Central Coast Bears, 2013.

[Perth Red]

Where are these whispers coming from?

presumably Gallop, though not exactly whispers.

 

[Beowulf]

http://thebigtip.com.au/league/red-and-black-bears-have-bluetongue

Red and black Bears have a Bluetongue

By Tim Blazey on Sun, 17/07.2011


The announcement of a major sponsorship signing by Bluetongue Stadium further enhances the prospect of the Central Coast Bears getting a long overdue NRL license.



The outcome has four major ramifications:


1. With Bluetongue Stadium now involved as a major sponsor, it gives the NRL further certainty over the long term prospects for the franchise – Bluetongue Stadium needs this team for its long term viability, while the team needs Bluetongue Stadium. It’s a unique situation in Australian sport having a great stadium without a team! Having John Singleton involved in Rugby League again is great for the code due to his passion. The man is a winner and his business acumen, contact network and media links will open many doors in corridors of power – combined with the political support of Barry O’Farrell and Joe Hockey, the Bears will have some muscle to flex. This will give the NRL extreme confidence regarding the long term prospects and sustainability for the franchise.


2. The heavy involvement of Singo & Bluetongue Stadium will engage the Central Coast community even more so. Cross-promotion opportunities with the Mariners are an obvious start. It also provides a further differentiation from competing bids.


3. The new mix of sponsors instantly ensures no club can claim the Bears are taking away potential sponsors, the major complaint of Sydney Clubs. Bluetongue Stadium will obviously only support a full time team based at Gosford as will Fortunity, based at Erina in offices shared with the Bears. From North Sydney, the key sponsors will only ever sponsor one RL NRL club…..the Bears. The Norths club at Cammeray, JJ Lawsons (multi-generational Bear sponsors/fanatics) and of course the historic ‘Big Bear’ shopping centres at Neutral Bay/West Gosford, who have the ultimate linkage to the Bears, being responsible for the mascot.


4. With Bluetongue Stadium to gain a stakeholding in the Bears, the single ownership model that many fans and possibly the NRL had reservations about will be superseded with a diversified ownership structure that accordingly reduces risk to all parties.


The Bears continue to increase their membership base, which currently stands at 7,000. 85 of these members have paid a non-refundable $5500 as a sign of confidence in the bid team and the NRL.


As business leaders, the IC members will look to bids for commitment, passion and long term viability. The Bears bring this in spades, will have no negative impact on other teams given their new financial package and will add value to the game (and TV ratings) by:


-igniting huge rivalries with Manly and Newcastle which will benefit all 3 teams


- reconnecting with former North Sydney Bears fans (estimated by the NRL at over 40,000) and other league followers who abandoned the game post Super League. Those still residing in Sydney will form the core of the supporter group for Sydney ‘away’ games, adding to all Sydney club coffers, unlike interstate alternatives.


- removes a barrier to entry by providing an NRL venue to everyone from the north shore through to Lake Munmorah who have difficult public transport access to current stadiums (combined population 1 million +)


- providing a pathway to the NRL for 23 teams and helping impede the encroachment of AFL in the catchment area


- providing the NRL with attractive timeslots on weekends (late afternoon/early evening) due to the huge family demographic on the Central Coast


- allowing the NRL to market another foundation club with an already established brand and fan base


- healing the wounds of the Super League War


The interest on the north shore due to the prospect of the Central Coast Bears being granted a license has led to increased player participation at junior clubs. The North Sydney District Rugby League are seriously investigating the creation of 2 more teams (1 lower, 1 upper north shore) to cope with anticipated demand following a successful license application. This would increase the junior teams in the catchment to 25, rivaling Penrith and Newcastle and dwarfing almost all other team catchments in the NRL. Yet they have no team…..yet.


The Central Coast Bears have in effect done the NRL’s hard work for them in establishing a zero risk 17th licensee - this will allow them to concentrate their resources on assisting a higher risk start-up franchise elsewhere for the 18th license.


(end of story)

Note clarification of the ownership structure and more good announcements are due in around 1 month.

 

[johns_reds]

Strongly disagree re pt 1!!

Re crowd averages, you also have to factor in away attendances - how many will Bris2 or Ipswich bring to all NSW away games??? 100?

Bears will bring 5,000+. Closer to 8,000 for big games. Prob 10,000 v Manly or Newcastle away. Plus with Bluetongue a stakeholder our fee structure will be much lower than Suncorp and breakeven crowd figures miniscule....good luck averaging 30K for another SEQ side, which they will need to do.

