Central Coast Bears NRL Bid.

[taipan]

Maybe, the flip side is if you set up and can be successful in a time of austerity then your much more likely to be sustainable. Unless WA can diversify its revenue streams then it will always be a boom and bust economy and any sporting club is going to have to deal with that. Crowds don't seem to be too affected at this point, the good thing about being in a city of over 2million, you're still talking about 1.9million people in employment!

And again it isn't about expansion in 2017, that boat has sailed. The time to expand was in 2011 or 2015 to get the investment t back from tv revenue. Now we should be planning for expansion in 2020/21 ready for maximising the next deal in 2023. That work needs to start now to get two well set clubs on the ground ready for then.

My hope is the sudden need for $100mill grass roots funding is with a strategic view of laying the foundations for expansion.

I've stated before and I will stay it again.Without a growing and strong grassroots base, you are stifled in attempting to grow the game, and have a small player pool for expansion.

 

[Perth Red]

We are growing the junior base and have for 5 years had a Jnr elite pathway system. This year we will have 16 junior clubs across WA fielding teams, the most since pre superleague.

Having said that in an afl state and competing against union which throws more money at grassroots in wa than nrl we will be up againsy it. Ideally I'd like to see us link up with png and create a direct pathway between the massive untapped grass roots there and a wa nrl team in the future.

Whatever we do it will be better than melbournes efforts who have decided they will recruit from qland and nz Primarily.

 

[taipan]

We are growing the junior base and have for 5 years had a Jnr elite pathway system. This year we will have 16 junior clubs across WA fielding teams, the most since pre superleague.

Having said that in an afl state and competing against union which throws more money at grassroots in wa than nrl we will be up againsy it. Ideally I'd like to see us link up with png and create a direct pathway between the massive untapped grass roots there and a wa nrl team in the future.

Whatever we do it will be better than melbournes efforts who have decided they will recruit from qland and nz Primarily.

That's good stuff. And why one shouldn't complain if the NRL does in fact spend $100m pa on grassroots, and WA juniors are also beneficiaries.

Melbourne had SFA juniors when thy started, in fact rl was treated there with disdain. I understand why they recruit from Qld and NZ, until they get to grow their juniors to a decent level.
Them being extremely competitive from the start, has resulted in the NRL and rl having a far bigger public profile than they would as perpetual strugglers.

 

[Diesel]

The Central Coast Bears have been fighting to clinch an NRL licence for the past 15 years and it was speculated they were prepared to join forces with the Gold Coast.

But Annesley, who returned last week from a business trip to Singapore, said he has been given assurances by the NRL that the Titans brand will remain untouched.

“Any suggestion that we are going to change our branding to be the Gold Coast Bears is absolutely wrong,” Annesley said.

“There is no truth to that whatsoever. We are Titans through and through.

“I’ve heard the rumours and I’ve been assured by the NRL, who have control of the club, that there is no basis to the speculation whatsoever.”

http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport...n/news-story/f36314e6a7b11bd24b691264c595fee9

Can the NRL force a buyer to keep a brand name if the owner chooses to change it or would it be part of the condition of sale?
Surely if they're short on buyers, they may have to chance any stance they have.

 

[siv]

NRL own and control all licences

They could play hardball like they did with Tinkler

 

[Foreign Legion]

Gee its a case of will they wont they.

 

[Diesel]

Read an article behind a NEWS Ltd paywall tonight (not sure how to incognito on a iPhone) but the jist is that the NRL are ready to sell the Tits and should be done this year. Two unnamed consortiums are in talks.

Would the Bears be one of those?

 

[Foreign Legion]

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NRL
The NRL has put the Titans up for sale with two consortia formally expressing interest
Peter Badel, The Courier-Mail
February 24, 2017 8:00pm
Subscriber only
THE NRL is putting the Titans up for sale with at least two consortia formally expressing interest in hauling the Gold Coast out of a $2.5 million sinkhole.

NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg revealed the governing body will begin sell-off talks as the Titans prepare for their season-opener against the Roosters next Saturday night.

The code was rocked by revelations NRL clubs lost a collective $53.4 million last season.

The Titans are among the 14 clubs haemorrhaging money, recording a $2.5m deficit as the club slowly recovers from having their licence taken over by the NRL two years ago.

The NRL, reluctant to bankroll clubs for the long haul, has hinted at a Titans sale for the past 12 months, although there has been extreme caution over the right time to sever ties.

Now the NRL is ready to relinquish control of the Titans. Greenberg confirmed talks will begin to transfer the Titans’ licence as a posse of Gold Coast-based investors flagged interest in due diligence with board member Darryl Kelly.

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NRL CEO Todd Greenberg talks during the 2017 NRL Season Launch.
“We’re about to kick-off that process (selling the Titans) now,” Greenberg told The Courier-Mail.

“We’re hoping that the Titans will be sold sometime this year — I would anticipate that by the end of the season we will be in pretty good shape.

“If it takes us longer we will do it, as long as we get the right result.

“(But) the plan is to have some strong discussions about how we take the Titans off our books this year.”

The Titans were on death’s door when the NRL intervened in 2015, but the club has taken major strides forward under the direction of CEO Graham Annesley.

The once strife-torn club moved into a new $12 million home at Parkwood over summer, giving the Titans the state-of-the-art facilities to be an NRL force.

Kelly lost an estimated $5 million during his initial investment in the Titans five years ago. The 66-year-old is prepared to invest again but will not be seeking a majority stake.

“The NRL will sell the club this year for sure — they will want to get rid of it sooner rather than later,” he said.

“I am interested in buying another stake in the Titans, but at this stage I don’t know what we’re buying.

