Exclusive: 'We want $1 billion'- V'landy's bullish vision of expansion, new Cup comp and staggering wealth
https://www.theroar.com.au/author/nick-tedeschi/
Nick Tedeschi
Love him or hate him, admire him or fear him, there is little doubt Peter V’landys is one of the great leaders in the history of Australian sport, a man with the vision to dream in technicolour and the drive to turn ideas into reality.
It was almost six years to the day the Racing NSW supremo joined the ARL Commission and he took the reins 18 months later.
Over that time we have seen the introduction of the six-again rule and the two-point field goal, a complete overhaul to encourage short restarts and a sustained attack on high shots.
Off the field the NRL has built up an asset base, broken into the American market, expanded the NRL to 17 teams and NRLW to ten sides and signed off on a new CBA, to say nothing of the NRL being the first major sporting organisation in the world to return to play during the Covid pandemic.
Much of the change has been driven by the irrepressible V’landys. So what is next? Where is the game headed? What will the NRL and rugby league as a whole look like over the next decade?
“It will be an entertaining sport that has a massive fanbase that has a million-dollar asset base with 20 teams with a footprint in the Pacific and having broken into the American market,” V’Landys told
The Roar.
“You follow it. You are part of a tribe. You want to be entertained. It is all about the fan. It is all about their needs. That is why we have made the rule changes. The fan is critical.”
That is certainly the central mantra from V’landys and the NRL, and will continue to be the driving force behind the strategic changes and innovations the game makes over the next decade and there is plenty on the roadmap and plenty of areas the high-octane V’landys wants to impact while holding the reins.
“Tastes change with every generation. You need to keep up with those trends,” V’landys said, balancing the short-term wants of fans with the long-term strategic shaping of the game to keep it relevant, sustainable and entertaining.
Expansion. Conquering the globe. Making the women’s game fully professional. A cup competition. Potentially a draft. There is plenty on the horizon over the next ten years.
Expansion
If he gets his way – and he does more often than not – then we will see the NRL not only return to a 20-team format for the first time in over a quarter-century but be matched by a women’s competition with the same number of sides.
“The key factor we look at is who can bring new fans to the game,” V’landys said.
“The Dolphins brought new fans in. This is what we will want from other new teams. New fans, naturally, interest the broadcasters.”
Papua New Guinea has certainly been one area mooted for an expansion franchise and while this has certainly been driven by both the Australian and American governments, V’Landys sees it as both a huge opportunity for the game and for the country.
“Soft diplomacy is important but the country has 18 million people,” he said.
“That’s a big market for us to be able to get new participants, get new fans. Rugby league can not only benefit but can help lift education standards, help bring communities together. They are already in love with the game.”
New Zealand is another area that could well be looking at an expansion team though it won’t be the heavily mooted Wellington with V’landys committing to leaving the North Island to the Warriors.
“New Zealand is an important area for us and the Warriors have been a marketing machine over there,” he added.
“We certainly wouldn’t be looking at anything on the North Island but if opportunities arose on the South Island, we would look at them.”
The growth in women’s sport over the last five years has been exponential. The NRL were on this early and the NRLW is one of the most supported women’s competitions in Australia with just under 800,000 viewers watching last year’s Grand Final.
“One thing that pleases me about rugby league is how good our female players are,” V’landys said.
“The skill level is extraordinary and how they’ve developed into the players that they are in such a short period of time is mind-boggling. They are brilliant.
“My mission is to make sure every NRL club fields an NRLW equivalent so in ten years you will have 20 NRLW teams playing a full season with women fully professional.
“The women’s game has the most potential of any area.”
America
He is bullish about the opportunities that will arise from venturing to the United States.
“We are opening doors for all Australian sports by attacking the American market,” he said.
“There are 340 million people over there. There’s only 26 million in Australia. That creates significant revenue opportunities.
“It is all about revenue. Success will be determined by how much revenue we generate. It all flows on from there.
“Cronulla just signed a $5 million sponsorship because an Australian who lives in America saw us take the product to America. Gaining fans, sports betting, opening up competitions, getting new owners…it has unlimited potential.”
Politics
One area V’landys has not only narrowed the divide with the AFL in but has surpassed their influence in is that of politics and that is unlikely to change anytime soon.
V’landys understands power better than most and will not shy away from taking full advantage of having a league-loving Prime Minister among other influential powerbrokers.
“It is imperative for the game to have support from those in key positions,” said V’landys .
“Government decisions affect everyone. Having someone like Anthony Albanese as Prime Minister who lives and breathes rugby league, it is invaluable.
“He has assisted us with America. He has assisted us with Papua New Guinea and the Pacific. He can open doors that no one else can.”
Finances
Few understand the perilous financial situation the game was in when Covid hit but since then V’landys has made it his top priority to build a sustainable financial base for the NRL to ensure the game is never endangered again – and that will not cease.
“In a crisis, you need to have money to back you up,” he said.
“During Covid, all we had was cash and most of that was already allocated. We had three-to-four months of cash left.
“We learned we needed to have assets and financial resources. We want to have $300 million in this cycle but we want to get that up to $1 billion as soon as possible.”
Sports betting
Like most major sports, the NRL is heavily reliant on wagering dollars and some of the more extreme proposed changes to the landscape are clearly going to be met with opposition from the NRL.
“We are not opposed to restrictions in advertising around when kids watch games. [Some of the recommendations though] are a step too far,” said the ARLC chair.
“Sport does rely on [wagering] revenue and it will have an impact on sports. That revenue will need to be replaced.
“The majority of people can bet and do so without having a problem. We should be helping the small portion that do rather than taking away the benefits from the rest.”
The AFL
Under V’landys stewardship, the gap in professionalism and astuteness in the administration of the AFL and NRL has narrowed and that shows no signs of abating with V’Landys fearless when it comes to competing with the one-time big dog of Australian sport.
“Competition is healthy,” he said. “I like [the AFL] making big statements, even though some of them are ridiculous.
“The more pressure they put on us, the better it will be because we will reciprocate. We will match them in whatever they do. We welcome the competition. It does not scare me.”
Love him or hate him, admire him or fear him, there is little doubt Peter V’landys is one of the great leaders in the…
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