Brisbane Bombers Bid

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

The consortium behind the Bombers are now putting a 10 million bid for the Titans. They insist they will keep them the Titans and keep them at the Gold Coast.

Didn't the new Seattle Sonics owner say that before moving them to Oklahoma?



Brisbane Bombers enter race for Gold Coast Titans’ NRL licence armed with $10 million

Peter Badel, The Courier-Mail


THE Brisbane Bombers have entered the race for the Titans’ licence armed with a $10 million bid to stave off the North Sydney Bears and keep the club on the Gold Coast.

The Courier Mail can reveal a Bombers consortium has begun due diligence into the Titans after contacting the NRL to formally express interest in buying the financially-stricken club.

The NRL last week officially placed the Titans up for sale, prompting Rebecca Frizelle to resign as club chair as she ramps up plans to purchase the club with former co-owner Darryl Kelly.

Frizelle and Kelly are red-hot favourites to clinch the Titans licence, while North Sydney represent a threat with a $7m bid aimed at reviving the famous Bears as an NRL identity.

But the Brisbane consortium has the financial muscle to blow rival bids out of the water.

The Bombers launched in 2011 with a view to becoming Brisbane’s second team to rival the Broncos, but with the NRL putting expansion on the backburner, they are keen to rescue the Gold Coast.

“We’ll be making a bid for the Titans licence,” said Bombers CEO Nick Livermore, whose late father Ross was formerly the boss of the QRL and a board member at the Gold Coast Chargers.

“We’ve contacted the NRL and formally applied to be part of the bid process.

“We’re currently looking over the Titans’ financials, we’re understanding the ins and out of the business and looking to see if we can add value to the club.

“Our motivation is growing the game and bringing stability to the Titans on the Gold Coast.


“My father was part of the Gold Coast Chargers, so there is some history and heritage which makes it a passionate pursuit for me.

“If the NRL decides there is someone better suited for the licence, that’s fine. But the Titans deserve an opportunity to thrive in the NRL and at the moment, through some unfortunate circumstances, that’s not the case.

“It takes time to heal wounds but hopefully we can make that happen.”

A four-man Bombers consortium is currently examining the financials of a Titans club that will lose an estimated $2.3 million this season.

Livermore praised the work of Frizelle and Kelly and said the Brisbane group had no plans to relocate the Titans.


While expansion is on the backburner, the Bombers hope the NRL will consider adding a second Brisbane team when the code’s next TV rights deal is brokered for the 2023 season.

In the meantime, the Bombers believe they have the finances, business plan and administrative acumen to resurrect the ailing Titans.

“Fans should not be concerned, we have no plans to move the Titans,” he said.

“It’s important that the Titans stay on the Gold Coast full-time.

“Ultimately, the Titans don’t need another rebrand. We’ve had enough name changes. They wouldn’t be the Gold Coast Bombers.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport...n/news-story/00e8336e2a50bb1ca5686077e427b2ae

Honestly, i dont think this would be such a bad idea...

Given the ARLC place some basic limits on the club (no name change, minimum no. of games at Cbus) i dont see a problem in this lot taking control of the Titans.

Im gonna guess they arent THAT attached to the Bombers name (it was necesary to build momentum for a new bid, but there isnt enough history/emotion behind it for that to be a sticking point) or the Brisbane location (i reckon the group just sniffed the wind and figured Brisbane was their best bet for a new team).

Kelly/Frizzel have had a few years in charge without all that much success (i mean, the club did end up broke) so maybe a change is needed. (and they clearly have no idea what theyre doing with the brand. next year will be their 3rd main strip in the 5 years they have been in charge. The Bombers name might be shit, but the colours and logo are f*ckin sweet)

The Bombers crew at least COME ACROSS as competent, so i wouldnt rule them out...

 

[Perth Red]

Wow didnt see that coming, not sure why unless they are giving up on ever having a brisbane2 side and this is consolation. They are pretty powerful business group.

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

Wow didnt see that coming, not sure why unless they are giving up on ever having a brisbane2 side and this is consolation.

Id say they have given up on getting one any time soon and have decided to move on the more likely bet...

