Should the NRL buy expansion clubs rather than super league?

[M j M]

What would the business case and amount invested be? 

Remember they've tried this before and didn't have any success then, there's very little relevant experience that the NRL could bring to bear which would help them in London.

[John bird]

11 minutes ago, M j M said:

What would the business case and amount invested be? 

Remember they've tried this before and didn't have any success then, there's very little relevant experience that the NRL could bring to bear which would help them in London.

Did they though. How much did the Brisbane Broncos invest in London?

[M j M]

5 minutes ago, John bird said:

Did they though. How much did the Brisbane Broncos invest in London?

Several millions, or the ownership group did.

Do you think the NRL is going to allocate 10, 20 million to a London Super League club? How will the NRL clubs react to that use of funds?

[John bird]

11 minutes ago, M j M said:

Several millions, or the ownership group did.

Do you think the NRL is going to allocate 10, 20 million to a London Super League club? How will the NRL clubs react to that use of funds?

I have no idea as for the moment it’s all just rumour and speculation about the NRL investing in super league. 

[Damien]

14 minutes ago, M j M said:

Several millions, or the ownership group did.

Do you think the NRL is going to allocate 10, 20 million to a London Super League club? How will the NRL clubs react to that use of funds?

Let's face it even those sums are tiny when it comes to what is needed to make London a proper, permanent decent SL club.

[John bird]

5 minutes ago, Damien said:

Let's face it even those sums are tiny when it comes to what is needed to make London a proper, permanent decent SL club.

Do you think the same could be said about the hurricanes or potentially a Manchester club or is it a case of London being unique because of the cost being greater for virtually everything?

[Damien]

3 minutes ago, John bird said:

Do you think the same could be said about the hurricanes or potentially a Manchester club or is it a case of London being unique because of the cost being greater for virtually everything?

You are undoubtedly getting far more for your money in every area outside London. London you could spend many millions and have nothing to show for that after a few years.

You could easily buy a proper, permanent home for that sort of money somewhere else. Sure it may be basic or even just a share but in RL terms you could get a pretty decent setup going for far less than London.

[John bird]

3 minutes ago, Damien said:

You are undoubtedly getting far more for your money in every area outside London. London you could spend many millions and have nothing to show for that after a few years.

You could easily buy a proper, permanent home for that sort of money somewhere else. Sure it may be basic or even just a share but in RL terms you could get a pretty decent setup going for far less than London.

All very true but of course London is the big prize because of its massive population, being the financial capital of Europe and possibly the world and its huge national&international media presence etc.

[Damien]

12 minutes ago, John bird said:

All very true but of course London is the big prize because of its massive population, being the financial capital of Europe and possibly the world and its huge national&international media presence etc.

There would have to be so many ducks aligned in a row for London to provide any kind of real financial reward that it is nigh on impossible from that point of view. Even at that there is an awful lot that is well outside of any London owners club control. The risk to reward ratio means it would be crazy as an investment. 

[JohnM]

22 hours ago, Anita Bath said:

Swinton is no more in Manchester than that lot that won the FACup yesterday.

Although I was born in Manchester, I lived in Swinton from day 1 until I was 20. I went to secondary school and then college on Salford until I was 18. I was a regular fan at Station Rd.   But still, I identified, and still do, with Manchester, as I think, would younger people who grew up in  the Manchester area.

To have a SuperLeague or NRL club there requires in my view a number of things, including but not limited to:

1. An owner, directors or CEO with a passion for the sport.

2. An owner -and directors - with a commitment to finance in the long term to build something of value.

4. An owner and directors with personal power, public profile, business skills, drive, dedication etc to make it happen.

Just having Sky, NRL, etc. buy a club would not be enough. Look at London in the Branson days. The club looked as though it was going to finally come good...but imagine where it would be had Branson actually led from the front.

 

Edited May 27 by JohnM

[Archie Gordon]

I think London is the only place it could be made to work. I imagine that the NRL brand is received very positively in the region, and you'd have primary access to every junior. The biggest stumbling block IMO would be sorting a base out.

[John bird]

19 minutes ago, Archie Gordon said:

I think London is the only place it could be made to work. I imagine that the NRL brand is received very positively in the region, and you'd have primary access to every junior. The biggest stumbling block IMO would be sorting a base out.

If done properly i.e. heavily invested and relatively successful I wonder if the large Aussie expat community would follow the club?

[Henson Park Old Firm]

I honestly believe that IMG have bitten off more then they can chew. So they've been in contact with the NRL. I think the NRL will move in and change the course of Super League/IMG direction (for the better)

[Damien]

40 minutes ago, Archie Gordon said:

I think London is the only place it could be made to work. I imagine that the NRL brand is received very positively in the region, and you'd have primary access to every junior. The biggest stumbling block IMO would be sorting a base out.

I don't think this is the case at all. A RL club could work anywhere providing the financial backing is there. That is what has been missing in every expansion attempt in this country.