The NRL will put the Titans up for sale.
“It’s hard to put a figure on a club that has been losing money. It depends what someone is prepared to pay for a non-profitable business.

“I’ve been working with a group to express interest but we don’t have the exact information on the club just yet.

“I am looking to put together a local group of investors to ensure the Titans survive. You have to have some passion to keep the club here and I’m certainly passionate about it.”

Outspoken billionaire Marwan Koukash, who owns British club Salford, has expressed interest in buying the Titans, but Greenberg ruled out that prospect.

“That’s not the ideal model for us, no,” he said.

“We want to make sure we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past and when we do get to an ownership model, the local community must have a heavy stake in the ownership of the Titans.”

Titans chairwoman Rebecca Frizelle, who was touted as a potential buyer, will not join Kelly as an equal stakeholder.

“We will always support the club as a sponsor, but purchasing a stake in the club is not on my radar at the moment,” Frizelle said
http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport...t/news-story/cd964ca4d1d13d8bd90c04a8c753646f

 

[Tigers1986]

Gold Coast Bears. Has a nice ring to it, have them play 8 games on the Gold Coast, 2 in Gosford and 2 back at North Sydney Oval (vs Manly & Souths).

 

[Perth Red]

Will never happen. It will be bought by a GC business consortium with some sort of public share opportunity.

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

Gold Coast Bears. Has a nice ring to it, have them play 8 games on the Gold Coast, 2 in Gosford and 2 back at North Sydney Oval (vs Manly & Souths).

11 NSW teams and 3 Queensland teams?

I know, lets have one of the QLD teams play half their games in NSW......

 

[Tigers1986]

It's not like Robina is smashing attendance records.

If Norths do buy the licence it's kinda what they deserve for their money. Gold Coast would be lucky they aren't relocated fully. The only reason they persist with this franchise to not allow the AFL to 'win,' even though the Suns are in just as much financial strife.

 

[The Great Dane]

11 NSW teams and 3 Queensland teams?

I know, lets have one of the QLD teams play half their games in NSW......

There're only 10 clubs in NSW, but your point still stands.

 

[Pommy]

Souths play 2 home games out of the city so I don't see why it would be such a big deal for a Gold Coast side to play two games in Sydney for the sake of the fans. It would be great to have the Bears brand back in the competition and I'm sure any sensible Bears fan would be more than happy of the chance to see the Bears play up to 11(2 home 9 away) games in Sydney in the top flight every season.
The idea of a club on the Central Coast is a pipe dream and is only going to happen if a current Sydney side relocates there, it certainly isn't going to be a new entry to the NRL.

 

[Tigers1986]

The big call would be for the Roosters to fully relocate to Gosford but that would never happen. You could then get Souths to move back to Moore Park fulltime to bring the Redfern faithful back in leaps and bounds.

 

[The Great Dane]

Souths play 2 home games out of the city so I don't see why it would be such a big deal for a Gold Coast side to play two games in Sydney for the sake of the fans. It would be great to have the Bears brand back in the competition and I'm sure any sensible Bears fan would be more than happy of the chance to see the Bears play up to 11(2 home 9 away) games in Sydney in the top flight every season.
The idea of a club on the Central Coast is a pipe dream and is only going to happen if a current Sydney side relocates there, it certainly isn't going to be a new entry to the NRL.

Assuming Souths don't move any games, their fans have 21 opportunities to watch their team play without having to travel to another city.
Gold Coast fans have 12, at a stretch 13 if you include their game in Brisbane, so even when Souths move 2 games they're still getting more footy then the GC fans (or any non Sydney fans are getting for that matter).

Now lets take into account how much NRL is being played in Sydney, to simplify things lets ignore the handful of games that clubs like Souths and Parra take on the road, there're 189 opportunities in an NRL season for Sydney fans to watch live games, in South East Queensland there're 24, and everywhere else there is just 12 opportunities to watch live NRL.

In other words, Sydney can afford to lose a few games, the GC and all the other regions really cannot, especially areas like the GC that're in direct competition with other sports for the public's attention.

I have no problem with the Bears buying the Titans, unless they plan to use the titans to further saturate an already over saturated market at the expense of one that is struggling.

 

[The Great Dane]

The big call would be for the Roosters to fully relocate to Gosford but that would never happen. You could then get Souths to move back to Moore Park fulltime to bring the Redfern faithful back in leaps and bounds.

One of the two (Souths and Easts) will have to move eventually if they both want to survive in the long run, still got a bit of time before that comes to a head though.

So maybe the Roosters should move to Gosford now so they aren't forced to move further afield latter.

 

[Pommy]

One of the two (Souths and Easts) will have to move eventually if they both want to survive in the long run, still got a bit of time before that comes to a head though.

So maybe the Roosters should move to Gosford now so they aren't forced to move further afield latter.

Why would Souths need to move? I'm not saying we should be exempt from the discussion but the clubs in a pretty good place financially and I don't see that hanging any time soon.

 

[The Mad Hatter]

Gold Coast Bears. Has a nice ring to it, have them play 8 games on the Gold Coast, 2 in Gosford and 2 back at North Sydney Oval (vs Manly & Souths).

Have you actually been to NSO?

NRL won't ever go back there.

Nostslgia is lovely, but please.

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

It's not like Robina is smashing attendance records.

If Norths do buy the licence it's kinda what they deserve for their money. Gold Coast would be lucky they aren't relocated fully. The only reason they persist with this franchise to not allow the AFL to 'win,' even though the Suns are in just as much financial strife.

So move games to regional QLD, no in a city half an hours north of 9 teams and half an hours south of another...

There're only 10 clubs in NSW, but your point still stands.

Hahah, i apologise to all Canberrans present for my mental lasp

how about *11 clubs insider the boarders on NSW*?