http://m.smh.com.au/rugby-league/le...s-give-ic-the-green-light-20111115-1nhaw.html
Let the money roll in: clubs give IC the green light
Michael Chammas, Greg Prichard November 16, 2011
Bring it on ... NRL club representatives Stephen Humphreys (Wests Tigers), Todd Greenberg (Canterbury) and Shane Richardson (Souths) arrive at NRL headquarters yesterday. Photo: Simon Alekna
THE independent commission is finally set to take over control of rugby league.
The commission chairman, John Grant, said last night ''we're now approaching the starting line with no major obstacles left in our way'', after all 16 NRL clubs agreed to sign licensing agreements to compete until the end of 2018.
On a historic day for the game, the independent commission was finally given the green light. At a 2½-hour meeting at NRL headquarters yesterday, which saw seven of the eight commissioners front representatives from the 16 NRL clubs, the final obstacle was settled.
Advertisement
Grant refused to put a date on when the commission might formally start running the game, but said that while there were still a number of things to be done between now and then, it was mostly ''nuts and bolts stuff''.
''It's a procedural thing now,'' Grant said. ''Hopefully a lot of work can be done between now and the NRL conference at the end of the month [November 29-30], so that we can be in a position to tie up a few things there. I always knew the commission was going to happen.''
Yesterday's meeting was the first time club representatives met the commissioners to discuss the future of rugby league.
The clubs were unanimous in accepting the $500,000 top-up the NRL offered to lift next year's club grant to $4.35 million, despite it being $1.65 million less than the figure they originally demanded in anticipation of the television deal.
''Today was a really important day for the game of rugby league because it was the first opportunity that the clubs have had to engage with the commissioners in relation to a range of issues that concerned them,'' NRL clubs' spokesman David Trodden said.
''The clubs have obvious concerns about their financial stability and it was necessary for them to raise issues about their financial stability with commissioners and with other stakeholders in the game.
''They've left the meeting with the commissioners more convinced than ever that the commissioners are the right people to take us into the next era of the game and the structure of the commission is the right structure for the game into the future as well.''
The non-compete clause, which threatened to further delay the start of the commission, has also been resolved.
There were fears among the clubs that News Ltd would start up a rival competition and demanded News sign an agreement stating otherwise.
The ARL and News Ltd have since come to an agreement and the non-compete clause will be in place until the end of 2018, the original year earmarked for News Ltd's exit from the game after the Super League war.
News Ltd's corporate affairs director, Greg Baxter, said the media company was ''very pleased'' with the news.
''Our understanding is that the only thing the clubs had to agree upon at the meeting was the amount of additional money in the grant for next year, and they did that,'' Baxter said.
''As far as the non-compete clause is concerned, I'm already on the record as saying that issue is totally irrelevant, because we have no intention of setting up any rival competition in the future.''
The independent commission's
most important job will be securing a lucrative television rights deal when it begins negotiating a package for 2013-2017.
The deal, which expires at the end of next season, is potentially worth $1.4 billion and may see the salary cap rise from $4.3 million to $6.6 million in 2013.
The commission will be at least a month behind schedule when it begins operations but NRL chief executive David Gallop insists the delay won't have a negative impact on the outcome of the deal.
''I think it may take a bit of time once the process starts,'' Gallop said. ''But I remain optimistic that the game is well placed to do a tremendous TV deal and set up the game's finances for the grassroots, for the players and for the clubs into the future.''
ARL chairman John Chalk, who was at yesterday's meeting as an observer, welcomed the news enthusiastically. ''There is nothing major left in the way now,'' Chalk said last night. ''The non-compete clause is no longer an issue and the clubs are all happy that has happened.
''Right at this time I'm not quite sure when the commission will be in place and operating, but today's development will accelerate the process.''
