Western Corridor NRL bid

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

Even though the two doctors (Hello and Brown) like to rubbish the bombers over the brother bid. The bombers bid is the best chance for my money. I cannot not see a traditional community based bid get over the commercial structure of a corporate based bid in this day an age. Even though armchair critics don't like the Bombers name or that is it too much like the Broncos style of business ain't going to make a lick of difference to the NRL or to the other 90% of the Brisbane public. The NRL will be focusing on "commercial viability long term" not "tradition" when they choose the next teams. Unfortunately this day an age these two values are less likely go hand in hand.
I predict the Bombers and Perth will be the next two teams in 2018. Sorry Ipswich

It is ridiculous to think that a functional corporate structure and a rich heritage are mutually exclusive.

There is nothing to say that the Brothers will not have modern first-class business structure; and even if you dont think the Confraternity (or whatever theyre called) wont be able to put one together, that doesnt mean DSmith cant. Smith could create an entirely independent franchise and use the Brothers image (with permission of course).

In terms of the business side of the bid, no team can claim the higher ground because any team could so easily be changed and restructured by the ARLC higher ups.

So the only thing really left to differentiate the bids is location and branding. The Bombers and Brothers are both bidding for the same market, so that is a wash. But in terms of the clubs image, Brothers trounce the Bombers with no effort at all.

The club image is something the ARLC cannot influence, that is the connection the club has with the public. In a choice between a soulless brand (bombers) or a club with a century of history and rivalry (Brothers), i will always support the latter.

 

[Perth Red]

Tbf it also has a lot to do with the confidence the NRL has in the people behind the bids and the business plans they present. Bombers seem to have some heavy corporate backers unlike the other two Brisbane bids which are local club backed.

Not being privy to any of the bids business plans whatever we think is based on assumptions.

One thing is for sure, to compete against the Broncos any new Brisbane club is going to need deep pockets and strong corporate support.

 

[bobmar28]

Even though the two doctors (Hello and Brown) like to rubbish the bombers over the brother bid. The bombers bid is the best chance for my money. I cannot not see a traditional community based bid get over the commercial structure of a corporate based bid in this day an age. Even though armchair critics don't like the Bombers name or that is it too much like the Broncos style of business ain't going to make a lick of difference to the NRL or to the other 90% of the Brisbane public. The NRL will be focusing on "commercial viability long term" not "tradition" when they choose the next teams. Unfortunately this day an age these two values are less likely go hand in hand.
I predict the Bombers and Perth will be the next two teams in 2018. Sorry Ipswich

I disagree. Ipswich/Springfield is the best place for a SEQ team.

 

[Craig Johnston]

ipswich are no chance, brisbane's unchallenged demographic won't have anything to do with them and their captive audience is no better than a team in tassie.

 

[RUG13Y]

http://www.westerncorridornrlbid.com.au/

Their website no longer works.

 

[El Diablo]

http://www.qt.com.au/news/social-harmony-results-from-bid/2379612/

Western Corridor NRL bid is not just about football

9th Sep 2014 3:00 AM

Even if the NRL decides not to expand in 2018, the positive work done by the bid team in the community will bear fruit for generations to come.

The bid is not just about football. It is about building a better community and a more harmonious society.

The bid team was hoping to be part of expansion in 2015 and had several social programs in place to roll out.

When that did not eventuate, and because the Ipswich Jets are a feeder club to the Western Corridor NRL team, many of those programs have been embraced by the Jets.

That is why you will see Jets players taking part in campaigns that speak out against domestic violence against women. It is why disability awareness and cancer research days are held at Jets home games throughout the year.

When Western Corridor NRL bid boss Steve Johnson was told by the NRL two years ago that the game would not expand in 2015, he ensured the social programs would not be lost to Ipswich.

"We were told (by the NRL) to go back and do work in the local community and they would review expansion again at the end of 2014," he said.

"So in Ipswich we have rolled out the programs that were going to be part of the NRL bid had we started in 2015.

"The work we have done with the military, with the University of Queensland on rugby league and indigenous pathways and our disability work has now been rolled out. You don't want that to be lost. Knowledge is valueless if not shared. It is for the community to benefit."

 

[El Diablo]

http://www.qt.com.au/news/corporate-dollars-set-to-roll-in-for-nrl-bid/2379609/

Corporate dollars set to roll in for NRL bid

Joel Gould | 9th Sep 2014 4:00 AM

BUSINESS support will flow if the Western Corridor NRL bid gets the green light.

