iSelect Gold Coast Titans granted new license

[BunniesMan]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...l-to-save-titans/story-e6frexnr-1226299738852

FMD, now we want a 3rd world country to help bail out the Tits...not a good look for a country with problems with running water, disease and secondary education for its kids to be putting money into a NRL club based here.

 

[hybrid_tiger]

Searle has always been a filthy fat slimy grub.

 

[Moffo]

I'd march down George st to keep them in the comp

 

[turbodewd]

What are ticket prices at the GC? And why did they draw jsut 11,000 vs the Raiders in round 2 for their first home game. Thats pathetic. The weather was perfect..I saw the game on TV.

Sounds the AFL and the Suns are winning the battle :^(

I seriously think the NRL needs a total revamp. We cant have Sydney clubs which get poor crowds soaking up TV revenue.

 

[Pierced Soul]

And why did they draw jsut 11,000 vs the Raiders in round 2 for their first home game.
.

2 reasons:
1/ they're the reigning wooden spooners and lets face it - league fans are fickle
2/ it was against the raiders who arent going to draw a huge crowd on the GC

 

[Goddo]

:lol: at all the people talking doom and gloom.

The Titans problems are two fold - Searle spent too much on infrastructure for the club, and they have the worst stadium deal in Australian winter sport.

Both things Searle as owner/CEO is responsible for, but doesn't make the GC unviable. Maybe the problem is they need new ownership/management?

Now the Suns are there I don't think the ARLC would allow the Titans to go under. Its a manageable problem currently, and its up to Searle to make it work. If he can't he should surrender the club and its assets to the ARLC.

 

[Kirky]

What needs to be addressed is the ticket prices. The huge fees Staduim QLD want is partly to blame. Does NRL do those family fun days up there with cheap entry & food? Can the NRL threaten to take tests, finals & SOO etc off them. If they don't do a better deal.

I agree that something needs to be done with respect to the monopoly that Stadiums Qld have up there, but as bad as the Titans' stadium deal is (they pay $300k per game I believe), the really disturbing fact is that their CEO signed the contract. We all look at that deal and see it as being ridiculous, whereas Searle saw that deal and signed on the dotted line.

Many of the issues with the Titans over the past couple of years have been sensationalised, but a recurring theme through all of them (in my view at least) has been Searle not being a competent administrator.

 

[The AXXXMAN]

Titans will be undone by the enormous ground rental fees they pay to Stadiums Queensland. Ground costs are even greater if crowd numbers are larger due to the requirement for extra services. That's why Palmer was capping United matches at 5k.

If Sydney clubs have to pay what Titans do, and charge their fans a premium for entry, they all would be up the shitter too. Me thinks hiring a suburban shithole from council with the number of options available to Sydney clubs doesnt come close to the cost the Titans incur from an organisation that monopolises the stadium business in Queensland.

The AFL have helped the their team up there with building costs to the new ground and thus leading to a reduction in the Suns ground rental from Stadiums Queensland. In contrast, the NRL have left their team to fend for themselves. In a competitive sporting market, who do you think is going to come out on top in the long-term?

 

[Goddo]

I agree that something needs to be done with respect to the monopoly that Stadiums Qld have up there, but as bad as the Titans' stadium deal is (they pay $300k per game I believe), the really disturbing fact is that their CEO signed the contract. We all look at that deal and see it as being ridiculous, whereas Searle saw that deal and signed on the dotted line.

Many of the issues with the Titans over the past couple of years have been sensationalised, but a recurring theme through all of them (in my view at least) has been Searle not being a competent administrator.

He certainly seems capable of comming up with good ideas, but dreadful at implementing them.

 

[Teddyboy]

Titans will be undone by the enormous ground rental fees they pay to Stadiums Queensland. Ground costs are even greater if crowd numbers are larger due to the requirement for extra services. That's why Palmer was capping United matches at 5k.

If Sydney clubs have to pay what Titans do, and charge their fans a premium for entry, they all would be up the shitter too. Me thinks hiring a suburban shithole from council with the number of options available to Sydney clubs doesnt come close to the cost the Titans incur from an organisation that monopolises the stadium business in Queensland.

The AFL have helped the their team up there with building costs to the new ground and thus leading to a reduction in the Suns ground rental from Stadiums Queensland. In contrast, the NRL have left their team to fend for themselves. In a competitive sporting market, who do you think is going to come out on top in the long-term?

A merged Rugby code

 

[El Diablo]

http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport...says-peter-badel/story-e6frep5x-1226299666518

Australian Rugby League Commission must launch investigation into Gold Coast Titans says Peter Badel

Peter Badel
The Courier-Mail
March 15, 2012 12:00AM

AUSTRALIAN Rugby League Commission chairman John Grant must launch an immediate inquiry into the Gold Coast Titans and the administration of the club under managing director Michael Searle.

Revelations that the Australian Tax Office lodged an application last month to have the Titans' property arm wound up, a matter which was heard in the Federal Court yesterday, must spark concern at NRL headquarters.

The ATO subsequently withdrew their application, but the fact the tax office had made legal moves against the Titans and that Reed Constructions, which completed the Centre of Excellence, may yet push on with wind-up proceedings, paints a worrying picture for the club.

Gold Coast were hailed as a valuable jewel in rugby league's crown when they were issued an NRL licence in May 2005, but the club's series of off-field sagas cannot be helping the code, whose chiefs are attempting to broker a record TV rights deal.

At a time when AFL is making serious inroads into the Gold Coast consumer market with the Suns, the NRL requires a Titans team to be successful, financially robust, administratively sound and, perhaps above all, squeaky clean.

