Peace breaks out as board backs Tinkler
Adrian Proszenko
March 6, 2011
Tinkler vision . . . the Knights can be a top team again.
Photo: Peter Stoop
PROSPECTIVE Newcastle owner Nathan Tinkler has ended his feud with Knights chairman Rob Tew as the club prepares to return to its days as one of the NRL's powerhouse teams.
The mining magnate has told
The Sun-Herald he is trying to buy the Knights for the right reasons and is prepared to put aside his differences with his old sparring partners, Tew and chief executive Steve Burraston.
''Chairman Rob Tew did a great job in protecting members' rights in ensuring the club's colours, playing location and name will never change. Not just protected for 10 years, but they are locked in in perpetuity. He should be very proud of the outcome,'' Tinkler said.
Tinkler insists his motive is to turn the battling club into a powerhouse rather than having the team as a personal plaything.
''This bid is not about Nathan Tinkler,'' he said. ''It's all about the Newcastle Knights having a strong financial future and becoming a powerhouse in the NRL.
''We need to become leaders in every part of the modern game to relive the golden years of 1997 through to 2003, when we played in the semi-finals of every year with an abundance of home-grown talent.''
Tinkler's proposal, which includes $10 million in guaranteed annual sponsorship revenue for the next 10 years, was finally endorsed by the board on what Tew described as a watershed day in the club's history.
The final decision now rests with about 3000 voting members, who will decide whether to accept the Tinkler Sports Group's privatisation proposal. Tinkler, the richest Australian under 40, with an estimated fortune in excess of $600 million, needs 75 per cent of the vote to take control of the Knights. The vote is likely to take place on March 31.
Tinkler has guaranteed that the club's name, colours, location and logo won't change without member approval if he gains control.
He has already pumped millions into the Hunter region, saving the A-League's Newcastle Jets from financial ruin and outbidding interstate suitors for the rights to international netball matches. He also wants to resurrect a Newcastle side in the NBL but for now his focus is on his beloved Knights.
''This is about ensuring the community is proud of the club and the region, while remembering and respecting our pioneers who sacrificed so much to start the Newcastle Knights,'' he said.
One of those pioneers is Leigh Maughan. The Knights director and No.1 ticket holder is the club's founding father. He has urged members to vote for the proposal.
''It's a rare opportunity and I personally think it's one too good to overlook, simple as that,'' he said.
''I see this as another step to the big time. We get out of being a cap in hand [club] going to people on occasions to keep us afloat.
''There are some risks but I'm prepared to take them for the benefits that are available. That is to take the financial pressure off the club and improve its ability to better junior development.
''I believe the Knights will become one of the top three sporting clubs in Australia [if Tinkler takes control].''
Maughan received rousing applause when he spoke passionately about the need to embrace Tinkler's bid at a lively members' information meeting at Newcastle Panthers during the week.
''He is a local, wealthy man from the Hunter Valley and that sits better with me than how an out-of-towner might sit,'' he said.
''It's his passion that is driving this - there's no way you can make money out of football.''