That is the word from two of the prime movers behind the bid and they have the facts and figures to back it up.

Bid chairman Steve Johnson and bid patron, Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale, are convinced corporate support would be plentiful for an Ipswich based side should the NRL expand in 2018.

One of the objections raised to an Ipswich NRL bid is that the corporate support does not exist to sustain it, but Cr Pisasale and Johnson insist that argument is based on a fallacy.

"We've got over 46,000 businesses based in the western corridor," Johnson said.

"You've got to remember that you are playing a national sporting team event that has international recognition and branding.

"If you look at the sponsors of the other NRL sides, many are regionally based.

"The Roosters' sponsor Steggles is in Wulkuraka.

"Rugby league major sponsors are either regional brands looking nationally or international brands or national brands.

"It is your brand and your ability to attract attention that the sponsors want to come to."

The Western Corridor bid had negotiated with Japanese house builder Sekisui House to be a significant sponsor if the game had expanded in 2015.

"When you are a brand like that you are not going to attach yourself to a dream, but we will go back and revisit that if we are fortunate enough to get a licence and I am sure we will have no difficulty in getting a sponsorship of that ilk," Johnson said.

Cr Pisasale said he would play a proactive role in securing backers for the bid.

"This city has grown by $10 billion in 10 years," he said.

"We've got the largest corporates in the world here.

"There's Sekisui House, the largest house builder in Japan.

"We've got TNT, DB Schenker, Northline, Goodman ...New Hope Collieries, Delfin, Devine, Springfield Land Corporation and Amex just to name a few

"Once the Mayor gets behind it, the businesses will get behind it.

"I will show them how they can get economic growth for their business by supporting the bid.

"The Western Corridor NRL bid is not just an Ipswich bid.

"It is an Ipswich, Logan and Toowoomba bid...the heartland of rugby league."

 

[oikee]

It is like the NRL is blind to international and local companies crying out to have the NRL expand new teams into these areas.
You not only have the support of Brothers Ipswich across Queensland, but also huge corporate identities from Japan, Germany, and China all begging to have a outlet, team to support, along with Queensland rail and Australia's largest local and international beef companies from Rockhampton begging, begging the NRL to get new teams into these areas.
Then you have Perth and NZ, two areas that are begging for second teams as well.

This code is run by the muppets, for the muppets.

 

[oikee]

The Sydney bubble has not only damaged national expansion, it has also harmed international expansion.

 

[Perth Red]

Have it on good authority cash convertors are sat with a 7 figure cheque waiting to be the pirates major sponsor.

 

[goodplayer]

that would be very tempting for a relocated team

 

[Perth Red]

Been a while since we've heard from this bid:

‘WE CAN BE THE WANDERERS OF THE NRL’
THE NRL should take note of the success of the Western Sydney Wanderers football side to gauge what benefits a Western Corridor NRL side might bring to the game if granted a licence.

That is the word from Western Corridor NRL bid boss Steve Johnson who says Ipswich and the region to the west of Brisbane is crying out for a team to support in what is rugby league heartland.

In less than three years the Wanderers have become an A-League powerhouse, winning the A-League premiership in their first season of 2012-13 and recently claiming the 2014 Asian Champions League crown.

The club, based in Blacktown in Sydney’s west, plays in front of a regularly packed out Parramatta Stadium.

“The Wanderers did not exist three years ago but have now beaten (Al-Hilal), one of the most powerful sides in Asia and the Middle East,” Johnson says.

“They wouldn’t have dreamed of that three years ago.

“They have a fan base that is fanatical . . . the red and black army.

“It just shows you the power of that game and the power of an expansion vision if you place a team in the right location.

“Obviously western Sydney was crying out for a side.

“If you draw the same analogy from the Wanderers to rugby league, here we have Brisbane and its western corridor and surely, given the passion for rugby league in the parallel areas in Brisbane, we can have the same result.

“The Wanderers just show that if you create a team in the right environment to suit the code, what a great success it can be.”

Johnson says there was “obviously an area in Sydney that was under serviced in terms of a soccer side” and that the NRL has “exactly the same situation in the western corridor of Brisbane with rugby league”.
“We are the heartland of the game,” he says.

“You look at the demographic of western Sydney and there are a lot of people who have come from Asian, African, European and South American stock where soccer is the sport of choice.

