Clubs vote in favour of New York and Ottawa

[TIWIT]

2 minutes ago, bbfaz said:

I'm going all in for a CFL franchise in London.  After all, Britain has a diverse pool of American Football players, which is basically the same game!

Be easier to simply buy the Toronto Argonauts and move them. Few here will miss them, and with them gone from BMO Field there will be room for the Wolfpack to move there when they reach Super League.

[Kayakman]

43 minutes ago, bbfaz said:

I'm going all in for a CFL franchise in London.  After all, Britain has a diverse pool of American Football players, which is basically the same game!

London, Ontario has already been looked at for a CFL franchise....not right now but maybe sometime in the future.  Hey that is the London you meant right?????

Please, please don't tell me that you didn't even know that a London, Ontario CANADA existed.....next thing is that you will be trying to say Oshawa is Toronto or something crazy like that.

You remind me of this guy...he has got his Grade 4 you know...do you need a geography refresher?

 

[Manfred Mann]

We will have three north American professional rugby league clubs in 2020. That is great news. But more should be on the horizon, especially if they commit to establishing junior structures and local player recruitment.  Which should the next one or two clubs be? Montreal? Boston? Philadelphia? Chicago? Jacksonville?

[Mr Wind Up]

4 hours ago, Chamey said:

 

NY Red Bulls after 23 years struggle to attract 15k, I can't see NYRL getting above 3-5k.

Their last 9 seasons have all been above 18,000. Not to mention they now compete with NYCFC who have had averages above 22,000 in each of their 4 seasons. 

I fail to see the relevance of comparing attendance potential between two completely different sports, but at least get your facts straight.

[RayCee]

1 hour ago, Manfred Mann said:

We will have three north American professional rugby league clubs in 2020. That is great news. But more should be on the horizon, especially if they commit to establishing junior structures and local player recruitment.  Which should the next one or two clubs be? Montreal? Boston? Philadelphia? Chicago? Jacksonville?

The thing is that these new expansion initiatives come to the RFL. It's not planned as such but dependant on people wanting to set up a team in a given city. The RFL and clubs decide on whether to accept them or not. A team may work in Montreal but unless someone is prepared to back it, it won’t happen. 

As to which cities would be ideal, I like the idea of Philadelphia and a team down in Florida somewhere (no weather issues like Toronto). I thought Boston too but some have said it wouldn’t be successful. Knowing the local market and a strong backing group like Ottawa have  is important as well.

[North but south]

7 hours ago, bbfaz said:

I'm going all in for a CFL franchise in London.  After all, Britain has a diverse pool of American Football players, which is basically the same game!

Why not. The NFL seems to have its eyes on London. A lot of people believe Jacksonville will be relocated.

[GUBRATS]

If they are to be admitted , I would be much happier that the SL clubs voted for their inclusion as well , to have them with a ' glass ceiling ' at the top of the Championship would be wrong and counter productive , the SL clubs need to decide if they are going to let them in SL , and how many they are willing to accommodate 

They are either in or not , not in until we say stop 

[Copa]

If they aren’t allowed into SL, it’ll do wonders for the championship. International TV coverage, international teams and travel.

A lower level SL team may look forward to relegation.

[EastLondonMike]

Can't see both Ottawa and New York getting the green light in all honesty. New York is going to be the most difficult project in the history of RL.

 

[GUBRATS]

39 minutes ago, Copa said:

If they aren’t allowed into SL, it’ll do wonders for the championship. International TV coverage, international teams and travel.

A lower level SL team may look forward to relegation.

Will it ? , Seriously ? , To have 2 vastly wealthier clubs stuck at the top of the Championship , if you want resentment , that'll do it 

Tell them now if they will be allowed into SL ? , They can then decide if they want to continue or not , no point messing them around 

[Smudger06]

10 hours ago, londonrlfan said:

I'm not sure what NYRB's business plan is, but do they promote themselves as an NJ club or a club for New Yorkers? Also I'm not sure what Americans think about this kind of thing, but does being associated with Red Bull put fans off at all? If it was the UK, they'd be sneered at and generally unpopular, with low crowds.

