The Game Future NRL Stadiums part II

[T-Boon]

put $50 mill into Gosford. Get it to 25k. A team should move there.

 

[baselinepanther]

put $50 mill into Gosford. Get it to 25k. A team should move there.

yep , put a 2nd tier & a roof around the uncovered end

 

[horrie hastings]

put $50 mill into Gosford. Get it to 25k. A team should move there.

Yes, the Central Coast Stadium is a good ground but not a great ground, it could do with some dollars spent on it to improve the sight lines from certain points and also a couple of areas which have obscured views of the field., there is room at both ends for expansion, 25, 000 would be a nice crowd size but you would need a team playing there permanately, preferably the Central Coast Bears but we know that most likely will not happen, so tiill a team actually move there you can have the Roosters, Souths and Manly play a few games there.

 

[axl rose]

need a team playing there permanately, preferably the Central Coast Bears but we know that most likely will not happen, so tiill a team actually move there you can have the Roosters, Souths and Manly play a few games there.

Who actually has the most fans in the area? (other than Knights) I know Balmain looked at a move to Central Coast in the early 90s.

 

[Babyface O'reilly]

I guy I know has a brother in-law who’s job is to pull in advertising revenue for the local radio station up in Gosford. Said it was always a struggle to find enough money to keep the station going, the town’s not big enough. What’s it cost to run an adequate NRL club theses days - 10,15-20 million a year? More than a local radio station? Can’t see a team there anytime soon unfortunately.

 

[T-Boon]

I guy I know has a brother in-law who’s job is to pull in advertising revenue for the local radio station up in Gosford. Said it was always a struggle to find enough money to keep the station going, the town’s not big enough. What’s it cost to run an adequate NRL club theses days - 10,15-20 million a year? More than a local radio station? Can’t see a team there anytime soon unfortunately.

I bet there are similar problems trying to keep a local Newcastle radio station going or a local manly station going or Penrith. It is just not a profitable media format any more. I think your point is good though.

 

[Perth Red]

I guy I know has a brother in-law who’s job is to pull in advertising revenue for the local radio station up in Gosford. Said it was always a struggle to find enough money to keep the station going, the town’s not big enough. What’s it cost to run an adequate NRL club theses days - 10,15-20 million a year? More than a local radio station? Can’t see a team there anytime soon unfortunately.

crowds have shown a Gosford club should be able to raise enough revenue from fans as other clubs but the corporate support level is the big question, presuming no LC set up was bank rolling a CC club. Sadly it has become unviable for a regional club to survive unless it has a stack of pokies to lean on.

 

[Babyface O'reilly]

I bet there are similar problems trying to keep a local Newcastle radio station going or a local manly station going or Penrith. It is just not a profitable media format any more. I think your point is good though.

Yeh, I just figured the NRL don’t want to risk another club that becomes a financial burden. As PR said, corporate dollars are the big question. If the Knights went close to busting, what chance has a smaller town like Gosford got?

 

[baselinepanther]

crowds have shown a Gosford club should be able to raise enough revenue from fans as other clubs but the corporate support level is the big question, presuming no LC set up was bank rolling a CC club. Sadly it has become unviable for a regional club to survive unless it has a stack of pokies to lean on.

the Raiders are a regional club that has got their non football operation exactly right & they are financially strong & independent as a result. 7 licensed premises with a lot of pokies help yes , but the Raiders have a diverse financial port follio including owning office blocks & warehouses in QLD , plus a residential development next to their COE in Braddon. All of this nets them tens of millions in revenue each year.

Its a model that a lot of clubs should look at.

 

[Babyface O'reilly]

the Raiders are a regional club that has got their non football operation exactly right & they are financially strong & independent as a result. 7 licensed premises with a lot of pokies help yes , but the Raiders have a diverse financial port follio including owning office blocks & warehouses in QLD , plus a residential development next to their COE in Braddon. All of this nets them tens of millions in revenue each year.

Its a model that a lot of clubs should look at.

Agree with all that but all that evolved from when Canberra joined when the competition was still only semi professional and corporate support wasn’t critical. Canberra grew with the rising competition standards. I agree with your last line as far as current clubs are concerned but what chance does a regional start-up like Gosford have in today’s environment? 2nd Brisbane and Perth are a better bet for the NRL you’d think.

