US Professional Rugby League Coming Soon!!

[Chicago Saints]

I am wondering whether this will actually be more like a step up 'semi pro' comp - inspired from the Jax camp. It is clear that many in the present league cannot keep up with Jax and that is fine but clear leaders like Jax will need to be part of a higher level league.

Spinner has said there was Cable interest in RL and they certainly have captured the attention of Jacksonville, so you never know. I was told some time ago they had a working comittee of sporting identities and business guys working on a proposal for such.

The reality is that IF done right RL has some key contacts that could help it skyrocket in the USA. It would be a perfect 'filler' for the american football off season. Fast, aggressive yet still simple. All in all a cheap 'product'

Think you've hit the nail on the head there mate. Spnner's model is exactly the way interested parties should be looking. He has shown that it's achievable in the right market. People have got to realise this can't be "pie in the sky". Rugby League has a future I believe as a niche sport so it has to be measured and slow progess.

 

[Big Picture]

More info to follow within the upcoming weeks.

Go to www.nrlus.com and sign up for the newsletter.

On the plus side, there are plenty of people in this part of the world who have money and would like to be involved in pro sports. Someone with a good plan may have something that would interest some of those people. That being said, an invitation to get on a mailing list is hardly sufficient to make a good impression on any such people.

For semi-pro RL to be viable as a start-up business here, organizers would have to find investors to buy franchises in their league. They'd have to be people with enough net worth to afford the franchise fee and 5 years' operating expenses since it takes a minimum of 5 years for new leagues to reach the break-even point. That would be at least $3-4 million in net worth. To get it off the ground, the organizers would need a business plan able to make a good impression on such people, showing how they can grow the value of their franchise over time.

 

[roopy]

The obvious thing needed is a TV deal.
Sponsers will come if exsposure is available.
America has a lot of TV channells needing a lot of content.
If the AMNRL put together a small production crew that could make broadcast quality recordings of games to give away or sell at cost price, I think the other pieces of the puzzle would fall into place.

 

[marv]

It all sounds good, but when you consider the Russian league is supposed to be a semi-pro comp, and when you consider how the Russians go when they come up against other semi-pro players, it doesnt seem too much to get exited about.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

It all sounds good, but when you consider the Russian league is supposed to be a semi-pro comp, and when you consider how the Russians go when they come up against other semi-pro players, it doesnt seem too much to get exited about.

I think Russia is a special case in that it has isolated itself from the rest of the RL world to some extent and it doesn't seem interested in improving its coaching standards or adopting any kind of measures to better its administration and competitiveness. If the US was able to set up a pro comp, particularly one with TV in mind, it is not going to ignore the need for innovation and improvement in coaching and playing standards and it's going to try and ensure a competitive competition. Not to mention the fact that it could attract better players from elsewhere, which Russia more or less can't do. Also, we've seen that decent players from America are getting opportunities to improve their game in Australia, even if it's only at CRL level. Russia has produced a few gifted player with a lot of potential but even after all this time the only player to really get a chance elsewhere was Roman OVchinnikov and he went home after three months even though he was considered good enough to stay.

 

[XIII]

Russia has produced a few gifted player with a lot of potential but even after all this time the only player to really get a chance elsewhere was Roman OVchinnikov and he went home after three months even though he was considered good enough to stay.

wrong mate. kulemin their captain at the time swatted around sl players for loko in the challenge cup. nobody signed him quick enoygh though and he went to union in france. now he captains their union team and still plays in france. catalans wnated to sign him last year but he got more money from a union club. ovchinikov is a little toddler by comparison and the only reason he is any good is because his oldman is a coach and he grew up playing the game. yet for some reason he is the player that the nrl was interested in. we f*** it up with russia its getting too late now. russia could of been the big new frontier of rl. i lived in america its a waste of time. they have all the pro sport they need its worse than sydney. even soccer cant get a look in.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

wrong mate. kulemin their captain at the time swatted around sl players for loko in the challenge cup. nobody signed him quick enoygh though and he went to union in france. now he captains their union team and still plays in france. catalans wnated to sign him last year but he got more money from a union club. ovchinikov is a little toddler by comparison and the only reason he is any good is because his oldman is a coach and he grew up playing the game. yet for some reason he is the player that the nrl was interested in. we f*** it up with russia its getting too late now. russia could of been the big new frontier of rl. i lived in america its a waste of time. they have all the pro sport they need its worse than sydney. even soccer cant get a look in.

