West Coast Pirates Bid News

[Quidgybo]

Well if we're going to be pedantic, all NRL teams are franchises. *Some* of those franchises are owned by clubs, some by private individuals and some by a media company. Welcome to the revolution.

Leigh

 

[AlwaysGreen]

Well if we're going to be pedantic, all NRL teams are franchises. *Some* of those franchises are owned by clubs, some by private individuals and some by a media company. Welcome to the revolution.

Leigh

Well, I could be equally pedantic and say that nrl teams aren't franchises but the onfield entities that represent clubs or individuals that are franchisees of the NRL with licences that allow them to field a team in the competition. But I won't.

I understand where you're coming from but I'm gunna stay a dinosaur and call them clubs. Peace.

 

[krudmonk]

They may as well be franchises, since they would not succeed much outside the NRL structure.

 

[Perth Red]

NRL game confirmed for 2011
Weekend of June 24-27
South Sydney v Brisbane Broncos

Good draw for us and should get a healthy crowd with all the Q'landers here.

 

[Perth Red]

Full Steam Ahead for WA League Campaign
The WA Rugby League is ready to take the next step in its campaign to become part of an expanded national competition.
It will open talks with the State Government next month, hoping to secure a $300,000 fighting fund loan to finance its bid for a side in the National Rugby League that is set to grow from 16 to 18 clubs in 2013 under a new television deal.
Perth has not had a professional rugby league team since the Super League Western Reds folded in 1997, but the WARL is armed with a business case study it believes presents solid arguments for a new NRL side.
It commissioned market researchers Synovate to prepare the report and WARL Bid project manager Ralph McManis said the WARL pleased with the outcome.
“There were certainly no surprises and many positives,” McManis said.
“We’ve done financial modelling on what we believe is needed for a national team and we are on course.”
The WARL bid has gathered strong support from within NRL ranks including chief executive David Gallop, who said earlier this year that Perth was a frontrunner in the race.
He said a new franchise would have to produce a $15-20 million a year turnover but McManis is confident they can achieve that target.
“We’ve punched the numbers and we believe we can jump through all the financial hoops,” McManis said.
“We believe it would be more than feasible otherwise we would not be proceeding.”
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/sport/a/-/other/8228990/full-steam-ahead-for-wa-league-campaign/

 

[Perth Red]

Some other interesting stuff to come out of the market research report:
The report, that said a new side would pump $22 million a year into the WA economy, found:
- 38 per cent of the public support the NRL expansion into Perth
- 6 per cent of the public state they are likely to become members
- 31 per cent of 18-34 year-olds would attend a home game.
- 15 per cent of those surveyed follow the NRL
- 8 per cent were strong and passionate rugby league supporters.
But the report said that if the WARL was successful it would need to ignite an interest and passion in the game and build momentum and support among the public and business community.
McManis said he was encouraged by the number of 18-34 year-olds who would go to a game.
“That’s the next generation. Had the report come back and said the great bulk of support was over 50 then we’d have a problem.
“But when you know the next generation wants to come your way then that’s really good news,” he said.
“It’s also encouraging to see how many people would take up membership. One would think the possibility of 20,000 plus members down the track is not unrealistic.”
The three seasons of the Western Reds was clouded in controversy but McManis said lessons had been learnt.
“As far as the Western Reds are concerned they are history. They are confined to history. There’s nothing we can take from them,” he said.
The report says that rugby league trails rugby union by just 3 per cent in terms of interest, support and appeal in the metro area.

 

[Lockyer4President!]

- 38 per cent of the public support the NRL expansion into Perth
- 15 per cent of those surveyed follow the NRL


There's some decent potential if that's anything to go by.

 

[docbrown]

- 38 per cent of the public support the NRL expansion into Perth
- 6 per cent of the public state they are likely to become members
- 31 per cent of 18-34 year-olds would attend a home game.
- 15 per cent of those surveyed follow the NRL
- 8 per cent were strong and passionate rugby league supporters.

Not privvy to the report but those are very good numbers for the bid.

Just roughly in Perth that equates to:
- A 600,000 fringe support base, bigger than many existing NRL clubs and on par with what the Storm were pulling in their consecutive grand final period - which means the Reds can become people's main team or 2nd team
- A 100,000 main attendance interest base, with picking up even a small percentage of that, a hardcore support base in the 10-20,000 range
- Which will equate to a solid 50,000-150,000+ TV audience for the city
- That despite the lack of regular Rugby League presence for over a decade, there's still a following for the sport

This is one burnt bridge that can be rebuilt.

 

[Perth Red]

Given the amount of interstate migrants and Kiwis moving to Perth over the last 5-6 years and the expected further increase when the next mining boom kicks off I'm not surprised. Throw in a large population of poms from Northern England that live here and of course WA born and bred RL fans and the fanbase looks pretty good. The challenge will be to engage them with the club, get them signed up as members and of course put together a decent competitive team from day one.

