Gold Coast Bears/Nth Sydney/Gosford

[titoelcolombiano]

Why don't Newtown buy the Broncos then they could be called the Jets and play 1 game a year in Newtown...?

Melbourne magpies?

Haha yes! The Newtown-Brisbane Jets could play a game in Ipswich each year too to make them feel included. We could do the GWS thing and call them NBI Jets representing all sorts of random areas

 

[RL The greatest game]

The money and power behind the rosters is more important than crowds or juniors- it is important to have a team based in the middle of our biggest city for that reason.

Crowds and junior playing numbers are dropping like flies in Sydney. Something needs to be done to rectify it.

 

[T-Boon]

The Beartans
Or the Tears

Bear-Tits

 

[T-Boon]

Relocate Roosters to Gosford, Cronulla to SA, Rabbitohs to Jerkwater, Manly to CQ and Penrith to Perth and bring back Sydney Bears and Sydney Jets both playing out of SFS.

 

[Golden point]

Relocate Roosters to Gosford, Cronulla to SA, Rabbitohs to Jerkwater, Manly to CQ and Penrith to Perth and bring back Sydney Bears and Sydney Jets both playing out of SFS.

Yep and Saint George to png and bulldogs to Lebanon

 

[Diesel]

Is any of the sale details or tenders to buy made public? It'd be interesting to know who the 3 or 4 consortiums are and their plans for the club

 

[davi]

I think the Bears logic keep repeating often enough in the media it will be a realty. NRL have already taken a view that Gold Coast won't survive with another name change, but the Bears won't quit. I love these stories of "Bears set to return to NRL" and "Bears are one step closer". There has been no comment sorted from the NRL on this on how seriously they are considering the Bears proposal. Yet they paint the story up like it's a done deal.

http://www.msn.com/en-au/sport/rugb...nrl-club/ar-AAplren?li=AA54yd&ocid=spartanntp

 

[King hit]

They could put them on the central coast where they already have massive support. The Gold Coast won't want another new identity. The Gold Coast is also one of the last places where a sporting club should be established, it generates nothing but heartbreak for any sporting team no matter what sport it is.

 

[The Great Dane]

The interesting part of that article is that it's not actually the Bears bidding for the licence, it's a consortium that has been given the rights to use the Bears brand, whether or not that consortium contacted the Bears to use their brand or the Bears formed the consortium to be independent from them on paper but still under their control, who knows, but my money would be on the later.

Supposedly one of the members of the consortium is Peter Wiggs who owns a $2 billion company. I don't really know anything about him or what his net worth is, but it seems that at least a little bit of money is forming behind the bid, however I do wonder who the other people in the consortium are, what their connections to the Bears are, and how many (if any) are from/based on the GC.

I'm not totally against the Bears taking over the Titans license, however I wouldn't do it so long as they want to take home games away from the GC to do it, even if it is only one game.
If they want games played at NS Oval then they'll need to make a deal with other Sydney clubs to take their home games against them there, however the last time I was at NS Oval it wasn't up to NRL standards, that may have changed though.

Personally I don't think it's the best idea, I think local ownership and a minor re-brand of the logo and colours would be better, but I think the Bears take over could work it's handled with care and a lot of money is behind it.

 

[The Great Dane]

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...s/news-story/4c133a40e95abcf4f2baa7c0db0b912a

Heavy hitter behind Bears bid to buy Titans

One of Australia’s leading private equity figures has emerged as a key figure behind the consortium attempting to revive the famous North Sydney Bears emblem on the Gold Coast.

Peter Wiggs, whose company Archer Capital manages $2 billion in funds, is believed to be part of the consortium that is ready to bid for the Titans’ licence when the NRL puts it on the market in the coming weeks.

North Sydney Bears officials have remained tight-lipped on the identity of the businessmen involved in the consortium and declined to confirm Wiggs’ involvement yesterday.

However, The Australian understands Wiggs, who lives on Sydney’s north shore and is a long-time Bears supporter, has indicated he is ready to lend his heavyweight financial acumen to the group.

Gold Coast businessman Harry Cheung, whose company Thousand Hand Technologies is a sponsor of the North Sydney side in the NSW Cup, is also part of the consortium.

The group of influential businessmen have been bestowed the intellectual property from the North Sydney Bears as they look to revive the famous moniker, which has been absent from the premiership since the club was forced out in 1999.

The NRL is yet to officially call for expressions of interest in the licence, which has been in the hands of the ARL Commission for more than two years.

However, the commission has made it clear it will divest itself of the licence once it completes the sale of the Newcastle Knights.

The Newcastle-based Wests Group is expected to take over the running of the Knights within weeks, before it assumes control of the licence from November 1.

Once the takeover has been ratified by members of the Wests Group — the vote has already begun — the NRL will move to the sale of the Gold Coast and its overriding concern will be ensuring the stability and security of a club that was at death’s door before the game’s governing body intervened.

Aside from the consortium attempting to revive the Bears, as many as three other groups are believed to be eyeing off the Titans. One of those involves former part-owner Darryl Kelly, who has made no secret of his desire to own a stake in the club again.

Chairwoman Rebecca Frizelle is also expected to be part of the Kelly consortium, which appears to be the clear frontrunner given the NRL has stated a preference for the club to retain a connection with the Gold Coast through its ownership.

The identities of the third and fourth groups interested in purchasing the licence remain a mystery, although it is believed they, too, have a connection with the Gold Coast.

The Bears have been circling the Titans for some time and have already met the NRL to outline their plans for the franchise. It is understood they face an immense challenge in attempting to convince the NRL of the merits of the consortium, which carries their colours and name, although the presence of Wiggs demonstrates the financial clout they will wield.

