Parramatta Eels CEO Bernie Gurr uses lessons NBA, NFL franchises to rebuild NRL powerhouse
MATT LOGUE, The Daily Telegraph
PARRAMATTA and the United States are separated by over 14,000km but they’ll share a common link this season thanks to Eels CEO Bernie Gurr.
Prior to joining the Eels in September, Gurr spent 19 years in America working in various business positions.
During this time the former Roosters boss picked up invaluable insights from two of the finest American franchises in NFL powerhouse New England Patriots and perennial NBA mainstays, San Antonio Spurs.
The Patriots and Spurs have won a combined 10 championships in the past 18 years to stamp themselves as the benchmark of consistency.
“I observed all the sports in America and the one thing that stood out was the really successful and sustainable clubs have stability,” Gurr told The Saturday Telegraph.
“They don’t turn over senior management or coaches a lot and they also put a real emphasis on front-office capabilities.
“That’s particularly in the NFL, where the Patriots have been the gold standard for a couple of decades now.
“Then in the NBA you’ve got the Spurs who have been the No. 1 most consistent franchise.
“I’ve met with a couple of their executives over the years. I’ve just observed them from years of watching and reading a lot about how they do business.
“Other franchises have had their ups and downs, but the Spurs and Patriots have maintained their standard.”
Since winning four premierships in the 1980s, the Eels have struggled. The proud Western Sydney club has also been held back by boardroom battles and off-field dramas, like last year’s salary cap scandal.
“We are just trying to build an excellent club,” Gurr said.
“When I started, the first thing we wanted was one Parramatta — a united Parramatta.
“We also spoke about rebuilding the trust with our stakeholders, so we’ve been trying to re-engage with a lot of them through schools, our charity partners and sponsors.
“We are going to build a club that hopefully can be competitive for the long term.
“Parramatta has a huge number of fans and a scale that not many other clubs have, so we just want to build a club that our fans can be proud of.
“You can’t guarantee success in professional sport, but you can guarantee that you can run a professional club.”
Gurr knows the Eels don’t have the same budget or resources as their US counterparts, but he believes they can still replicate their basic standards.
“The Spurs and Patriots have a culture where there is a great expectation of success,” he said.
“And when players go there they get consumed by the culture.
“Both clubs have also got a real identity.
“The Patriots are known as real cutting edge team. They leave no stone unturned in their recruitment and their business practices and the Spurs are very similar.
“Their recruitment strategy and attention to detail is second to none. They find value in players that no one else sees.
“The Spurs have had success with a number of European players (Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili), while the Patriots have had success with players that didn’t appear to be excellent players but they can drop them in a system and make them successful.
“More importantly, both clubs have the right people in the organisation.
“You can be stable, but if you don’t have the right people you are not going to have continued success and that’s when you start losing your stability.”
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