Instead, alarm bells are ringing.

The Titans currently hold the wooden spoon, crowd figures have dropped and Searle has been forced to weather repeated queries about the Titans' fiscal health following a slew of legal battles that have cost the club an estimated $3-4 million.

The Titans last year faced a painful legal battle with former builders Simcorp over money owing on the Centre of Excellence.

Amid the wrangle, the Queensland Office of State Revenue also launched court action against the Titans, suing the club for $226,278 in unpaid payroll tax.

Yesterday, the Titans found themselves back in court against a lawyer representing Reed Constructions, which is understood to be seeking $1.5 million after taking over the Centre of Excellence project from now-defunct Simcorp.

There are two sides to the story but none of this can be good for Titans players or their fans, or the game as a whole.

That is why it is time for the newly-institued ARLC and NRL boss David Gallop to act.

At the heart of the problem is the Titans' governance structure, which would raise eyebrows in the business world.

Searle, who owns an estimated 80 per cent of the Titans, is ostensibly a one-man show. The Titans have no club board, which means Searle can make business decisions and run the club as he sees fit.

No other NRL club is run in such a manner, not even privately-owned Souths, whose Hollywood owner Russell Crowe answers to a board of directors.

Rugby league desperately needs a thriving Gold Coast team to stave off the AFL, but in their current state the Titans could join the surfeit of sporting carcasses that line the holiday strip.

The global financial crisis has done little to help Searle build the Titans brand. It is time for the Commission to help clear the dark clouds.

 

[betcats]

Sydney has two many teams.

 

[The AXXXMAN]

I cant believe that the NRL have allowed a club with a license to play in its league to have such a corporate governance structure. Actually, the Titans dont have one. There is always something within this league that you just say to yourself, what the f**k? How does a 'professional' competition administrator allow this to happen? Was everyone in the past form of the NRL so concerned with protecting their arse that the basics of organisational regulations were so overlooked? Liken it to Enron. All good when things are going really well, but all you need to do is scratch beneath the surface and it's all f**kin shady.

In a perfect world, we'd prefer clubs to be viable on their own and without aid of the competition administrator. Indeed, this is how it works in American & european professional sports in particular, established or expansionary. Clubs are individual organisations and must meet going concern criteria to retain their licenses to play in competitions. The big point of difference over there compared with here is the population size, the lack of similar competition in terms of types of game (even in America their 4 major professional sports all have major points of differences), and different seasons.

The NRL is largely run in a similar manner with individual clubs (and owners) required to fend for themselves to keep afloat, such as Gold Coast Titans. There has been aid of a few clubs, largely the expansion storm (owned and funded by News Ltd), and Cowboys (owned by News from 2001-2007 when they got into financial difficulty), when News Ltd were a half owners of NRL. The Broncos have majority shares owned by News associated company but able to fund its own operations.

In contrast, the AFL largely tips in to protect their competition as a whole. To maintain the 16, now 18 club structure, and the financial benefits generated from this which outweigh the relative minor cost of propping up financially struggling clubs. Furthermore, expansionary teams are being bankrolled by the AFL. This is where the goalposts have really shifted. The Titans are now competing not just against the Suns as an organisation, but against the biggest competition administrator in the country who are largely funding the costs of the playing roster, other football expenses, and marketing and promotion. They've been involved in the infrastructure setup, which has provided ongoing cost savings for the club. The AFL are trying to ensure that it works. On the other hand, the NRL were bedazzled by the BS and spin of an accountant, some competitive on-field years, and virtually left the success or failure of an important venture in one of the fastest growing areas of the country (where it has failed before) to one person.

WTF?

The NRL needs to take the fight to other mob. If it allows the clubs in their infancy to run their own show in important markets and competitive markets, then it might not as well bother allowing them in or persisting with them, because they will lose.

 

[Twizzle]

Unfortunately this is just s sign of the times with so many Gold Coast properties being devalued.

Not much Searle can do about that sort of thing.

 

[Dragonwest]

There is a QLD election going on. There needs to be some negative media concerning QLD Stadiums aka QLD goverment treatment of the Titans. A big headline like "QLD goverment drains Rugby League" should help. ARLC steps in to talk to both parties and broker a better deal!

 

[Joker's Wild]

Clive Palmer is looking for a new sporting team to buy isnt he?

 

[Munky]

The Titans don't publish their financial statements do they?

Would make for some interesting reading I imagine. I wonder how they service the debt on the Centre for Excellence since it doesn't generate income.

 

[Dragonwest]

Selling team's off to the highest bidder is the easy way out but with potential issues down the line. If the ARLC sort the ticket prices out through the QLD goverment, support the club through this legall mess around the centre and fund junior football adequately all will be fine!

 

[Perth Red]

Good post axxxman, the NRL has been an amateur set up trying to run a professional game. How on earth the NRL agreed to that governance structure is the big question, another one of Gallop's quality decisons I wonder? Smacks of being desperate to get on the GC before the AFL with no thought of actual success, sustainability or investment. Typical RL really.

AFL is investing $20mill+ a year and all the resources and concessions of the organisation to make the Suns viable, NRL washes its hands and gives $4mill a year to the Titans. Only ever going to be one winner in that scenario.

 

[Perth Red]

The Titans don't publish their financial statements do they?

Would make for some interesting reading I imagine. I wonder how they service the debt on the Centre for Excellence since it doesn't generate income.

I have only ever seen the Panthers financial statements as part of the Panthers group anual report, that makes for sober reading!

Any Broncos shareholders get a copy of the annual report? Or any links to other clubs annual financial statements? I would imagine the privately owned ones do not make them public.