 

[NRLMad]

The Reds should be the next franchise in the NRL.

I agree

 

[NRLMad]

Some other interesting stuff to come out of the market research report:
The report, that said a new side would pump $22 million a year into the WA economy, found:
- 38 per cent of the public support the NRL expansion into Perth
- 6 per cent of the public state they are likely to become members
- 31 per cent of 18-34 year-olds would attend a home game.
- 15 per cent of those surveyed follow the NRL
- 8 per cent were strong and passionate rugby league supporters.
But the report said that if the WARL was successful it would need to ignite an interest and passion in the game and build momentum and support among the public and business community.
McManis said he was encouraged by the number of 18-34 year-olds who would go to a game.
“That’s the next generation. Had the report come back and said the great bulk of support was over 50 then we’d have a problem.
“But when you know the next generation wants to come your way then that’s really good news,” he said.
“It’s also encouraging to see how many people would take up membership. One would think the possibility of 20,000 plus members down the track is not unrealistic.”
The three seasons of the Western Reds was clouded in controversy but McManis said lessons had been learnt.
“As far as the Western Reds are concerned they are history. They are confined to history. There’s nothing we can take from them,” he said.
The report says that rugby league trails rugby union by just 3 per cent in terms of interest, support and appeal in the metro area.

They need to be considered the people's club.. if they are akin to that then they could do really well.. Also, before they come in they need to sign a decent half.. I'm guessing they'd be able to use their marquee player allowance to pick and choose who they want.. Also, they should have a sprinkling of local Perth Talent in their team.. Put them in the forwards or on the wing?

 

[Perth Red]

yeh I agree, connecting with the fans (many who will already have a team and teh Reds may initially be their "Second" team) will be important. Not making tickets too expensive, having good membership deals, lots of marketing and FTA TV will all be crucial.

re players, I hope we can bring some of the WA lads back West (salary cap concessions would be nice for WA players!) and make a raid on ESL to bring home some of the talent over there as well as a couple of the best poms.

We will need a marquee signing, whose off contract in 2013?

 

[Red&BlackBear]

yeh I agree, connecting with the fans (many who will already have a team and teh Reds may initially be their "Second" team) will be important. Not making tickets too expensive, having good membership deals, lots of marketing and FTA TV will all be crucial.

re players, I hope we can bring some of the WA lads back West (salary cap concessions would be nice for WA players!) and make a raid on ESL to bring home some of the talent over there as well as a couple of the best poms.

We will need a marquee signing, whose off contract in 2013?

I think the WAReds will end up having more big name players than the CCBears. I think while the CCBears will predominately use local talents, I can see the Reds getting one or 2 genuine superstars.

 

[joshreading]

The Study is quite encouraging. I think it certainly would be good to sign a pom (to try and grab some english) but it would also be great to sign a key profile Kiwi (SBW would possibly be back on the market) and a South African to try and grab the South Africans (even a number of younger South Africans for under 20s)

 

[docbrown]

Rather the red & grey, how about Cardinal Red & Old Gold.

Done with an NFL designer - but you get the idea. Compare it to the other NRL jersey's and it stands out quite well.

 

[Flapper]

I loved the Jim Beam Cup jerseys, yes even the mostly grey away one. I'd happily see those colours in the NRL.

 

[bobmar28]

Rather the red & grey, how about Cardinal Red & Old Gold.

Done with an NFL designer - but you get the idea. Compare it to the other NRL jersey's and it stands out quite well.

Red and grey would be better.

 

[docbrown]

Well here's both so you can compare the two colour schemes side by side.

It might just be me, but when you have silver/gray with a dark tone like red, it looks duller. The old gold though brings out both colours.

 

[Lockyer4President!]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/12/07/3087377.htm?site=sport&section=rugbyleague

Perth bid project manager Ralph McManis also tried to keep momentum going on Tuesday, releasing survey figures he believed bode well for the return of an NRL team in WA.

Using indicators such as participation, match attendances and TV ratings included in a WARL survey, McManis believed Perth already had a strong case for inclusion.

"Grass roots participation in rugby league in WA has been growing ... from 16 schools in 2000 to over 100 schools in 2010," he said.

"With over 3,000 registered players across school, junior and senior leagues, WA already has the third highest participation rate in Australia."

- AAP

But just to put that into perspective.

Canavan said there were 2.2 million people, 350,000 students and 18,000 junior league players in south-east Queensland's western corridor, which includes Ipswich and Toowoomba.

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...m-to-decide-on-candidates-20101207-18od0.html

 

[juro]

Yeah but I'm sure Ipswich and Toowoomba get a bit more exposure to rugby leage than WA currently does.

To have that many schools and players over there is pretty impressive. It would probably jump significantly if Perth get a team.