With the Gold Coast Titans in serious financial trouble, the newly formed Australian Rugby League Commission will need to make a difficult decision very soon. Do they help the club out to ensure its survival, or wave the white flag and surrender the Gold Coast to the AFL?
The NRL’s newest club is in danger of extinction due to an estimated $25 million debt, though it’s important to note that the football club itself is profitable.
The real issue is that the club, wisely at the time, decided to diversify its revenue streams and build a five-storey complex that included state-of-the-art training facilities along with commercial office space. The plan was for this ‘Centre of Excellence’ to provide the club with amazing training facilities, while the lease on the office space would generate additional revenue for the football club.
Unfortunately, when the global financial crisis hit, the Gold Coast economy contracted and the office space remained unleased. This meant that the club was left to cover the costs associated with owning a building that was essentially empty.
Loans were required to cover the costs and eventually things spiralled so out of control that the club now finds itself in this unenviable position.
The club now faces the very real prospect of going under, and may require the help of the NRL in order to survive. So what should the NRL do?
Perhaps they could learn from their supposed enemy.
I personally believe that the AFL has been incredibly smart about its own expansion plans. It has been patient and has a long term strategy in regards to growing its footprint.
Most importantly, it’s been generous, investing plenty of money into new teams, along with allowing salary cap exemptions and high draft picks. The AFL quite deliberately ensures new clubs get preferential treatment, helping them to establish themselves early on in their existence.
Crucial to the expansion strategy is the fact other AFL clubs are fully aware of and support the concessions for new teams.
OK, ‘support’ may be too strong a word. Some clubs hate the concessions. But for the most part, the Melbourne AFL clubs recognise that a growing and truly national competition benefits everyone. In particular, it increases sponsorship opportunities and drives up the price of the broadcast deal, which in turn, benefits all clubs.
Why is this relevant to the NRL?
Because they should learn from the AFL’s ability to look at the bigger picture.
New rugby league teams are essentially left to fend for themselves, and get little to no assistance from the NRL. They get little support from most NRL clubs, too, who lack the ability to think about anything other than their own team, and certainly aren’t prone to the sentiment of helping other clubs, particularly new ones.
Yet with the formation of the new Commission, the previous hierarchy’s expansion strategies can be revisited and revised, while NRL clubs’ myopic outlooks are now irrelevant.
The Australian Rugby League Commission’s mandate is to look after the overall health of the game, to act within the best interests of the NRL.
The Gold Coast region is deemed to be of strategic importance to rugby league. It is therefore most certainly in rugby league’s best interests for the Gold Coast Titans, in one form or another, to survive. Quite simply, that means the ARLC should help the Titans out of their financial quagmire.
Yes, it will be perceived as the NRL favouring a team, and the reality is that it will be.
I haven’t got a problem with that, as long as the Commission is making decisions based upon the long term health of the competition and the game.
And I’m not just talking about geography here. There is also the important consideration that the NRL requires eight games a week to fulfil its current broadcast commitments. It needs 16 teams in the competition.
The Titans should in no way simply be given a handout by the NRL. If cash is required, any bailout strategy needs to be met with strict conditions that the club must meet. This could include paying the NRL back over time, or Titans CEO Michael Searle, the man responsible for almost all of the Titans’ decision-making, stepping aside.
The overall point is that if the Commission deems the Gold Coast too important to lose, then the NRL should take a leaf out of the AFL’s book, and prop the Gold Coast up.
Case closed.
Pete75
Guest
While I agree that Oikee seems to have been smoking some substance, I disagree that RL will be a "distant fourth" behind the other football codes. That is just a nonsense. I actually life in WA and can tell you that there it's a large appetite for RL here. That will be confirmed when Perth gets a team.
Queensland's Game is Rugby League
Guest
Souths Logan are not based in Logan.Their Leagues club and football oval (Davies Park) are based in West End. None of their games re played in Logan. Their website doesn't even make any mention of Logan. Tweed Heads is based just south of the Gold Coast. The Tweed is not part of Gold Coast City.
PJ
Guest
averaged 11,000 my backside, i have been to all Titans games last season and this, and if they have had crowds of anything over 8,000 i will walk to Cairns in a G String. Some creative over inflation of figures is happening on the gold coast
PJ
Guest
Are you serious mate? Are you not aware that the Souths - Logan Magpies are based in Logan? There are already two teams on the Gold Coast the Burleigh Bears & Tweed Heads. another typical queenslander. half a brain you lot would be dangerous
Gareth
Guest
Haha. Brilliant.
Queensland's Game is Rugby League
Guest
"As much as it hurts to admit it but the NRL did come from NSWRL not the QRL." Maybe so, but it's also the reason I'm losing interest in the NRL. The only NRL I watch is the Cowboys' matches. Sorry NRL, but your refusal to give Queensland the respect it deserves has forced me to give my full support to the QRL. This year I've become a member of Wynnum-Manly Seagulls and Northern Pride. For $150 I got a season pass, a keyring, a cap and a polo shirt of the Seagulls. I get to watch the Pride's home matches on the internet thanks to the membership I bought with them. I've spent over $120 on their apparrel, too. I encourage all Queenslanders to pay more attention to the Queensland Cup. We need to get the Clydesdales back into the competition.A Logan-based team and a second side on the Gold Coast would be great.
Queensland's Game is Rugby League
Guest
I reckon the NRL should have never allowed Manly back into the competition. If they had any brains then they would have accepted the Central Coast Bears into the competition in 2003.
