NZ 2 .. 360 million dollar bid

[Matiunz]

Could Christchurch possibly be the home base to a Pasifika focused franchise?

Something like 9 games in Christchurch than annual games in Fiji, Samoa & Tonga (with facilities upgraded by the Australian and New Zealand tax payers to help curb Chinese influence in the pacific?

Be a bit of a cop out, NZ needs another team rather than play host to another country.
PI population in CHCH is pretty small and is significantly behind both Auckland and Wellington pretty much anywhere outside of Auckland isn’t a huge population for PI.
Moana Pasifika has also shown the concept doesn’t really work (despite being in the higher concentration of Auckland)

 

[Matt_CBY]

I take your points but to clarify

Be a bit of a cop out, NZ needs another team rather than play host to another country.

It wouldn’t be hosting another country l, it would be hosting a culture.

PI population in CHCH is pretty small and is significantly behind both Auckland and Wellington pretty much anywhere outside of Auckland isn’t a huge population for PI.

Fair point.

Moana Pasifika has also shown the concept doesn’t really work (despite being in the higher concentration of Auckland)

Moana Pasifika is up against three separate Rugby Union clubs on the North Island.

Where a South Island League version would be the only professional club on the island for its sport.

Side question, Moana Pasifika doesn’t even play games in Samoa or Tonga does it?

 

[Matiunz]

I take your points but to clarify



It wouldn’t be hosting another country l, it would be hosting a culture.




Fair point.



Moana Pasifika is up against three separate Rugby Union clubs on the North Island.

Where a South Island League version would be the only professional club on the island for its sport.

Side question, Moana Pasifika doesn’t even play games in Samoa or Tonga does it?

Again not a fan of a club team based on race/culture, would rather NZ 2 be an Inclusive NZ team. If NRL really want a Pasifika team there’s no difference basing it in Aus and not at the expense of a NZ team.

MP have played games in both Samoa and Tonga, it’s a nice idea but not financially viable to do it too much

 

[Matt_CBY]

Maybe not for Super Rugby Clubs but NRL clubs are funded differently.

 

[Matiunz]

Maybe not for Super Rugby Clubs but NRL clubs are funded differently.

It’s not sport specific but in terms of clubs making money on home games it s a loss making exercise with the reduced capacity of stadiums and logistical costs of taking games to places such as these.

 

[Matt_CBY]

That’s obvious. However doesn’t counter the point made.

 

[LightLizard]

But they won't be south island only, Orcas might be OK with basing themselves in chch, but they'll want a few home games in Wellington, the orcas are also the Wellington Orcas, so they might not agree with the South Island name, and stick with "Southern"

At no stage at all - ever - has the "Orca bid team said they will play games in Wellington. They have, however, said on multiple occasions, they will play a couple of games outside ChCh. Namely trail and pre-season in Nelson, and use the FB Stadium in DnDn (covered / 25000 cap) for a game annually. They would be the ONLY NRL team to have use of x 2 fully covered stadiums, both with 25000 capacities.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

double post

 

[Wb1234]

At no stage at all - ever - has the "Orca bid team said they will play games in Wellington. They have, however, said on multiple occasions, they will play a couple of games outside ChCh. Namely trail and pre-season in Nelson, and use the FB Stadium in DnDn (covered / 25000 cap) for a game annually. They would be the ONLY NRL team to have use of x 2 fully covered stadiums, both with 25000 capacities.

The name orcas is a Wellington thing and chalmers previous southern orcas was a joint bid between Wellington and chch

I’ll be shocked if it excludes Wellington (which it should)

 

[Matiunz]

The name orcas is a Wellington thing and chalmers previous southern orcas was a joint bid between Wellington and chch

I’ll be shocked if it excludes Wellington (which it should)

Orcas certainly implies Wellington involvement. ‘Southern’ over ‘South Island’ is a smart business move too- why Alienate 80% of NZ market? Sure it’ll be South Island centric but it leaves a level of ambiguity to include much more of the population much in the Same way the Warriors are very Auckland centric but encompass all of NZ.
Said before I’d buy into a Southern team but not a solely South Island team

 

[Wb1234]

Orcas certainly implies Wellington involvement. ‘Southern’ over ‘South Island’ is a smart business move too- why Alienate 80% of NZ market? Sure it’ll be South Island centric but it leaves a level of ambiguity to include much more of the population much in the Same way the Warriors are very Auckland centric but encompass all of NZ.
Said before I’d buy into a Southern team but not a solely South Island team

Wellington needs its own team one day if league is doing really well which means they can’t use the orcas brand or the chch team would have to rebrand

3 nrl teams would cover nz geographically esp if they take games to regional towns

 

[MugaB]

At no stage at all - ever - has the "Orca bid team said they will play games in Wellington. They have, however, said on multiple occasions, they will play a couple of games outside ChCh. Namely trail and pre-season in Nelson, and use the FB Stadium in DnDn (covered / 25000 cap) for a game annually. They would be the ONLY NRL team to have use of x 2 fully covered stadiums, both with 25000 capacities.

Yet the use of branding, which they themselves created, (before Wellington started permanently using it) Suggests otherwise, I'll believe it when it's "south island orcas", not "southern orcas"

 

[MugaB]

Wellington needs its own team one day if league is doing really well which means they can’t use the orcas brand or the chch team would have to rebrand

3 nrl teams would cover nz geographically esp if they take games to regional towns

You're thinking sizable cities, not worthiness, coz if it's all about population numbers, we should have 5 teams in Melbourne, and 2 in Adelaide before a Wellington team has one... let's start with one in chch, then come back in a decade for a Wellington team

 

[Bobby DIGital]

Sir Graham Lowe was on 2SM Talkin Sport yesterday. Graham Hughes was referring to this bid as the Orca’s.

Has the merger of South Island & Orca bids happened already?

Hughes and Lowe reunited on the air? I would've liked to have heard that. They were the voices of RL in NZ through the early to mid 90s.

 

[Pippen94]

Hughes and Lowe reunited on the air? I would've liked to have heard that. They were the voices of RL in NZ through the early to mid 90s.

Graeme Hughes outlasting sterlo & fatty.

 

[RedVee]

Hughes and Lowe reunited on the air? I would've liked to have heard that. They were the voices of RL in NZ through the early to mid 90s.

Hughes gets Lowe on for a chat any chance he gets.

 

[AlwaysGreen]

Wellington needs its own team one day if league is doing really well which means they can’t use the orcas brand or the chch team would have to rebrand

3 nrl teams would cover nz geographically esp if they take games to regional towns

Why do New Zealand teams have to take games to regional towns? It's not an expectation of Australian teams so why NZ?

 

[Matua]

Why do New Zealand teams have to take games to regional towns? It's not an expectation of Australian teams so why NZ?

They don't have to - but if they want buy in from fans they might need to. If you want bottom NI fans to switch to a Southern team from the Warriors playing games in the region is going to help with that.

 

[Wb1234]

Take a low drawing home game and play it at in Hamilton rotarua Palmerston’s north dundein and chch

I’m assuming that they would get paid well to do that

Same as taking games to Bathurst Sunshine Coast or Darwin

 

[AlwaysGreen]

Take a low drawing home game and play it at in Hamilton rotarua Palmerston’s north dundein and chch

I’m assuming that they would get paid well to do that

Same as taking games to Bathurst Sunshine Coast or Darwin

Marketing genius. Mark the bears and png as playing in Hamilton.