“In the western corridor of Brisbane we have Indigenous, Pacific Islander and blue collar people for whom rugby league is the sport of choice.

“And we have very similar population numbers.”


The NRL is set to have a full game review where expansion options for the future will be examined.

RLW understands that the plan is to determine whether the game should expand and, if so, then call for nominations in designated regions.

The greater Brisbane region is favoured, along with Perth, to be areas where the game can expand successfully.

There is a view that expansion could be staggered.

Johnson says it is not fanciful to suggest that one team may be brought in when the game next expands.

That will create a 17-team competition with a bye each week, along with the byes that are factored in mid-season.

Johnson says that will not create an insurmountable issue.

“If the NRL is looking at expansion they may well do it in a step by step process,” he says.

“There is nothing intrinsically bad about having an odd number of teams, because it creates opportunities for byes and potentially sets up the ability for games to be played between Pacific nations where NRL players can be used for the greater good of the game.

“We have seen the wonderful difference Samoa has made to the Four Nations and the massive boost in crowds.

”Not all sides play each other twice anyway and a lot of NRL coaches will be happy with a bye because it gives their players extra rest during the competition.”

Johnson has long warned that the NRL cannot rest on its laurels, or it risks being left behind by rival codes that have made expansion a key part of their vision for the future.

“Our problem in league is that we have never though strategically, because we have had this blind belief that we have the best game and nothing else matters,” Johnson says.

“But that is simply not the reality that we are living in.

“I gave the NRL our Western Corridor plan a couple of years ago in full, and a snapshot of it.

“Hopefully they are going through that and seeing the compelling nature of our numbers and why we are confident we will grow the Broncos brand and not harm it like another side would up here if they are clones of the Broncos.”

 

[Perth Red]

Been a while since we've heard from this bid:

‘WE CAN BE THE WANDERERS OF THE NRL’
THE NRL should take note of the success of the Western Sydney Wanderers football side to gauge what benefits a Western Corridor NRL side might bring to the game if granted a licence.

That is the word from Western Corridor NRL bid boss Steve Johnson who says Ipswich and the region to the west of Brisbane is crying out for a team to support in what is rugby league heartland.

In less than three years the Wanderers have become an A-League powerhouse, winning the A-League premiership in their first season of 2012-13 and recently claiming the 2014 Asian Champions League crown.

The club, based in Blacktown in Sydney’s west, plays in front of a regularly packed out Parramatta Stadium.

“The Wanderers did not exist three years ago but have now beaten (Al-Hilal), one of the most powerful sides in Asia and the Middle East,” Johnson says.

“They wouldn’t have dreamed of that three years ago.

“They have a fan base that is fanatical . . . the red and black army.

“It just shows you the power of that game and the power of an expansion vision if you place a team in the right location.

“Obviously western Sydney was crying out for a side.

“If you draw the same analogy from the Wanderers to rugby league, here we have Brisbane and its western corridor and surely, given the passion for rugby league in the parallel areas in Brisbane, we can have the same result.

“The Wanderers just show that if you create a team in the right environment to suit the code, what a great success it can be.”

Johnson says there was “obviously an area in Sydney that was under serviced in terms of a soccer side” and that the NRL has “exactly the same situation in the western corridor of Brisbane with rugby league”.
“We are the heartland of the game,” he says.

“You look at the demographic of western Sydney and there are a lot of people who have come from Asian, African, European and South American stock where soccer is the sport of choice.

“In the western corridor of Brisbane we have Indigenous, Pacific Islander and blue collar people for whom rugby league is the sport of choice.

“And we have very similar population numbers.”


The NRL is set to have a full game review where expansion options for the future will be examined.

RLW understands that the plan is to determine whether the game should expand and, if so, then call for nominations in designated regions.

The greater Brisbane region is favoured, along with Perth, to be areas where the game can expand successfully.

There is a view that expansion could be staggered.

Johnson says it is not fanciful to suggest that one team may be brought in when the game next expands.

That will create a 17-team competition with a bye each week, along with the byes that are factored in mid-season.

Johnson says that will not create an insurmountable issue.

“If the NRL is looking at expansion they may well do it in a step by step process,” he says.

“There is nothing intrinsically bad about having an odd number of teams, because it creates opportunities for byes and potentially sets up the ability for games to be played between Pacific nations where NRL players can be used for the greater good of the game.

“We have seen the wonderful difference Samoa has made to the Four Nations and the massive boost in crowds.