So I was right, only Ovchinnoikov has got an opportunity elsewhere. Exactly what I said.

 

[DaBulls]

Sorry guy's I was away for a bit.

This is absolutely rugby league and NOT union whatsoever. There will be more information coming soon and it will be announced/posted in the upcoming weeks. Sit tight.......should be big.

 

[Big Picture]

i lived in america its a waste of time. they have all the pro sport they need its worse than sydney. even soccer cant get a look in.

That's absolutely not true. RL has more potential in the US than any other country due to the parallels between RL and American football, which is absolutely huge there. There are thousands of potential fans and players who'd find the game easy to understand and love its' physical nature, unlike soccer which is a bore to most sports fans in this part of the world. Folks in Jacksonville loved the game when they got to see it played by pro teams -- just ask Spinner Howland and his partner.

 

[cumberlandsashes81]

So I was right, only Ovchinnoikov has got an opportunity elsewhere. Exactly what I said.

Did he get punted by Wests or did he leave of his own accord? I seem to remember reading about him complaining about Sydney and that he wouldn't be able to support his family by playing football here...

 

[ParraEelsNRL]

I thought he could only stay here for 3 months before heading back for some reason.

 

[shaggy]

i wouldnt think a semi-pro comp would be starting up considerin the financial crisis especially in the us, otherwise they could follow the japanese rugby union where clubs are buisnessses

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Ovchinnikov only had a three month visa, but that wasn't the only reason he went back home. He may well have been able to stay, or return on another visa, if he and the club had wanted that to happen. But he had a family back home and while he was earning more here than he was there, the cost of living was signifcantly, proportionally higher. Basically he could be a full time pro player in Russia on $100 a week and feed his family on that wage while in Sydney he could be a part time player and earn $400 a week and struggle to pay the bills. Those figures are just examples mind, I don't know what cash was involved. But basically it wasn't worth it for him, unless they were going to put him on a full time contract which was unlikely to happen in the short term. It's a shame because he's a good player, definitely Russia's best. He could play at NL/Qld Cup/NSW Cup level I reckon and with a bit of luck he might even get to NRL/SL level. But, again, the situation is Russia just doesn't lend itself to improvement of players and coaches.

 

[marv]

just ask Spinner Howland and his partner.

yeah, hes bound to say it wasnt a success :roll:

 

[Big Picture]

i wouldnt think a semi-pro comp would be starting up considerin the financial crisis especially in the us, otherwise they could follow the japanese rugby union where clubs are buisnessses

Of course they'd be businesses. How else do you think pro sport works??

 

[deluded pom?]

Of course they'd be businesses. How else do you think pro sport works??

I think he means that Japanese RU teams are usually heavily backed by the company that many of the players work for.

 

[cumberlandsashes81]

Of course they'd be businesses. How else do you think pro sport works??

What he means is that all the Japanese RU clubs are owned and operated as part of a large company that isn't focused on sport as a core business -- there's teams that are part of Yamaha, Toyota, Thoshiba, IBM, etc. etc.

It's basically like playing touch footy for your company at the Corporate games but obviously with more money involved...

 

[krudmonk]

What he means is that all the Japanese RU clubs are owned and operated as part of a large company that isn't focused on sport as a core business -- there's teams that are part of Yamaha, Toyota, Thoshiba, IBM, etc. etc.

It's basically like playing touch footy for your company at the Corporate games but obviously with more money involved...

That is bizarre. I can't imagine the skill level being very high with a bunch of weekend warriors.

 

[nadera78]

That is bizarre. I can't imagine the skill level being very high with a bunch of weekend warriors.

I think the players are all full time, but emplyed by the companies specifically to play for the company team. But then it is rugby union so the skill level is never going to be that high.

 

[***MH***]

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