Huge milestone met for the Central Coast Bears

In a massive tick for the Central Coast Bears NRL license bid, the target of 5000 financial members, submitted to an initially sceptical administration, has been reached months ahead of schedule.

With a decision on expansion six months away, Central Coast residents can now look forward with optimism towards a positive outcome. The soon-to-be-formed Independent Commission will be presented with a very strong case for inclusion in the NRL for 2013 on March 31.

For those unfamiliar, I’ve outlined a profile on the Central Coast Bears’ bid:

Why the Bears?

It’s very simple: due to limited commercial infrastructure on the Central Coast and population size, there is insufficient sponsorship potential to sustain an NRL side that will require at least $15 million (in 2010 dollars) per year.

To secure the funding to have a team, the Central Coast must leverage the old North Sydney brand and colours to tap into the huge corporate opportunities available in northern Sydney – primarily North Sydney and North Ryde.

This flows through into merchandise sales and memberships – all potentially far higher with an historic brand with generational and national attachment.

Historical linkages between the areas make the connection logical (a la St George and Illawarra), and the Bears in their former life as North Sydney began investigating moves to relocate to the Central Coast in 1991. In 1997, members voted to change the name to the Central Coast Bears and build a stadium at Gosford with the name ‘BEARS’ emblazoned on the seats.

The Bears still have playing rights for another dozen years at Gosford, hence no other NRL side can move there. In a nutshell, it’s the Bears or no team for the Central Coast.

The reasons corporations want the Bears is fourfold:

1. They will have access to over 1.1 million people (20 per cent of NSW – this percentage will increase as the Central Coast expands).

2. They link their product to a foundation club which has a proud tradition of decency and fair play.

3. They get to be part of a unique sporting comeback story.

4. Red and black are internationally recognised by marketing experts as the most effective of sporting power colours for merchandising.

The other reason it must be the Central Coast Bears is that the NRL find the concept of re-engaging with northern Sydney, so cruelly excluded 11 years ago, very attractive.

David Gallop has acknowledged the game lost over 40,000 fans and this franchise can grow the games revenues by re-engaging this community.

The north shore, for historical reasons, has not warmed to the Sea Eagles attempts to cover the area; neither has the Central Coast following the hasty disengagement from the Central Coast by Manly after the Northern Eagles debacle.

Corporate sponsorship alone, however, is insufficient. Diversity in revenue sourcing is the key. Financial memberships are vital in creating an attachment to a team to sustain it through the inevitable lean times all teams face.

Support of League’s Clubs is also required, and there are nearly a dozen in the catchment area of Milsons Point to Lake Munmorah. Private equity capital also needs to be sourced, with community ownership one option.

Are there too many NSW teams already?

Not if there is a region of sufficient size that can demonstrate that it can add more value to the game by its admission than by its exclusion. The Central Coast team, if private equity can be sourced, will not be a drain on any other club finances and the companies wanting to associate with the Bears will provide bargaining power for the NRL in future TV dealmaking, benefitting all existing clubs.

The sponsors are being attracted to the Bears from outside the game, not diverted from an existing club to a new club.

The Central Coast is ready to go now. A new TV deal comes into effect in 2013. An extra game will enhance the TV revenue deal attainable if another bid team is also deemed ready to enter in 2013.

Financial pressures on NSW clubs will ease with savings achieved through the creation of an Independent Commission, increased TV rights deals plus reduced State poker machine taxes in the event of a State Coalition victory in March.

The stars will never align better for a Central Coast expansion.

How is the bid going?

Thanks to major sponsors such as Mortgage House and Fortunity, corporate sponsorship is secure and underwritten to the tune of $10 million. Further major signings will be revealed in the months ahead – the calibre of these partners will astound all concerned.

On January 11, Barry O’Farrell announced a Coalition Government would set aside land at Mt Penang to allow the Bears to establish a facility to rival the Gold Coast Titans’ Centre of Excellence, with state-of-the-art offices and training facilities. This will be a major lure in enticing elite ARL players to play for the team.

The NSW Labor Party have also contributed funds for the bid presentation and both sides of politics at a Federal level fully support the bid.

As of this week, the Bears have attained a major milestone of 5,000 financial members, already surpassing three NRL teams and the likelihood that more will be overtaken prior to bid presentation.

Almost 60 of these memberships are foundation memberships at a cost of over $5000 each.

Of critical importance to the bids success is the fact that over 3,000 have joined from the Central Coast, and in recent months the figure is running around 3-1 Central Coast memberships over northern Sydney residents. In other words, the Central Coast is gripping the Bears.

This can be attributed to years of work in the community by fans and volunteers, backed by the icons that are Greg Florimo and David Farleigh, both admired and well respected local residents.

This will not stop after a licence has been granted, as a regional community like the Central Coast will only support those that engage the community. Staff work at Erina, almost all live on the Coast (as do most of the volunteers) and almost all membership drives are occurring on the Coast.

A membership tally of 20,000 by 2013 kickoff, with over 15,000 from the Coast, is not inconceivable.

Even more crucial has been the connection with young fans, who currently make up the fastest growing segment of the membership demographic through an affordable ‘Cubs’ membership program.

These kids are the future of the Central Coast Bears and the franchise needs the children on the coast to become Bears fans – their parents and grandparents are welcome, but are far less important! Facebook is another gauge of interest – currently there are over 23,300 fans – more than three NRL teams.

Merchandise sales have exceeded expectations, with well over 1,000 Foundation jerseys sold. Supporter gear sales at Best & Less have also been outstanding – all done with the blessing of the NRL.

Strategically, the Central Coast provides some great positives for the NRL:

1. They can ‘fish where the fishes are’; rewarding a heartland area by giving 1.1 million people and 23 junior teams a local club. The Central Coast is one of the fastest growing regions in NSW.

2. Re-instate a famous heritage brand with its multi-generational supporters in northern Sydney and ignite great rivalries against Manly, Newcastle and other foundation clubs.

3. Help block AFL incursions in the Pennant Hills-Berowra corridor by providing an NRL pathway to the district.

4. Introduce prestigious new corporations to the game.

5. Provides large crowds to away games, profiting existing Sydney clubs. Northern Sydney residents combined with Central Coast travelling fans will provide an estimated 5-10,000 fans to all away games in Sydney and perhaps more so to Manly and Newcastle. Large pockets of Bears fans also reside in Queensland and even NZ.

6. Offers an extra TV game if another team enters simultaneously. With so many children on the Coast, day games are virtual guaranteed sellouts. A twilight Saturday or Sunday family game would also ensure a full stadium and a new potential timeslot, featuring a brand which was the second most watched team on TV in the 1990’s.

Sourcing sufficient private equity funding to satisfy the NRL remains the final challenge – if this can be achieved before March 31, the Central Coast Bears will have met and surpassed every benchmark indicated by the administration.

David Gallop would also be mindful of the calls to put closure to the Super League War by re-instating the biggest casualty – the Central Coast Bears. An NRL competition without Central Coast involvement is akin to an AFL competition without Geelong.

A team on the Central Coast has, for at least the past 15 years, been a part of the games strategic plan. Once achieved, the game can truly move forward into new territories, not look backward.