Bearfax
Guest
Gallop again made a blunder supporting the Gold Coast team under the ownership that exists, into the comp, while Central Coast. a far more well financially backed team was ignored. I think the League needs a team on the Gold Coast, but it also needs one on the Central Coast and it seems the League is just too myopic to see the benefits of a team there. I have no objections to teams in Perth or Adelaide or Toowoomba or Chrstchurch etc if they have the financial support. But when you have a rich offer and a strong rugby league following in an area and you continue ignoring that claim, I have to question the sanity and common sense factor of the people in charge....and especially Gallop, whose decisions continue to go pear shaped yet the people in charge continue to back him.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
What money?
Jack Russell
Roar Guru
Russell Crowe only owns a fraction of the team and probably isn't interested in total control (otherwise he'd own a majority of it). Not like the rich guys that want to feed their own egos. Out of interest, what is Searle's claim to fame pre-Titans? How did he make his money?
jdubya
Guest
The Roosters have more members than the Sharks. And getting rid of the only team that has a presence in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (ignoring the Souths bandwagoners) and has played in every season would be idiotic. The Sharks have never won a thing and have been on the verge of bankruptcy for years. Don't try and deflect the Sharks failings onto the Roosters.
Gaz
Guest
Russel Crowe answers to a board and I doubt Searle has the abilty or the inclination to "keep pumping money in?"
Jack Russell
Roar Guru
Invariably if a private owner was to be made accountable to a board then they wouldn't be a private owner for much longer. These guys put their money in so they can get control, if they lose that then why would they keep pumping money in? You can't run a team like it'd membership based and still expect a private owner to kick in his own money. It's not a charity.
Gaz
Guest
Why does everyone seem to kick people when their down. Surely as a Rugby League community we need to help when needed. I agree Searle is his own worst enemy and quite obviously things just didn't happen overnight Gallop and co would have been privy to the current sinking of the Titans long before it hit the media. AFL semms to get it right most of the time and I'm sure Demetriou would have fixed this up and made sure it never got anywhere near the media. A major mistake in a new business is trying to grow too quickly and that's basically what has happened here. Did they really need a Centre of Excellance from the beginning? What about offering Scott Prince a hughly extensive contract - he basically stopped playing football the next day. Rugby League in general needs the Gold Coast and whatever needs to be done by the ARL should be done without hesitation before the rot well and truley sets in. No need to get rid of Searle but he needs to be made accountable to a board. I believe this is a true lithmus test for the new commission, this will sort the men out from the boys.
Mals
Guest
Oh dear Oikee, according to you there are 2 million RL fans in WA eh? What have you been smoking lately?!?! WA is a state dominated by AFL. RL would come a distance 4th in the football codes behind soccer and rugby union.
Nathan of Perth
Guest
Also, you would be very hard-pressed to convince Searle this is in his own interests. Unfortunately there is very little power to force Searle's hand. This is, by the way, why I never advocate private ownership. Just look at Clive Palmer. Or look at the US top tier women's football league which went completely belly up courtesy of a private owner who threw a tanty.
Nathan of Perth
Guest
Your solution to this is to wait for Searle to do the honourable thing and fall on his sword?
Nathan of Perth
Guest
Tax bills?
oikee
Guest
I was in a hurry this morning, and i cant understand why everyone is down on Palmer, the guy likes rugby league, and he is the first guy with money i have ever taken a liking to, just because other people dont like him, makes me warm to him even more. He is a living treasure, i can see why. He is brilliant and will only make and invest more and more into Queensland, and wherever else he may roam. Queenslanders will propbably peeve him off over time, he will then just move on, could not blame him, when you deal with fools, not much else to do. I just hope Campbell Newman keeps him on board. Sharks gone, they can become a feeder team, merge with the Dragons, do other things, no need for them to be in the comp. The name can still be used. Manly can never grow, they are stuck in a non growth area, so keeping their piddley 10 thousand fans will mean 2 million West Australian fans will miss out, is that your thinking. ? Mate, this game has got to stop worrying about losing fans, and start worrying about gaining fans. Thei are millions to gain, maybe a few thousand to lose. Mate, Maths obviopusly was not your high point. as english obviopusly was not mine. No i blame the compute. Come-on, lets stop this blackmail. Your holding the game back, like the dinosaurs have done for 100 years, now you guys are trying to do the same, let the damm Commish do their jobs for crying out loud, cut and burn. Look, my mighty Bronx are being beamed into Victoria, South Australia, West Australia, Central Queensland and North Australia, ??? This is why the game has never grown, they only show the game in 2 bubble states. No more, it is time to sacrifice to grow, anyone who tries to stop me or the commish is on a losing battle becaus ei have waited for 100 years for this., Anyone who would pick a good bloke to run a club over a billionaire has got rocks, rocks in their heads. The game will be growing and punching its product around the world, the last thing we need is clubs on life support. If your weak, cant excwept change, cant cope, move to another code, if your strong and with me, here is the plan, lets kick some. :) Rugby league is on the verge of being shown live into all Australian states, and we as followers know it is a brilliant TV product. I repeat, climb on board or get out now, because as god is my witness, we wont be taking any prisoners.
Ryan O'Connell
Expert
I would imagine because Searle was the guarantor, and the boss of both the football and property arm, that it doesn't matter - at the end of the day, it's the same owner. They are trying to sell the Centre off though.