 

[horrie hastings]

Who actually has the most fans in the area? (other than Knights) I know Balmain looked at a move to Central Coast in the early 90s.

Yes i remember when the Tigers were eyeing Gosford as their home base many years ago, actually thought it may have been earlier than the early 90s but 90s time line makes more sense than earlier than that.

 

[T-Boon]

Agree with all that but all that evolved from when Canberra joined when the competition was still only semi professional and corporate support wasn’t critical. Canberra grew with the rising competition standards. I agree with your last line as far as current clubs are concerned but what chance does a regional start-up like Gosford have in today’s environment? 2nd Brisbane and Perth are a better bet for the NRL you’d think.

Oh yeah. Its not a candidate for a new team but I do think a Sydney team could move there. I think Gosford is a better place for a team than Cronulla, Penrith and Manly and a few others. The Central Coast is bigger than Geelong, Townsville etc.

 

[Perth Red]

the Raiders are a regional club that has got their non football operation exactly right & they are financially strong & independent as a result. 7 licensed premises with a lot of pokies help yes , but the Raiders have a diverse financial port follio including owning office blocks & warehouses in QLD , plus a residential development next to their COE in Braddon. All of this nets them tens of millions in revenue each year.

Its a model that a lot of clubs should look at.

most of that would have been bought either from pokie revenue or using them as security for loans to invest in property. No different to many clubs who’ve done same on back of LC ownership.
Money makes money and if you are starting a new club without that pokie money how do you think they will build a property portfolio? Form the profits of football operations lol?

 

[The Great Dane]

the Raiders are a regional club that has got their non football operation exactly right & they are financially strong & independent as a result. 7 licensed premises with a lot of pokies help yes , but the Raiders have a diverse financial port follio including owning office blocks & warehouses in QLD , plus a residential development next to their COE in Braddon. All of this nets them tens of millions in revenue each year.

Its a model that a lot of clubs should look at.

Sure, but where would the funds come from to invest in all those things on the CC?

They don't have a loaded leagues club like the Raiders did when they started out, so they'd need to find investment another way, and unless you can find reliable owners whom are willing to put the money up it's unlikely you are going to be able to find that investment, and even if you could find reliable owners chances are that they'd want to base the club out of a larger market.

Also though they are both regional markets there're major differences between the Canberra and the CC markets, namely Canberra's got about 100k more people (even more if you include Queanbeyan and the other towns in the region, which you really should), it's growth rate is also higher, the ACT has got much higher population density than the CC, the population in Canberra has more disposable income on average, there're almost certainly more local sponsorship opportunities in Canberra, etc, etc.

Basically comparing Canberra to the CC is comparing apples and oranges, as you are trying to compare what are effectively a collection of country towns on the CC to a small city surrounded by towns in Canberra which makes the comparison wonky. The Cowboy's situation in NQ would be a better comparison, but the Cowboy's success is a bit of an anomaly, so trying to replicate what they have achieved would be pretty risky IMO.

 

[baselinepanther]

Sure, but where would the funds come from to invest in all those things on the CC?

They don't have a loaded leagues club like the Raiders did when they started out, so they'd need to find investment another way, and unless you can find reliable owners whom are willing to put the money up it's unlikely you are going to be able to find that investment, and even if you could find reliable owners chances are that they'd want to base the club out of a larger market.

Also though they are both regional markets there're major differences between the Canberra and the CC markets, namely Canberra's got about 100k more people (even more if you include Queanbeyan and the other towns in the region, which you really should), it's growth rate is also higher, the ACT has got much higher population density than the CC, the population in Canberra has more disposable income on average, there're almost certainly more local sponsorship opportunities in Canberra, etc, etc.

Basically comparing Canberra to the CC is comparing apples and oranges, as you are trying to compare what are effectively a collection of country towns on the CC to a small city surrounded by towns in Canberra which makes the comparison wonky. The Cowboy's situation in NQ would be a better comparison, but the Cowboy's success is a bit of an anomaly, so trying to replicate what they have achieved would be pretty risky IMO.