To get anywhere in London will cost triple anywhere else and you'd still be struggling to find a permanet home without big money. People also forget that in London there are a plethora of alternative attractions and its a highly competitive market.

[Archie Gordon]

30 minutes ago, John bird said:

If done properly i.e. heavily invested and relatively successful I wonder if the large Aussie expat community would follow the club?

They would if the club turned out a few NRL names. So it would have to be NRL-backed and be recognisably NRL quality. Moreso than anywhere else, London is a goldmine for fans, sponsors, players, etc. 

[bobbruce]

It wouldn’t need to cost millions surely something as simple as each NRL club putting a player forward they want to develop. If the NRL teams also covered costs I don’t think it would be ridiculous money for each club. The player develops and if successful could potentially open London up to doing an event similar to what’s going on in Vegas or even an origin game. 

[Damien]

8 minutes ago, bobbruce said:

It wouldn’t need to cost millions surely something as simple as each NRL club putting a player forward they want to develop. If the NRL teams also covered costs I don’t think it would be ridiculous money for each club. The player develops and if successful could potentially open London up to doing an event similar to what’s going on in Vegas or even an origin game. 

That's not developing a London club. Its just a sham that does nothing for the game. A London club done properly enough to be an asset to Super League will undoubtedly cost a lost of money.

[Toby Chopra]

If the NRL wants to crack Britain - and I've always been amazed how low profile it is here - then it doesn't need to own a club, it needs to follow the NFL model.

That is, spend the money building up a long term marketing presence to attract viewers and leisure goods consumers to the ready made content and products you already have - leveraging the close cultural links between the UK and the home market.

You can augment that with special events like holding games in the UK - if the NFL can hold three regular season games in London every year, then the NRL should certainly be aiming to get going here too. But they are marketing exercises that strengthen the bonds of a long-distance fan base, not money making exercises in themselves.

The payoff for the NFL is that there is a small scale bidding competition for NFL rights in the UK, plus Gamepass subscriptions and all the hats and jersey sales etc. 

The NRL should be able to build this too, and the fact that it's a code of rugby should make it even easier - many in the UK have an affinity to Australia and selling "the best rugby competition on the planet" should be an open door. They've hardly tried, even though all the content is there already.

The NFL also helps fund development programs here as there's no level of domestic American football suitable to produce UK players, but the NRL doesn't need to do that, it can just ramp up its scouting operation and take more an more 18 years olds down to Oz. I don't actually view that as a totally negative thing - it breathes life and opportunities into the UK sport that is stagnating. A strong, globally prominent NRL is, on balance, good for British rugby league.       

The least effective way of boosting the NRL here is by buying a club.  And reading back what I've written, it's basically what the NRL are doing in the US now with the Vegas games. Maybe we've already missed the boat and they're gunning for a bigger market. Hopefully there's still time for us to get on board too.            

[ATLANTISMAN]

Best place for London would be a long term lease at the proposed new stadium I'm Ebsfleet.

And on the NRL buying into SL forget it if they do anything it will be independently.

[bobbruce]

1 hour ago, Damien said:

That's not developing a London club. Its just a sham that does nothing for the game. A London club done properly enough to be an asset to Super League will undoubtedly cost a lost of money.

It would be a stable London SL club that could then use all its money to develop local talent. As most of its squad would be provided by others. 

[gingerjon]

3 hours ago, Archie Gordon said:

I imagine that the NRL brand is received very positively in the region

Genuine Q: what level of brand recognition for the NRL do you think there is?

Relative to say, "Wallabies".

[John bird]

3 hours ago, Henson Park Old Firm said:

I honestly believe that IMG have bitten off more then they can chew. So they've been in contact with the NRL. I think the NRL will move in and change the course of Super League/IMG direction (for the better)

I’m of that point of view as well.

just intrigued to what degree the NRL would get involved.

[bobbruce]

3 minutes ago, John bird said:

I’m of that point of view as well.

just intrigued to what degree the NRL would get involved.

Or even what they could do unless they were prepared to put millions in. I can see the benefits of the NRL having an input into expansion clubs and even clubs from the NRL and SL becoming sister clubs with closer ties but I don’t see any benefit from the NRL taking over SL as a whole. 

[John bird]

5 minutes ago, bobbruce said:

Or even what they could do unless they were prepared to put millions in. I can see the benefits of the NRL having an input into expansion clubs and even clubs from the NRL and SL becoming sister clubs with closer ties but I don’t see any benefit from the NRL taking over SL as a whole. 

Could we maybe see NRL double headers at Wembley or spurs?

or maybe even a origin game?

[JM2010]

Sheffield would be a good investment. A well established club in one of the UK’s biggest cities. Not far from Greater Manchester and West and East Yorkshire so could easily attract players if they had the money. Same goes for juniors from the community game in those areas. Would also be easier to develop the community game in Sheffield as any new clubs would have lots of options for opposition without having to travel too far. Same goes for school teams