Curious. Do any of the expansionista's on this forum and in particular this thread actually live in NZ, mainly South Is NZ and can confirm the actual status of Rugby, Rugby League and all the other rhetoric many on here are arguing over?
Seems like (and pardon me if I'm wrong) that people arguing whichever which way aren't located anywhere near the proposed location of a new NZ club and their understanding of this might not be as sound as they believe it to be?
Keen to hear how this is playing out from locals. After all, they would be the main target audience.
I live in North Canterbury, and work in chch city a stone's throw away from the new stadium.
My opinion is the area is ready for an NRL team. A few years ago I wouldn't have imagined chch leapfrogging my hometown of Wellington in the race for nrl admission, but here we are. Chch has the stadium, the fan base (have sold out all games this year) and the catchment area has a decent amount of juniors (certainly a lot more than Perth or PNG can produce). The only thing I had a question mark over was the funds (with the Kea bid in particular), but now Lowey and his consortium have come out and laid out their business plan so I'm satisfied that all boxes are ticked, and I feel the SI should get the 18th license and not the 20th.
Now will a 2nd NRL team in NZ affect Union? Yes, it will be a shot across the bow but will not be a death blow. It's too ingrained here, particularly in the SI. If the Orcas are successful, I can see them having bigger crowds than the Crusaders in the same stadium. But the All Blacks will still sell out that stadium every game.
If you took a successful club like the Storm (who are wasted in Mebourne) and plonked them anywhere in NZ, it would be a raging success.