”Not all sides play each other twice anyway and a lot of NRL coaches will be happy with a bye because it gives their players extra rest during the competition.”

Johnson has long warned that the NRL cannot rest on its laurels, or it risks being left behind by rival codes that have made expansion a key part of their vision for the future.

“Our problem in league is that we have never though strategically, because we have had this blind belief that we have the best game and nothing else matters,” Johnson says.

“But that is simply not the reality that we are living in.

“I gave the NRL our Western Corridor plan a couple of years ago in full, and a snapshot of it.

“Hopefully they are going through that and seeing the compelling nature of our numbers and why we are confident we will grow the Broncos brand and not harm it like another side would up here if they are clones of the Broncos.”

http://rugbyleagueweek.com.au/expansion-western-corridor/

 

[Matt_CBY]

Using another sport to get some media space. Nice strategy. Does nothing though.

 

[bobmar28]

Been a while since we've heard from this bid:

?WE CAN BE THE WANDERERS OF THE NRL?
THE NRL should take note of the success of the Western Sydney Wanderers football side to gauge what benefits a Western Corridor NRL side might bring to the game if granted a licence.

That is the word from Western Corridor NRL bid boss Steve Johnson who says Ipswich and the region to the west of Brisbane is crying out for a team to support in what is rugby league heartland.

In less than three years the Wanderers have become an A-League powerhouse, winning the A-League premiership in their first season of 2012-13 and recently claiming the 2014 Asian Champions League crown.

The club, based in Blacktown in Sydney?s west, plays in front of a regularly packed out Parramatta Stadium.

?The Wanderers did not exist three years ago but have now beaten (Al-Hilal), one of the most powerful sides in Asia and the Middle East,? Johnson says.

?They wouldn?t have dreamed of that three years ago.

?They have a fan base that is fanatical . . . the red and black army.

?It just shows you the power of that game and the power of an expansion vision if you place a team in the right location.

?Obviously western Sydney was crying out for a side.

?If you draw the same analogy from the Wanderers to rugby league, here we have Brisbane and its western corridor and surely, given the passion for rugby league in the parallel areas in Brisbane, we can have the same result.

?The Wanderers just show that if you create a team in the right environment to suit the code, what a great success it can be.?

Johnson says there was ?obviously an area in Sydney that was under serviced in terms of a soccer side? and that the NRL has ?exactly the same situation in the western corridor of Brisbane with rugby league?.
?We are the heartland of the game,? he says.

?You look at the demographic of western Sydney and there are a lot of people who have come from Asian, African, European and South American stock where soccer is the sport of choice.

?In the western corridor of Brisbane we have Indigenous, Pacific Islander and blue collar people for whom rugby league is the sport of choice.

?And we have very similar population numbers.?


The NRL is set to have a full game review where expansion options for the future will be examined.

RLW understands that the plan is to determine whether the game should expand and, if so, then call for nominations in designated regions.

The greater Brisbane region is favoured, along with Perth, to be areas where the game can expand successfully.

There is a view that expansion could be staggered.

Johnson says it is not fanciful to suggest that one team may be brought in when the game next expands.

That will create a 17-team competition with a bye each week, along with the byes that are factored in mid-season.

Johnson says that will not create an insurmountable issue.

?If the NRL is looking at expansion they may well do it in a step by step process,? he says.

?There is nothing intrinsically bad about having an odd number of teams, because it creates opportunities for byes and potentially sets up the ability for games to be played between Pacific nations where NRL players can be used for the greater good of the game.

?We have seen the wonderful difference Samoa has made to the Four Nations and the massive boost in crowds.

?Not all sides play each other twice anyway and a lot of NRL coaches will be happy with a bye because it gives their players extra rest during the competition.?

Johnson has long warned that the NRL cannot rest on its laurels, or it risks being left behind by rival codes that have made expansion a key part of their vision for the future.

?Our problem in league is that we have never though strategically, because we have had this blind belief that we have the best game and nothing else matters,? Johnson says.

?But that is simply not the reality that we are living in.

?I gave the NRL our Western Corridor plan a couple of years ago in full, and a snapshot of it.

?Hopefully they are going through that and seeing the compelling nature of our numbers and why we are confident we will grow the Broncos brand and not harm it like another side would up here if they are clones of the Broncos.?

http://rugbyleagueweek.com.au/expansion-western-corridor/

Ipswich Jets.

