Which club would you invest in?

[Bradman Better]

5 minutes ago, Griff said:

Is that in the same way that the NRL needs four New Zealand teams?

No. New Zealand's population is 5 million. France's population is more than 60 million.

No French television network will pay the French Federation for the right to cover a sport which does not reach a significant percentage of the French population.

[fieldofclothofgold]

I would like to say Bramley to resurrect the club ,but I realise that's not on since LCC destroyed the village and it lost its identity.  Hunslet still going ,but similar happened to them . Halifax is still a RL town . I think Halifax 

[Griff]

1 hour ago, Bradman Better said:

No. New Zealand's population is 5 million. France's population is more than 60 million.

No French television network will pay the French Federation for the right to cover a sport which does not reach a significant percentage of the French population.

Struggling to see your logic here.  Folk continually complain about Rugby League being an M62 sport but the reason for that is that that's where folk who are interested in Rugby League live.   in the same way, there might be a lot of folk living in Paris but are they interested in Rugby League?   The last incarnation of a Paris team suggested no.  Apart from a staggering number of curious folk taking advantage of freebies at the first game against Sheffield.

[JohnM]

£10 million won't go very far if the ambition is to build a club that can get into or stay in SL. 

[OriginalMrC]

Is this a Brewsters millions scenario? If so, Bradford 

[The Hallucinating Goose]

I think I'd invest in my local amateur club, Beverley ARLFC, because they currently have virtually no presence in the town. They play at the local leisure centre and use a pub that is next to it as the clubhouse and changing room facilities whereas the union team has their own dedicated facilities and are much more well known by the general public. 

So give the RL team enough money to buy their own facilities and pump some money into a bit of advertising and start building up some visibility. I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult, just get some volunteers to hand out leaflets on market day and maybe even get a market stall and sell a little bit of merchandise. Also try to get some players or coaching staff to go into schools and talk in assemblies about the club and maybe even run some coaching sessions. 

Edited March 7 by The Hallucinating Goose

[tim2]

22 hours ago, DavidM said:

It’s a fantastic way to lose 10 million 

The best way to end up with £1 million after investing in rugby league is to start with £10 million

[Welshleaguelover]

10 hours ago, The Rocket said:

Taree City Bulls. Would love to be the benefactor that helps them win their first Group Three Rugby League premiership in nearly 20 years.

Is that where Latrell Mitchell is from?

[gogledd]

Chester Gladiators RLFC.    Or Carcassonne

Edited March 7 by gogledd

[RBKnight]

I'd invest my money in Batley ...... specifically in its catering outlets, turning them into mobile units that can tour all pro RL venues and put to shame the rip-off prices and poor fare available inside most grounds 

[bentleyman]

Halifax & Doncaster Toll Bar arlfv

[bentleyman]

Even ARLFC Typo error

[gingerjon]

Brighton.

Existing set-up, decent potential with two universities, fair amount of easy to access sports facilities. Reasonably straightforward to get to from the north.

[Pulga]

On 07/03/2024 at 20:31, Bradman Better said:

I would prefer Moree to Taree ... by a country mile.

Wait, how bad is Taree because Moree is a bit of a hellhole.

[David Shepherd]

Cas. Just to close them down.

Be worth £20m tbh.

[EggFace]

If I was as rich a Musk I would buy all the clubs pro and amateur both English, French and down under and all clubs would have their own brewary and alongside have Touch/Tag and X-League teams.

[EddieTeach]

On 06/03/2024 at 13:38, Eddie said:

If you won Euromillions and had £10m to invest in a rugby league club, which one would you choose and why? (other than the team you support). 

I would seriously create a team in Bristol as there is a decent gam base here and the game needs to grow nationwide to become properly sustainable.

[Eddie]

18 hours ago, gingerjon said:

Brighton.

Existing set-up, decent potential with two universities, fair amount of easy to access sports facilities. Reasonably straightforward to get to from the north.

What’s the existing set up like mate? I heard they were forming a few years ago but very little since sadly. 

[gingerjon]

4 hours ago, Eddie said:

What’s the existing set up like mate? I heard they were forming a few years ago but very little since sadly. 

It seems to be very small - certainly compared to the heyday - but I believe they are running senior men's and women's teams in league competition this year.

[The Future is League]

On 07/03/2024 at 14:14, Eddie said:

Which one? 

Probably Catalans or Toulouse, as i think there is huge potential for them and the game in France.

I could go a bit left field in this country and say the Midland Hurricane's, or Newcastle.

[Mumby Magic]

After watching the mini Reynolds documentary thus was basically thd guideline. 

Obviously the buyers profile already lifted the club but were inspired by the Sunderland Netflix documentary (which RL has done warts and all over the years).

They wanted to buy a club that needed a lift. 

The club had to have a loyal fan base but had to be of a respectable amount. 

Catchment area was a big one. Obviously Wrexham is the only North Wales Club plus "potentially" had all the North Of Wales as potential fans.

A loyal cup fan base was a surprising one but obviously gave them something to work on.

In addition they got an investment bank involved and stayed loyal to all sponsors of the club when they took over.

 

 

[Mumby Magic]

Just now, Mumby Magic said:

After watching the mini Reynolds documentary thus was basically thd guideline. 

Obviously the buyers profile already lifted the club but were inspired by the Sunderland Netflix documentary (which RL has done warts and all over the years).

They wanted to buy a club that needed a lift. 

The club had to have a loyal fan base but had to be of a respectable amount. 

Catchment area was a big one. Obviously Wrexham is the only North Wales Club plus "potentially" had all the North Of Wales as potential fans.

A loyal cup fan base was a surprising one but obviously gave them something to work on.

In addition they got an investment bank involved and stayed loyal to all sponsors of the club when they took over.

 

 

To use that as a guideline. 

Catchment area would give us Cumbria, Newcastle, North Wales, London, France, with possibly York Sheffield and Doncaster.

My initial thought was Doncaster however I'd say let down on current fanbase. On that note it would possibly be down to York, Cumbria or French team. 

[N2022]

On 08/03/2024 at 07:30, gingerjon said:

Brighton.

Existing set-up, decent potential with two universities, fair amount of easy to access sports facilities. Reasonably straightforward to get to from the north.

On the plus side a sizeable, affluent young population, no major union presence. On the flip, a popular and seemingly well run football club. 

Easy to get to is stretching it, as Leeds to London is 2 hrs plus even before you get the tube across the city and a train down there. No airport with domestic flights.

As for the uni thing, I'm not sure that works in an area with little rugby culture. Short-lived novelty may have impact but thereafter a lot of work to sustain footfall.

[gingerjon]

2 minutes ago, N2022 said:

On the plus side a sizeable, affluent young population, no major union presence. On the flip, a popular and seemingly well run football club. 

Easy to get to is stretching it, as Leeds to London is 2 hrs plus even before you get the tube across the city and a train down there. No airport with domestic flights.

As for the uni thing, I'm not sure that works in an area with little rugby culture. Short-lived novelty may have impact but thereafter a lot of work to sustain footfall.

The uni have a rugby league team - or certainly have had within the past few years. They've also got a fairly decent sporting set up with decent facilities. My £10m will get their attention.

It's a 4.5 hour drive from Leeds which anywhere on the south coast is always going to be at a minimum. But it's a very easy drive M1/M25/M23. National Rail tells me that it's even quicker by train: Leeds to Stevenage, Stevenage to Farringdon, Farringdon to Brighton - 3h 58m.

[Dave T]

I wouldn't invest in an individual club, I'd pay travel costs for a few years.