New Reds to be favourites
Simon White (WA Today)
April 14, 2011 - 12:41PM
The bid team for WA's proposed new rugby league team - likely to be named the Reds - say they will carry the mantle of favourites when they pitch their case for an NRL spot in Sydney next month.
Project manager Ralph McManis told WAtoday.com.au that the bid for a Perth-based NRL side, at a cost of $300,000, was ready to be presented as soon as an invitation came from the league's new independent commission.
The formation of the NRL's independent commission has been a stop-start affair, but McManis said he had been told it could be completed within a week and that a decision on the league's prospective expansion would be one of its first tasks.
Perth is competing with Brisbane, Rockhampton, New South Wales' Central Coast and Wellington for what are projected to be two new spots in the NRL from 2013.
"I think we're the favourites. From what I've heard people are going around in the Eastern States saying Perth is already in and that the rest are competing for one spot,'' McManis said.
"But that's not to say we are counting our chickens before they have hatched. I'd expect we'll be presenting (to the commission) by either the second or third week of May.''
McManis said market research had indicated the Reds name, carried by WA's previous NRL and Super League team from 1995 to 1997, still had a strong resonance in the Perth market.
The bid team is currently market testing colours and logos and expects to finalise those details by the end of the month, although they may not be publicly revealed until the bid is presented.
McManis said the bid team hoped to know by the end of June whether its proposal had been successful, even if there is a decision to delay expansion until 2015.
McManis also revealed:
The proposed new "Reds" would cost $18 million per year to run
A target of 20,000 members has already been set
The club could be part public-owned, like the Brisbane Broncos
Several high profile coaches and players have already informally flagged an interest in joining the team, should it be accepted into the competition
The club would hope to sign an inaugural chief executive and coach during the second half of this year
"Headhunters" have already been appointed to identify potential coaching and administrative targets
A "Reds" team could feature in the existing NRL youth competition as soon as 2012 and might be based in the Eastern States.
http://www.watoday.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/new-reds-to-be-favourites-20110414-1df95.html