Im not talking about the CC ... Im talking about all regional clubs in all codes

 

[baselinepanther]

And this assumption that it was all off the back of pokies etc is rubbish

the Raiders were stoney broke in 2003 , bought themselves back off News Ltd for $1 because News deemed them worthless & just wanted to get them off their books , in 2001 or 2 I can't remember when exactly , To the point where David Gallop expressed real concern for their continuing in the comp things were that bad. They had plenty of pokies back then too , didn't prevent them from nearly going under. The business smarts the club showed to get themselves out of trouble & indeed well on top of their finances needs to be recognised & looked at by all clubs not just regional ones.

 

[baselinepanther]

most of that would have been bought either from pokie revenue or using them as security for loans to invest in property. No different to many clubs who’ve done same on back of LC ownership.
Money makes money and if you are starting a new club without that pokie money how do you think they will build a property portfolio? Form the profits of football operations lol?

You said finances are an issue for all regional clubs , I was pointing out the Raiders overcame many of the inherent issues regional clubs face.

Canberra is a govt town , there is no manufacturing or corporates based here & the corporate dollar barely exsists. We are the least attractive side for sponsors in the comp & are limited in many KI's for a professional sports team. We share our small market with other national sides from other codes.
But the Raiders are extremely well run & are a huge asset to the NRL in keeping the AFL & RA at bay in our region & sthn NSW

 

[MugaB]

Oh yeah. Its not a candidate for a new team but I do think a Sydney team could move there. I think Gosford is a better place for a team than Cronulla, Penrith and Manly and a few others. The Central Coast is bigger than Geelong, Townsville etc.

The only team that should move there is the roosters, not sure why cronulla or penrith would need to move there with them both entrenched in their areas with junior catchments, sponsors, memberships, potential growth in that said area and support, you need to look at clubs that lack in these areas to take on a regional relocation like gosford, the only team that lacks several of these are the roosters, other than being well off, and backed by a millionaire, not really nessesary to be situated in sydney.

P.S everytime there is talk of relocations, or mergers, Tboon mentions the Penrith, Cronulla, and Manly, when there are other clubs that are total basketcases or not nessesarely needed in the sydney market.
These 3 are not them, when the dogs, dragons and tigers are constant in the boardroom infighting,
And aren't essentially doing much interms of having a successful club, cant even get the stadium presence right, i mean is it leichardt or campbelltown or bankwest for the tigers?
Homebush isn't really inviting for club games when only filling 15% for the dogs, and the kogarah/wollongong split, seems to work, but the team seems to suffer with the training travel to and from wollongong

 

[MugaB]

You said finances are an issue for all regional clubs , I was pointing out the Raiders overcame many of the inherent issues regional clubs face.

Canberra is a govt town , there is no manufacturing or corporates based here & the corporate dollar barely exsists. We are the least attractive side for sponsors in the comp & are limited in many KI's for a professional sports team. We share our small market with other national sides from other codes.
But the Raiders are extremely well run & are a huge asset to the NRL in keeping the AFL & RA at bay in our region & sthn NSW

That is the same reason Manly, Warriors, and Titans are also important where they are, due to the rival sporting codes attempting or encroaching in those areas

 

[unforgiven]

The only team that should move there is the roosters, not sure why cronulla or penrith would need to move there with them both entrenched in their areas with junior catchments, sponsors, memberships, potential growth in that said area and support, you need to look at clubs that lack in these areas to take on a regional relocation like gosford, the only team that lacks several of these are the roosters, other than being well off, and backed by a millionaire, not really nessesary to be situated in sydney.

P.S everytime there is talk of relocations, or mergers, Tboon mentions the Penrith, Cronulla, and Manly, when there are other clubs that are total basketcases or not nessesarely needed in the sydney market.
These 3 are not them, when the dogs, dragons and tigers are constant in the boardroom infighting,
And aren't essentially doing much interms of having a successful club, cant even get the stadium presence right, i mean is it leichardt or campbelltown or bankwest for the tigers?
Homebush isn't really inviting for club games when only filling 15% for the dogs, and the kogarah/wollongong split, seems to work, but the team seems to suffer with the training travel to and from wollongong

Penrith shouldn't relocate, just merge with Parra.