The Gold Coast market may not be as appealing as the Brisbane one, but if they are keen for an NRL team beggars cant be choosers and GC does have good potential.

They are pretty powerful business group.

If they are serious about committing to the GC, it would be good to have that behind to Titans...

 

[beave]

Honestly, i dont think this would be such a bad idea...

Given the ARLC place some basic limits on the club (no name change, minimum no. of games at Cbus) i dont see a problem in this lot taking control of the Titans.

Im gonna guess they arent THAT attached to the Bombers name (it was necesary to build momentum for a new bid, but there isnt enough history/emotion behind it for that to be a sticking point) or the Brisbane location (i reckon the group just sniffed the wind and figured Brisbane was their best bet for a new team).

Kelly/Frizzel have had a few years in charge without all that much success (i mean, the club did end up broke) so maybe a change is needed. (and they clearly have no idea what theyre doing with the brand. next year will be their 3rd main strip in the 5 years they have been in charge. The Bombers name might be shit, but the colours and logo are f*ckin sweet)

The Bombers crew at least COME ACROSS as competent, so i wouldnt rule them out...

Yeah their colours are sweet...... because they used NQ's colour set.

 

[herbert henry1908]

This is good & bad.

Good that it improves the chances any second Brisbane team will be a different model than that of the Broncos.

Bad that it means we aren't likely to see a second Brisbane team anytime soon.

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

Yeah their colours are sweet...... because they used NQ's colour set.

Nah, you and the Titans just copied Parra. The Bomber Blue-Orange is actually unique...

Hopefully, if the Bombers take over the Titans, their first step is to fix up the clubs god awful branding.

 

[beave]

They don't know if they wanna be parra or the cowboys.....

 

[TiggaPlease]

Branding and colours don't look anything like Parra or Nth QLD.

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

The more i think about it the more perfect this Bombers takeover seems...

While a Broncos clone is the last thing Brisbane2 should be aiming for, i think it is exactly what the Titans SHOULD be trying to achieve.

Bris2 should be going for a peoples-club, grass roots image to contrast with the Bronx. But i think the image the Titans should be going for is the "you hate us because we are better/richer than you" vibe the Broncos put out.

Branding and colours don't look anything like Parra or Nth QLD.

More like what we would have gotten if the Tigers and Eels had actually gone through with their merge proposal after SL.

I like to imagine it would have been something like this...

They don't know if they wanna be parra or the cowboys.....

If they stayed with that exact Orangey-Yellow, it would be a great colour combo for a new team.

THe problems come when they begin to change the shades every few years as the Titans have done since 2009. One of the biggest problems in their branding

On a side note, the nostalgic 1920s Americana imagery the Bombers are going for would be a great angle for the Titans branding (They clearly dont give a shit about the Greek mythology thing, so being the "retro" team might be a good new direction)

 

[RazorRam0n]

The more i think about it the more perfect this Bombers takeover seems...

While a Broncos clone is the last thing Brisbane2 should be aiming for, i think it is exactly what the Titans SHOULD be trying to achieve.

Bris2 should be going for a peoples-club, grass roots image to contrast with the Bronx. But i think the image the Titans should be going for is the "you hate us because we are better/richer than you" vibe the Broncos put out.



More like what we would have gotten if the Tigers and Eels had actually gone through with their merge proposal after SL.

I like to imagine it would have been something like this...



If they stayed with that exact Orangey-Yellow, it would be a great colour combo for a new team.

THe problems come when they begin to change the shades every few years as the Titans have done since 2009. One of the biggest problems in their branding

On a side note, the nostalgic 1920s Americana imagery the Bombers are going for would be a great angle for the Titans branding (They clearly dont give a shit about the Greek mythology thing, so being the "retro" team might be a good new direction)

the reason the titans cocked up from the start was because they refused to go head to head with the broncos. the whole outer brisbane region is screaming for representation, it just needs people with stronger commercial links to unlock it.

 

[The Great Dane]

In come the Bombers (of all people) to save the day.

Assuming that all their figures add up and that they're willing to keep the team mostly on the GC (I don't have a problem with them taking a game or two to Suncorp), then they seem to be the best bid so far.