 

[docbrown]

Well I don't agree with all of his arguments but he is correct about the population and demographics -- this is partly why the Bombers bid is flawed at the moment because they seem stuck on the North & Sunshine coast.

The most urgent emphasis needs to be on the South & West.

That said other bids can/have put their emphasis on that region so it hardly makes them unique.

At bare basics the formula should be:

• A Heritage QRL Brand rather than a generic moniker - something that invokes QLD/local history (to counter the Broncos image)
• If possible an already established fan base - this is just a general rule in entertainment
• The widest market brand possible - no suburb names like Ipswich - so it rivals the Broncos - so Brisbane/South Queensland/Queensland
• Aiming for QRL & non-Broncos rugby league fans and new fans to the game
• Targeting primarily the South & West in Brisbane
• With strong corporate support
• Playing primarily at Lang Park
• And if possible also helping boost Central Queensland -- this is also a reason why the Queensland moniker might be best as they might not support a Brisbane/South Queensland side. The Texas Rangers is a good benchmark.

Anything other that you're just going to have another suburban team...

This team needs to come out of the gate flying. At the moment none of the bids match all of these criteria.

 

[pHyR3]

Well I don't agree with all of his arguments but he is correct about the population and demographics -- this is partly why the Bombers bid is flawed at the moment because they seem stuck on the North & Sunshine coast. The most urgent emphasis needs to be on the South & West. That said other bids can/have put their emphasis on that region so it hardly makes them unique. At bare basics the formula should be:

• A Heritage QRL Brand rather than a generic moniker - something that invokes QLD/local history (to counter the Broncos image)
• If possible an already established fan base - this is just a general rule in entertainment
• The widest market brand possible - no suburb names like Ipswich - so it rivals the Broncos - so Brisbane/South Queensland/Queensland
• Aiming for QRL & non-Broncos rugby league fans and new fans to the game
• Targeting primarily the South & West in Brisbane
• With strong corporate support
• Playing primarily at Lang Park
• And if possible also helping boost Central Queensland -- this is also a reason why the Queensland moniker might be best as they might not support a Brisbane/South Queensland side. The Texas Rangers is a good benchmark.

Anything other that you're just going to have another suburban team... This team needs to come out of the gate flying. At the moment none of the bids match all of these criteria.

Agreed, i assume much of the next few months will be spent moulding a bid to suit this. Can't think of a good brand name, dont really like bombers. Brothers could work due to history, but again not a big fan. I like West Coast Pirates, Southern Orcas (for NZ 2). but nothing so far for bris 2. South Queensland/Central QLD is a wide brand name though, i like it. Rest of the ideas are good too, hope the NRL follow through with it. This expansion proposal will likely be a real defining moment for Smith. He has to follow through with some concrete plans and proposals all available to the public, no 20k avg plans or Pacific strategies.

 

[joshreading]

South Queensland Kings / Griffins

Go for the classic crest rather than modern as such but create modern / kids style material as well.

I do however think they should still consider the possibility that a Brothers / Western Corridor combined bid would be hugely beneficial.

 

[Diesel]

^ agree

Queensland Kings with a Griffin

 

[Perth Red]

Well I don't agree with all of his arguments but he is correct about the population and demographics -- this is partly why the Bombers bid is flawed at the moment because they seem stuck on the North & Sunshine coast.

The most urgent emphasis needs to be on the South & West.

That said other bids can/have put their emphasis on that region so it hardly makes them unique.

At bare basics the formula should be:

• A Heritage QRL Brand rather than a generic moniker - something that invokes QLD/local history (to counter the Broncos image)
• If possible an already established fan base - this is just a general rule in entertainment
• The widest market brand possible - no suburb names like Ipswich - so it rivals the Broncos - so Brisbane/South Queensland/Queensland
• Aiming for QRL & non-Broncos rugby league fans and new fans to the game
• Targeting primarily the South & West in Brisbane
• With strong corporate support
• Playing primarily at Lang Park
• And if possible also helping boost Central Queensland -- this is also a reason why the Queensland moniker might be best as they might not support a Brisbane/South Queensland side. The Texas Rangers is a good benchmark.

Anything other that you're just going to have another suburban team...

This team needs to come out of the gate flying. At the moment none of the bids match all of these criteria.

When they brought in the dockers they went opposite to your first three suggestions and have done well against the might of the Eagles. A brisbane2 club will be in a very similar scenario. The NRL should take a close look at how the dockers have succeeded and model any new club on that model.