TV ratings you may be right, but there wouldn't be much in it, given the Bears profile over 100+ years.

good argument, i will pull figures out of my ass and say that SEQ II will bring 25,000 away to broncos and 15,000 away to titans, to every sydney team they will bring 20,000, go on, prove me wrong! :roll:

 

[Beowulf]

good argument, i will pull figures out of my ass and say that SEQ II will bring 25,000 away to broncos and 15,000 away to titans, to every sydney team they will bring 20,000, go on, prove me wrong! :roll:

My figures come straight from the CC Bears bid team who are estimating 5-8K for Sydney away games. You might not like what you read, but who cares what knockers think?

 

[aarondoyle]

You have my vote Bears along with Perth. If only it was a democracy.

 

[Red&BlackBear]

CENTRAL COAST BEARS’ BID FOR NRL LICENSE CONTINUES TO GAIN MOMENTUM


18th July, 2011 | Posted by Central Coast Bears.

The Central Coast Bears Limited are today extremely proud to announce that Bluetongue Stadium have signed off on an investment of $2 million to become a shareholder in the Central Coast Bears upon the granting of an NRL License.

Central Coast Bears CEO, Greg Florimo said:

“I am delighted to announce that Bluetongue Stadium is proactively supporting us in our Bid to become the first new franchise included in an expanded NRL competition. This is another positive stepping stone for our Club. Bluetongue Stadium’s decision to invest $2 million and become a shareholder in the Club, combined with the Bears becoming tenants of the Stadium, adds significant weight to our ongoing Bid for inclusion into an expanded NRL competition. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Russell Tate, Chairman, Mrs Monique Marks, Managing Director, and the remainder of the Board and Management of Bluetongue Stadium for their ongoing support of our Bid.

This is a huge step forward for us as the remaining question mark over our inclusion had been our ownership model, and with pending announcements around other investors we can now continue to drive the activity that we believe will result in us securing an NRL License – something that we are absolutely committed to achieving for our all of our stakeholders, particularly the community.

In entering this process approximately two years ago, they key elements then in our favour were:

• A benchmark stadium
• Extremely strong junior numbers
• Filling a gap for the game in the marketplace
• Re-engaging the 700,000 person population of the north shore of Sydney for Rugby League without placing another team into the already crowded Sydney marketplace

The successes that we have continued to work extremely hard on since include:

• Nearly 7000 financial members
• Approximately ninety cash sponsors
• Business Partnership pledges and commitments at more senior levels
• Over 25,000 Facebook fans
• Strong merchandise sales and website traffic
• Government commitment to land & funding for our training facility on the Central Coast
• Official Bid Document ready to be submitted

All of the above we believe will allow us to submit a case that the new Independent Commission, when operational, will find impossible to ignore,” said Mr. Florimo.


http://centralcoastbears.com.au/new...r_nrl_license_continues_to_gain_momentum.html

 

[Rockin Ronny]

The ludicrous thing here is that, in any honest well-run sport, the CC Bears would have been in operation now for over 10 years. Yet - rugby league, with all its agendas, self-serving "executives" and factions, has managed to exclude the Bears for over 10 years. This includes the News ownership of the game as provided by those self-serving cowards in the 90's.

Instead, we have the Dolphin/Titans - supported by a highly questionable "centre of excellence" financial model - given the nod due to nepotism AND now struggling to survive in a tough market - as expected.

Every year, new pathetic excuses are dredged up to prevent the Central Coast Bears inclusion:
1. It's really a Sydney team;
2. there are not enough decent players in the NRL to justify it;
3. It doesn't add much to the TV rights deal.

To me, the reasons are pretty clear for the exclusion - the NRL/News has been waiting out the Bears, hoping they'll give up, so that another Sydney club will relocate - probably Manly or Cronulla.

Manly still have a strong faction wanting to relocate to Gosford. the latest Brookvale "design" discussions highlight what a turd of a ground this really is.

Cronulla have been a dead club walking for decades. the NRL have saved them several times over the years - and selling out to Murdoch has bought them a few more years. The "development" touted for decades as their saviour will not deliver the funds needed to survive. So - no doubt News would have liked them to relocate to Gosford to avoid paying an extra grant for new team.

The CC Bears deserve to get in - but when the game has a fundamental lack of integrity and so many unprofessional executives, there are still no guarantees.

 

[Perth Red]

you say this like it is a vendetta against the Bears rather than a strategy for the long term growth of the game by reducing the number of Sydney clubs?

ps I think your wrong as I don't think the NRL has a plan beyond this season let alone some long term vision for where they will be in a decades time. Bears are just a victim of choosing the wrong place to relocate to.

 

[Perth Red]

so de we know the make up of the ownership model yet? So far there seems to be Singleton,Sayer (presuming he isn't broke) and North Sydney Bears all owning a piece. Will there be some level of public ownership as well?

