NRL expansion: Second Brisbane won’t receive extra funding, says Peter V’landys

The AFL ploughed more than $100 million into the Gold Coast Suns but if the NRL expands to a 17th team in 2023, the second Brisbane team won’t receive a similar rescue package.

The Brisbane Firehawks are ready to enter the NRL.

ARL Commission boss Peter V’landys has warned there will be no rescue packages for the NRL’s 17th team as pressure builds on the three prospective franchises to prove their financial viability.

The Firehawks, Jets and Dolphins have begun formulating their bid documents since the NRL’s call for expressions of interest last week and V’landys revealed there will be no financial aid if Brisbane’s second team is launched in 2023.

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V’landys has made it clear he is ready to “declare war” on the AFL in a sporting turf war in Queensland, but the NRL’s 17th licence aspirants must source their own ammunition to keep the rival code at bay.

While the AFL tipped in more than $100 million to help their expansionary club the Gold Coast Suns in their first seven years, V’landys said the NRL will not be bailing out a second Brisbane NRL team.

Peter V’landys will take a ‘tough love’ stance with Brisbane’s second team. Picture: Jonathan Ng

The NRL’s most recent expansion team, the Gold Coast Titans, went bankrupt after just five years and had their licence taken back by the governing body to keep the club alive.

“There will be no handouts or extra subsidies,” V’landys said.

“A second Brisbane team will have to show to us that they can stand on their own two feet.

“It is our objective to dominate the Queensland market but if we proceed with expansion, a new team will not be subsidised.”

The three bid consortia insist money will not be a problem.

The Dolphins boast an asset base of $100 million with a leagues club that turns over $34m annually, while the Firehawks flexed their financial muscle at their bid launch on Tuesday, revealing they have $80m in assets and $25m in cash reserves.

The only question mark surrounds the Brisbane Jets, the western-corridor bid which must garner at least $12 million in start-up funding to table a viable submission for the NRL’s 17th licence.

The Brisbane Firehawks have flexed their financial muscles. Pictures: Supplied

Dolphins bid chief Terry Reader recently told News Corp the Redcliffe-based bid will have no problems paying their bills and will not need the NRL to hold their hand financially in the crucial start-up phase.

“One of the key factors in this process has to be finances,” he said.

“Any new team will have to be financially viable. Can they stand on their own two feet?

“From an asset and revenue standpoint, we would be one of the richest teams in the game so that has to give the NRL great peace of mind.

“We have an asset base of $100 million, so we have been ready (to join the NRL) for a long time.”

The NRL currently gives the 16 team around $13 million each in funding annually and V’landys is adamant the code’s expansion push will not jeopardise club funding.

“We will not be cutting funding to the clubs,” V’landys said.

“I have given them my word that expansion will only go ahead if the numbers stack up and I will honour my word and commitment to the 16 clubs.”

$80m expansion bid to blow away Broncos

- Travis Meyn and Peter Badel

The Brisbane Firehawks are ready to enter the NRL as an $80 million financial powerhouse that has claims to being richer than the Broncos.

The battle to become Brisbane’s second NRL team is heating up after the Firehawks officially launched their expansion bid at Easts Leagues Club on Tuesday.

With 105 years of history behind them, the Firehawks believe they should be handed the NRL’s 17th licence in 2023 and have the bank balance to survive and thrive.

Will the Broncos still be the richest club in Brisbane?

Firehawks CEO Brian Torpy said the Easts group boasted $55 million in assets, no debt and had $25 million in cash to support the bid.

Regarded as one of the NRL’s richest clubs, the Broncos own a $27 million headquarters at Red Hill and reported $16 million cash in the bank this year.

The Firehawks will begin construction on a $7 million Centre of Excellence at Langlands Park in October, which will house the NRL team’s operations if the bid is successful.

Given the Gold Coast Titans were on death’s door after only five years in the NRL, financial sustainability will be a key component in deciding which bid team secures admission.

The Redcliffe Dolphins have boasted about being a $100 million operation, but the Firehawks are ready to challenge them and the Brisbane Jets in the expansion fight.

“We are strong,” Torpy said.

“We’ve got $55 million in assets, $25 million cash in the bank and no debt.

“Some organisations can struggle when they start up. To have that sort of working capital behind you is invaluable.

“People don’t realise that because we don’t go beat our chest about it, but we are very financial.

“The Firehawks model is cash positive for the first couple of years.

“We’re also looking to put commercial tenants in here as well so we will have a commercial rental stream come in that is independent of gaming.”

The Firehawks’ new Centre of Excellence at Langlands Park.

The Firehawks have promised to produce a “revolutionary” bid and have enlisted a digital consultancy business - Rich Digital - to help with their proposal.

Intimate details of the bid could not be revealed due to an NRL confidentiality agreement, but the club will target the Logan-Ipswich-Toowoomba zones as development hot spots if successful.

That is the proposed location of the Jets bid, but the Firehawks believe they have what it takes to become Queensland’s fourth team.

“Brisbane is a massive place – there are 2.5 million people in greater Brisbane,” Torpy said.

“That’s well and truly enough to support two sides and with enough player participation and fan base.

“We would like to look at having the southern side of Brisbane and Logan. If the Jets aren’t successful in their bid we’d like to work in the Ipswich corridor as well.

“We are also meeting with the Central Queensland Capras on Friday, they have the biggest junior base in Queensland.

“We were in the top league in Queensland before the Broncos came in and had Brisbane, Queensland and Australian representatives.

Firehawks CEO Brian Torpy believes they have what it takes. Picture Peter Cronin

“We want to be back there again and we think we can. We have the capability to get back there.

“We’d love nothing more than to see the next State of Origin player come out of Langlands Park.”

Former South Sydney Rabbitohs football chief Shane Richardson is playing a key role in the Firehawks’ bid.

Richardson has long ties to Easts, now playing as the Brisbane Tigers, and said the Firehawks would generate enormous interest in Brisbane and give the Broncos a genuine cross-river rival.

“The Broncos are a smart business, they’re on a little downer at the moment but they understand competition is good for the game,” he said.

“I haven’t seen them come out and talk against it. If they pack the stadium for the Gold Coast Titans, imagine when they’re playing a second Brisbane team at Suncorp Stadium. It’s nothing but a positive.

“Why does Holden put a car yard next to Ford and next to Toyota? They trust that they will be able to compete. You get to sell what’s best if you’re good enough.

“This is a club with 105 years of history – it’s unheard of. It’s also a club that is unbelievably solid financially.”

The NRL will make a decision on expansion in July.

Originally published as NRL expansion: Second Brisbane won’t receive extra funding, says Peter V’landys