I honestly don't mind if they want to re-brand, they say they don't want to and hopefully they don't, but if they do hopefully we can talk them out of calling the team the Bombers!
There's no reason why any new brand shouldn't be unique, and naming the club after an AFL club of the same name is just stupid on so many levels in my opinion.

But apart from the potential of them try to change the Titans brand to the Bombers brand I've got no problem with them taking over, hopefully they can get the club a better stake of the Brisbane Sponsorship market and fix up their branding and merchandising as a start.

 

[siv]

Wondered where Frizzell would pop up after she left the Titans board

More surprised it took this long for these guys to get involved

 

[flippikat]

I'd be comfortable if the Bombers bid takes over the Titans & keeps the Titans name, but changes the colour scheme to blue & orange.

After all, blue and orange were the original Gold Coast Dolphins bid colours. A different shade of blue, sure.. but it's far more distinctive than the blue & yellow palatte they're using now.

 

[davi]

Some people obviously have skimmed over the article. They have specifically said they won't change the name because there have been too many rebranding's of the Gold Coast as it is.

I actually think people are looking too much into the logo and colours. If you think that is why Gold Coast has struggled because of the colors and logo then you obviously don't understand the history of the Gold Coast sports.

Also the light blue colours was specific reference to the Gold Coasts ocean. It's part of their history.

Bombers and the Gold Coast hardly have any association. Bombers was a dumb choice for a Brisbane bid aside from the fact that Essendon owns the name. Brisbane Broncos and Brisbane Bombers sound too similar with both logos starting with a B.

 

[The Great Dane]

Some people obviously have skimmed over the article. They have specifically said they won't change the name because there have been too many rebranding's of the Gold Coast as it is.

I actually think people are looking too much into the logo and colours. If you think that is why Gold Coast has struggled because of the colors and logo then you obviously don't understand the history of the Gold Coast sports.

Also the light blue colours was specific reference to the Gold Coasts ocean. It's part of their history.

Bombers and the Gold Coast hardly have any association. Bombers was a dumb choice for a Brisbane bid aside from the fact that Essendon owns the name. Brisbane Broncos and Brisbane Bombers sound too similar with both logos starting with a B.

No I read it in full, I just wouldn't be surprised if they did try to change the brand, which I don't really have a problem with, I'd just prefer that they didn't try to change it to the Bombers.

I've been following this game long enough to know that self interest rains supreme, and that stupid little things like this can stir up all sorts of trouble in our game.

So I wouldn't be surprised in the least if they stated they don't want to change the brand to the media and then it becomes a sticking point later on in the negotiations.

 

[Stormwarrior82]

I have to say I was surprised that the Brisbane bombers decided to put a bid in with the titans. But it makes a little sense. I would like to think that the bombers bid team could merger with the frizell/Kelly team and pool there resources. Either group would be beneficial individually but together it would be a very well backed team with Brisbane support that could increase the titans/broncs rivalry.

 

[davi]

Here is a statement from the Brisbane Bombers Facebook page:


Confirming that the Bid Team are reviewing an opportunity to purchase the Gold Coast Titans license. It is a closed process under a Confidentiality Agreement. To clarify any reports to the contrary; the Gold Coast Titans would not be moved from the Gold Coast and is part of a tender process. A formal statement will be made at the appropriate time.

https://www.facebook.com/bnebombers/?ref=br_rs

 

[The Great Dane]

They're doing an informal q&a on their face book and this came up in response to a question as to whether or not they'd change the brand to the Bombers-

Not at all Carl. The Bombers have / will be focused in Brisbane. There would be a completely seperate entity engaged in the Titans. It's just the investment behind it that would be utilised.

I also found it interesting that the bid team isn't behind the bid for the Titans license, it's the investment group behind the Bombers that is bidding and they plan to support both clubs should they get the Titans license and the Bombers get accepted into the NRL-

Confirming that it's the investment consortium that is reviewing the license - absolutely nothing changes for the Bid team behind the Brisbane Bombers. The Brisbane Bombers would not own the license and it is just a number of investors that may sit across both parties.

 

[herbert henry1908]

If the NRL allowed the same majority owners of two clubs within the same catchment they're beyond mad, can't see that ever happening.

 

[Perth Red]

There will be no expansion, it won't be a problem.