What's happening with the Sayer investment? Is it just for X% of shares or does it include sponsorship rights as well?

 

[Red&BlackBear]

so de we know the make up of the ownership model yet? So far there seems to be Singleton,Sayer (presuming he isn't broke) and North Sydney Bears all owning a piece. Will there be some level of public ownership as well?

What's happening with the Sayer investment? Is it just for X% of shares or does it include sponsorship rights as well?

All will be revealed soon enough.

 

[BDGS]

The ludicrous thing here is that, in any honest well-run sport, the CC Bears would have been in operation now for over 10 years. Yet - rugby league, with all its agendas, self-serving "executives" and factions, has managed to exclude the Bears for over 10 years. This includes the News ownership of the game as provided by those self-serving cowards in the 90's.

Instead, we have the Dolphin/Titans - supported by a highly questionable "centre of excellence" financial model - given the nod due to nepotism AND now struggling to survive in a tough market - as expected.

Every year, new pathetic excuses are dredged up to prevent the Central Coast Bears inclusion:
1. It's really a Sydney team;
2. there are not enough decent players in the NRL to justify it;
3. It doesn't add much to the TV rights deal.

To me, the reasons are pretty clear for the exclusion - the NRL/News has been waiting out the Bears, hoping they'll give up, so that another Sydney club will relocate - probably Manly or Cronulla.

Manly still have a strong faction wanting to relocate to Gosford. the latest Brookvale "design" discussions highlight what a turd of a ground this really is.

Cronulla have been a dead club walking for decades. the NRL have saved them several times over the years - and selling out to Murdoch has bought them a few more years. The "development" touted for decades as their saviour will not deliver the funds needed to survive. So - no doubt News would have liked them to relocate to Gosford to avoid paying an extra grant for new team.

The CC Bears deserve to get in - but when the game has a fundamental lack of integrity and so many unprofessional executives, there are still no guarantees.

Sounds like you are taking a very Red and Black view on the issue. try standing back a little bit and see how it looks then.

I agree the Bears deserve a team, but insulting people that make the decision is probably not a good way of going about it.

If the NRL choose to leave out the Bears there will be some very upset people, but the NRL will give its reasons as to why and set out a plan for the future, There is currently a short-mid term future plan the NRL has got privately.

 

[sharko]

I will acknowledge the Bears and their ability to raise members and funds..$2 million bucks is the sort of dough most other NRL clubs would love to have but are not capable of getting those sort of deals.

They are certainly building a strong case for admission to the top grade.

I have not seen any substance as far as money and members from the other bid teams..have they raised any money and how many members do they have?

 

[BuffaloRules]

My figures come straight from the CC Bears bid team who are estimating 5-8K for Sydney away games. You might not like what you read, but who cares what knockers think?

Gee thanks for such an unbiased source...

 

[BuffaloRules]

3. It doesn't add much to the TV rights deal.

Not quite...

It doesnt add as much to the TV rights deal...

 

[Red&BlackBear]

(VIDEO) Greg Florimo & David Fairleigh on SKY News Sports. On EVERYTHING NRL Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150312095968523

 

[Perth Red]

The bears should have been told in 2006 to look interstate. They'd probably be in by now if they had

 

[Beowulf]

Gee thanks for such an unbiased source...

We're feeding info straight from the bid. They are hardly going to submit a wild figure without research, which they have done through a private PR firm.

If you prefer speculation from sources not connected to a bid team, visit the Brisbane2 site!

 

[Beowulf]

The bears should have been told in 2006 to look interstate. They'd probably be in by now if they had

Doesn't the fact they haven't, instead only being encouraged by the upper echelons of the NRL, suggest something????

The Bears are surpassing all the requirements laid before them by the NRL.

 

[BuffaloRules]

We're feeding info straight from the bid. They are hardly going to submit a wild figure without research, which they have done through a private PR firm.

If you prefer speculation from sources not connected to a bid team, visit the Brisbane2 site!

So what is the basis of this research?

5K to 8K is a lot of fans that most away Sydney teams rarely provide

 

[Beowulf]

So what is the basis of this research?

5K to 8K is a lot of fans that most away Sydney teams rarely provide

The theory is that the Bears have worked so hard to get back that the hard core of 3-4K supporters from the north shore who have remained fanatical Bears for life will be very regular attendees of games at Sydney venues. Add to this 2-3K of travelling fans from the Coast.

I think its a middle-conservative scenario..will be more when the teams doing well, but the hard core Bears will still attend in tough times, as nothing is tougher than when you have no team!