The clue seems to be in the name! no one, not even the mighty NFL looks to be able to build a rectangular pitch stadium within the 5 boroughs (of NYC) 

Why on earth would association with a powerful brand put people off? That's like saying SL associated with mushy peas is causing low crowds. Besides they aren't just associated with RB they are owned by them as are several other football clubs, an ice hockey club and 2 formula 1 teams so not to be sneered at really. 

In my opinion the NYC RL team will have the same problems as the MLS team using that stadium. But it's the only suitable stadium that's decent. There are a few similar to Olympic Legacy Park and Trailfinders within the borough's  though. 

[Damien]

10 minutes ago, GUBRATS said:

Will it ? , Seriously ? , To have 2 vastly wealthier clubs stuck at the top of the Championship , if you want resentment , that'll do it 

Has that often not been the case anyway? There has always been a couple of Leigh, Widnes, Hull KR type teams spending big money and having a full time squad against teams spending far less. 

[Toby Chopra]

44 minutes ago, EastLondonMike said:

Can't see both Ottawa and New York getting the green light in all honesty. New York is going to be the most difficult project in the history of RL.

 

But does one affect the other? I think they will succeed or fail on their own merits and should be judged as such.

For me, the only thing RFL/SL need to decide is what is the risk to our competitions if either/both fold. I think the knock on effect would be small, even if they folded at the same time. If Toronto folded today, it hasn't cost us a penny and we've gained publicity and televised games out of it that we'd have never had otherwise. Sure, it would be seen as a blow by (some of) the British RL community but the world would keep turning. 

Same would go for Ottawa/NYC. If the bids look viable on paper, then let them in. The financial risk and organisational effort lies with the new ownership groups and the risk to the existing game is limited. 

[Copa]

24 minutes ago, GUBRATS said:

Will it ? , Seriously ? , To have 2 vastly wealthier clubs stuck at the top of the Championship , if you want resentment , that'll do it 

Tell them now if they will be allowed into SL ? , They can then decide if they want to continue or not , no point messing them around 

Any ambitious small club would absolutely love to have decent international exposure and TV coverage. It’s a huge step up from a column in the local paper.

[londonrlfan]

1 hour ago, Smudger06 said:

The clue seems to be in the name! no one, not even the mighty NFL looks to be able to build a rectangular pitch stadium within the 5 boroughs (of NYC) 

Why on earth would association with a powerful brand put people off? That's like saying SL associated with mushy peas is causing low crowds. Besides they aren't just associated with RB they are owned by them as are several other football clubs, an ice hockey club and 2 formula 1 teams so not to be sneered at really. 

In my opinion the NYC RL team will have the same problems as the MLS team using that stadium. But it's the only suitable stadium that's decent. There are a few similar to Olympic Legacy Park and Trailfinders within the borough's  though. 

If there was a football team called Red Bull London or Red Bull Bradford or wherever, they would be despised and not well supported at all. I was just wondering whether Americans are like that too, but they have different sporting cultures to us, as they're not bothered by relocation like we are over here for example.

[deluded pom?]

4 minutes ago, londonrlfan said:

If there was a football team called Red Bull London or Red Bull Bradford or wherever, they would be despised and not well supported at all. I was just wondering whether Americans are like that too, but they have different sporting cultures to us, as they're not bothered by relocation like we are over here for example.

So if Red Bull threw enough money at Arsenal and they were renamed Red Bull Arsenal all their support would fall away, just like it did when Highbury became the Emirates? Who exactly, apart from rival supporters (no change there then) would actually “despise” them?

[Oliver Clothesoff]

4 minutes ago, deluded pom? said:

So if Red Bull threw enough money at Arsenal and they were renamed Red Bull Arsenal all their support would fall away, just like it did when Highbury became the Emirates? Who exactly, apart from rival supporters (no change there then) would actually “despise” them?

The Salzburg fans, or at least a section of them, stepped away from the club and set up their own club when Red Bull moved in and bought the club. There wasn’t such a reaction when they bought Leipzig as they bought a club that was effectively a county level side that played in front of one man and a dog.

Any English club would see a drop off, however small, in support if Red Bull brought and rebranded them. 

[londonrlfan]

5 minutes ago, deluded pom? said:

So if Red Bull threw enough money at Arsenal and they were renamed Red Bull Arsenal all their support would fall away, just like it did when Highbury became the Emirates? Who exactly, apart from rival supporters (no change there then) would actually “despise” them?