The bigger issue is the NRL’s reluctance to tinker with the branding of the club, which has already undergone a series of changes over its lifetime.

The hope is that the likes of Wiggs will make the NRL sit up and take notice. His company has already shown its interest in sport by purchasing a 65 per cent share in the V8 Supercars in 2011.

It is understood the Bears are also committed to the side playing the vast majority of their games on the Gold Coast, although it is likely at least one game each season would be moved to their spiritual home at North Sydney Oval.

 

[T-Boon]

The Bears need to tell the NRL where to go...start their own competition with the Newtown Jets, Sydney Uni, Ipswich, Redcliffe and a few others.

 

[taipan]

Much as I love the Bears as a club and their perseverance to get back into the NRL,any purchase of the Titans should be by a consortium that lives, breathes and works on the Gold Coast.There has been enough brand changes, enough disruption due to financial stuff ups in the past, that changing the branding and colours would only turn more GC fans off.

Why not the 2nd Brisbane side be called the Nthn Bears ,with two games at Nth Sydney Oval agent the likes of Manly and Roosters as one example.Use the Bear's colours ,build in their tradition,but jumping can toads let the Titans be Titans.

There has been too much chopping and changing in the NRL,and it turns people off.All this mid season movement of players such as affected the Tigers,is soul destroying for their fans.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

If the bears win the licence I hope a few things happen:

- I hope they either go with the bears colours and logos or the titans, not some mixture of the two that will make no one happy

- I hope that they engage with their former fans in North Sydney for away support and embrace their history but also commit fully to their future on the Gold Coast

- I hope that the groundswell of nostalgia that a move like this could create in Sydney, we get the game back on track in that city and make some good long term decisions for the good of the game regarding moving a couple of teams out of Sydney and into Woollongong and Central Coast

- I hope once the Titans are sold, the new stadiums are on the way in Sydney and Townsville and control of the scheduling has been regained we can finally turn our eyes to expansion of the NRL

 

[King hit]

Yeah one eyed Queenslanders would be jumping on the chance to cheer for one of Sydney's proudest clubs and one of the Rugby League's traditional clubs. Promoting the Bears as a second team in Brisbane is like promoting outdoor BBQ's in Greenland.

 

[T-Boon]

If the bears win the licence I hope a few things happen:

- I hope they either go with the bears colours and logos or the titans, not some mixture of the two that will make no one happy

Not even the Gold Coast Bear Tits?

 

[taipan]

Yeah one eyed Queenslanders would be jumping on the chance to cheer for one of Sydney's proudest clubs and one of the Rugby League's traditional clubs. Promoting the Bears as a second team in Brisbane is like promoting outdoor BBQ's in Greenland.

With global warming taking effect in Greenland glaciers melting ,BBQ's may well be a popular sales item in the near future.
ATM a decent number of one eyed Queenslanders are not exactly rushing to join the Broncos.Plus a lot of ex NSW people live in Brisbane and surrounds.
I guess the point is, either not having a team or a team with a well known brand name and tradition.

Anycase whatever happens,I don;t want the Bear's brand removing one that has taken a lot of heartache and pain to get established on the holiday strip.

 

[herbert henry1908]

Yeah one eyed Queenslanders would be jumping on the chance to cheer for one of Sydney's proudest clubs and one of the Rugby League's traditional clubs. Promoting the Bears as a second team in Brisbane is like promoting outdoor BBQ's in Greenland.

Is it really?

Prior to the Broncos coming into the league heaps of Brisbane people supported a Sydney club. To this day there's a heap of dragons & eels fans up there. Many people still talk about the anti Broncos people. To me a traditional club is exactly the model to tap into that.

 

[herbert henry1908]

Anycase whatever happens,I don;t want the Bear's brand removing one that has taken a lot of heartache and pain to get established on the holiday strip.

Is the brand really that big a loss? Seems totally plastic to me. Colours & name.

If they'd won a grand final I could see the argument, perhaps if they'd played in one.

You'd need to have some type of merchandise swap to placate fans though.

 

[herbert henry1908]

TBH the more I think about the Bears bid the more I like it.

Ticks a heap of boxes if the bid is solid financially, the most important one being long term viability. Similar to the Wests Newcastle takeover it just seems a much better long term option to me.

I could easily see private buyers jumping ship again in another 10 years. If the Bears leagues club are willing to back it I'd jump at the deal.

double the fan base

improved away support

improved jersey & name

better long term viability

I know I'll be in the minority but that's my take. Could have one of the biggest membership numbers in the league. Similar to the swans in the AFL.



Only a small example but go and look at the ghost town that is the titans forum here. 8,000 posts in 10 years. 800 a year or an average of 2.2 posts per day

 

[umina panther]

TBH the more I think about the Bears bid the more I like it.

Ticks a heap of boxes if the bid is solid financially, the most important one being long term viability. Similar to the Wests Newcastle takeover it just seems a much better long term option to me.

I could easily see private buyers jumping ship again in another 10 years. If the Bears leagues club are willing to back it I'd jump at the deal.

double the fan base

improved away support

improved jersey & name

better long term viability

I know I'll be in the minority but that's my take. Could have one of the biggest membership numbers in the league. Similar to the swans in the AFL.



Only a small example but go and look at the ghost town that is the titans forum here. 8,000 posts in 10 years. 800 a year or an average of 2.2 posts per day

Used to be a Bears fan and agree with all of this. Just need it locked in that North Sydney only gets 1 home game a year and that can never change