'We're giving the game back to the people'
January 19, 2010
Glenn Jackson and Brad Walter spoke with Gold Coast Titans chief Michael Searle, the driving force behind yesterday's summit.
Q What does this mean for rugby league?
''It's one of those opportunities that rarely comes up in the game of rugby league, where we have universal and unanimous support for changing a corporate structure. It means that we're going to hand the game over to independent people to administer and to create the policy and direction. But more importantly, we're giving the game back to the people through the creation of a non-profit entity. It was one of those moments that we will look back on, and hopefully think it was the time that rugby league started back on its journey to be the No.1 football code in the country.''
Q When will it happen?
''The clubs have asked for it to happen by season kick-off, or earlier if possible. That's a timeline that they felt was achievable given that corporate deals get done all the time, and we can enter into a heads of agreement around the process, and get it started. Hopefully it'll happen sooner rather than later, but we're relying on News Ltd and the Australian Rugby League to negotiate the settlement. We feel that's a long way down the path, but how long that takes them to finalise is really up to those partners.''
Q Were you surprised by the mood and strength of the delegates?
''Overwhelmed, to be honest. The mood was very buoyant, the game is quite obviously in a great position in regards to product on the field, and the clubs are all excited that this will give them some security of tenure moving forward, as participants in the game. But we're also acutely aware that handing the game over to independent people will bring new levels of administration and expectations on the clubs, as it has in the past. The '80s brought the salary cap, and that was driven by independent people on the [NSWRL] board. We understand that, we encourage it and welcome it. If it's in the best interests of the game growing, and us achieving our potential
we hand the game over to independent people to administer the policies and clubs will abide by it.''
Q What's the process for electing the commissioners?
''The inaugural board will be appointed by the partners, the ARL and News Limited, hence the request that the game immediately seek independence from the date of the establishment of the commission. Then, from the third anniversary of the establishment of the commission
every year there'll be two commissioners retire, and the clubs will get to nominate. You need three clubs to nominate a commissioner, and you require 75 per cent of the vote, which is one of the largest majorities in world sport.''
Q Why do this now?
''We're in a situation where the game has been challenged by rival codes in our core market. We've got a taxation regime on some of the licensed clubs that support our Sydney clubs that is quite expensive and putting them in a perilous situation, so we need to start to plan for life after poker-machine revenue. The global economic crisis certainly created some fear amongst the clubs that we need to be well prepared and well structured to maximise our revenue. They're the downsides. The upside is that we're on a surging wave where the game continues to get back to its pre-1995 support in its core markets. The fact that we're now dominating some of our competitors means that we probably need the best possible structure to maximise it as well. We shouldn't just rely on the fact that we're going well, we should make sure that we maximise it.''
Q How do you think the ARL and News Ltd will see the motion?
''With the intent that it was designed. That is to say that the game of rugby league supports and acknowledges the contribution that both partners have provided the game over the last 10 years, and certainly acknowledges the contribution that the ARL executives have provided over the last 100 years of the game. But we feel that there's an opportunity here now to allow us to bury the past, of the Super League war, and unite together to grow the game again. I think that's a great opportunity for the game, and a chance for us to sit back and reflect on some of the great work they've done in the past, but we need to move forward now and I think News and the ARL will take it in the vein that it was meant, which is constructive, supportive and possibly providing some encouragement to try and fast-track it, so that the NRL management team can take advantage of the best possible TV deal, and we can get on with putting a great product back on the paddock and have a good positive start to 2010.''
Q Who would be on your wish-list for the first commission?
''I still don't think it's appropriate to talk about who the commissioners are until we know we've got a commission. If they're independent, they're leaders in their field, and they love the game of rugby league, tick, tick, tick for me; three boxes, that's great. The faces can be filled in later. There are lots of great people out there in the corporate world that love the game, and they probably just haven't been provided with an opportunity to do it before. Who it is to me is irrelevant, as long as they meet the criteria.''
Q One of the concerns raised has been that if the privately-owned clubs suddenly struggle for cash, they could change the constitution and make a grab for money.
''We showed today that there's two things that should give great comfort to all the stakeholders. We've got the highest majority required in world sport, outside the NFL, which is 100 per cent. We're at 87 per cent, which is 14 out of 16, to change the constitution. Secondly, the definition of the word 'game', how is it defined, is something that's critical to the security we're providing grassroots development and also the support that we're going to provide international rugby league and representative football. The commissioner has an obligation, a fiduciary duty by corporations law, to act in the best interests of the game.
Q What's in this for the fans?
''They get the game back. The game of rugby league gets to retain all the profits, and the fan will see a voice via their clubs. At the moment, the clubs are clearly reliant on the fans providing them feedback, and it's their job to try and provide the best possible product. This gives the game back to the people. We're no longer shifting revenue out of the game, we're maximising revenue, and from the fans' perspective, they'll have an independent group of business people that can take the game to another level. The fans can feel comfortable in the knowledge that this model will make their team economically more stable. This gives long-term security to the clubs, and ultimately to the fans of those clubs.''
