much appreciate the importance of the Knights in our competition."
Should the Knights consider privatisation, Mr Singleton, who owns Gosford's Bluetongue Stadium and has campaigned for years to have an NRL team based on the Central Coast, said he would possibly be interested.
Mr Singleton revealed yesterday that he and mining magnate Mr Tinkler, who have both supported the Knights with lucrative sponsorship packages, had discussed the possibility of buying the club.
"This was during the horse sales," Mr Singleton said. "We discussed all kinds of subjects.
"He [Tinkler] was real interested. He asked if I was interested and I said, 'I don't know' . . . there's a lot of things depend, depend, depend."
Mr Singleton believes the best option for the Knights would be to stay in Newcastle but said playing home games in Gosford might be a gamble worth taking.
"You can't pretend to be a Central Coast team, but people in Gosford follow the Newcastle Knights because it's the closest thing we've got to a team," Mr Singleton said.
"It would be a very brave experiment. They could certainly try a game or two at Bluetongue Stadium to see how much money they make and what sort of crowds they attract.
"But I think there would be a bit of a revolution if they ever tried to relocate the Knights out of Newcastle."
Knights chairman Mr Tew applauded the "transparency" of Mr Burraston's comments but said that some of the options mooted would be explored only in extreme circumstances.
"Playing half our games on the Central Coast is not an option," Mr Tew said.
He was similarly dubious about the possibility of privatisation: "If privatisation was the golden handshake that everyone describes it as and I don't believe it is wouldn't you think those suitors would be calling regularly? I've not seen any."
Mr Tew said Knights management were "looking within" and "perhaps we need to pay more heed and recognition to reinvigorating a new generation of supporters".
"We are nothing without our community and our supporter base," Mr Tew said.
"So this is about working out how we can better encourage them to come, as much as it is asking them to support us."
Coach Smith was conscious of the need to attract spectators and was hopeful that fans would rally behind his rebuilt team.
"Every coach wants his team to be well supported . . . with this club, in particular, the role that our home fans play has become synonymous with this team," he said.
"I think the thing most people wanted to see this year was that the team is competitive and playing a tough brand of footy.
" . . . our defence has improved remarkably and we've got a team with a lot of pride."