Highbury and the Emirates are both in Islington though, although Arsenal originated in Woolwich. Yes, if they became Red Bull Arsenal, a lot of fans would leave to form a new team. A good example would be Red Bull Salzburg and Austria Salzburg. 

[Jayme2020]

11 hours ago, Chamey said:

 

NY Red Bulls after 23 years struggle to attract 15k, I can't see NYRL getting above 3-5k.

The Red Bulls recently tarped off some seating which is never a good sign.

[Yakstorm]

It's great news, and as others have mentioned, the risk to the sport is minimal, so if the financials add up, the RFL should let them in.

Whilst New York will be a tough task, that's no reason not to let them in.  If the club fails, so be it, the sport will be no poorer or worse off than if we didn't let them in, and in the however many years they might last, might be enough to attract other investors to the sport and other North American cities, encourage some more people in the US to try Rugby League and/or help draw some more interest and investment into the tiers below Super League.

Maybe if fans don't travel from New York down to New Jersey at the Red Bull Arena, the team might rename and become the New Jersey XYZs or whatever, or maybe they might move to another city, or who knows they might draw crowds of 10K+ and be sufficient enough to still be here in 10 years...   Regardless we'll never know if we don't let them in.

[Jayme2020]

3 minutes ago, Yakstorm said:

It's great news, and as others have mentioned, the risk to the sport is minimal, so if the financials add up, the RFL should let them in.

Whilst New York will be a tough task, that's no reason not to let them in.  If the club fails, so be it, the sport will be no poorer or worse off than if we didn't let them in, and in the however many years they might last, might be enough to attract other investors to the sport and other North American cities, encourage some more people in the US to try Rugby League and/or help draw some more interest and investment into the tiers below Super League.

Maybe if fans don't travel from New York down to New Jersey at the Red Bull Arena, the team might rename and become the New Jersey XYZs or whatever, or maybe they might move to another city, or who knows they might draw crowds of 10K+ and be sufficient enough to still be here in 10 years...   Regardless we'll never know if we don't let them in.

I don't think the risk are minimal if NY fails big time they could set rugby back years in the States.

[Yakstorm]

3 minutes ago, Jayme2020 said:

I don't think the risk are minimal if NY fails big time they could set rugby back years in the States.

I feel like that will impact Rugby Union a lot more than Rugby League.  The unfortunate and sad reality is, we currently don't get much or anything from the US in terms of revenue from TV deals (either NRL or SL), neither code has any US based sponsorships, and even if it killed off the USARL, it is less than 1,000 registered players currently.  

 On the flip side, this could actually go a long way to changing that... 

[Jayme2020]

6 minutes ago, Yakstorm said:

I feel like that will impact Rugby Union a lot more than Rugby League.  The unfortunate and sad reality is, we currently don't get much or anything from the US in terms of revenue from TV deals (either NRL or SL), neither code has any US based sponsorships, and even if it killed off the USARL, it is less than 1,000 registered players currently.  

 On the flip side, this could actually go a long way to changing that... 

My fear is if NY flops it wills care investors off.

[Kayakman]

5 minutes ago, Jayme2020 said:

I don't think the risk are minimal if NY fails big time they could set rugby back years in the States.

I agree.   People are already starting to lose perspective with New York on here..   The bid has to be examined (same with Ottawa) and then a proper decision made.  If it is probable that it will fail then go somewhere else, no one wants a failure over here...it is not acceptable and should not happen if proper due diligence is applied.  There must be proper fundamentals such as a stadium accessible to mass transit.

A franchise failure at this stage would be very serious...it appears some of the Union teams in the MLR are currently struggling...we don't want to be associated with that.  People need to believe that RL is a sure bet in this market.   We must not lower our expectations and standards for RL over here in NA.  We are the best, our Code is the safe way forward, we know what we are doing.   We have the brains, the brawn and the cash.  Failure is simply not even an option to us...we are winners, we will never surrender!

[londonrlfan]

Hopefully they can bring Burroughs back from union and sign Eichner from Australia. That's two decent American players there already who are more than good enough for League 1.