Titans to fend off Bears NRL licence bid with multi-million dollar plan from businessman Darryl Kelly

TITANS white knight Darryl Kelly will blow the Bears out of the water with a multi-million dollar masterplan to keep the NRL licence on the Gold Coast.

Titans fans want to keep their club and identity. Picture by Scott Fletcher

TITANS white knight Darryl Kelly will blow the Bears out of the water with a multi-million dollar masterplan to keep the NRL licence on the Gold Coast.

The Sunday Mail can reveal key elements of a business plan being formulated by Kelly, who says he will walk away from rugby league if a North Sydney consortium clinches the Titans licence.

Well-placed sources say a $10 million price tag will be placed on the Titans licence when the NRL formally seeks tenders for a sale in the coming months.

The Norths consortium, led by general manager Greg Florimo, are working on a $7 million bid to return the famous club to the big league as the Gold Coast Bears.

But the empire is hitting back, with Kelly — who first saved the Titans five years ago by personally investing $5 million — ramping-up plans to safeguard the Gold Coast.

RESILIENT TITANS OVERCOME EELS

Titans fans want to keep their club and identity. Picture by Scott Fletcher

Under plans to stave off the Bears and keep the Titans on the Gold Coast permanently, Kelly has:

■ Assembled a four-man consortium with cashed-up local investors ready to buy the Titans licence;

■ Drawn up a detailed business plan, to be tabled to NRL boss Todd Greenberg, outlining additional revenue streams for the Titans; and

■ Begun due diligence on buying investment properties, giving the Kelly consortium a financial war chest to make the Titans self-sufficient.

The NRL will seriously consider the Norths bid if there are no other contenders for the Titans licence, but Kelly is determined to table a proposal to good to refuse.

Currently a Titans director, Kelly — a self-made property tycoon — says he will sever ties if the Gold Coast Bears becomes a reality.

Titans director Darryl Kelly is getting on the front foot. Photo: Steve Holland

“If that happens (Norths winning the Titans licence), that will be it for me. I wouldn’t be anywhere to be seen,” Kelly said.

“I’m not worried at all about the Bears, they won’t get past first base.

“Their proposal in its current form — taking three games to NSW and changing the name and colours of the Titans — it won’t wash with anyone.

“How are they going to achieve that? How are the Bears going to get the Titans community to buy into new names and new colours? We’ve had enough changes.

“I can understand why Norths want to get back in the NRL but they are chasing a dream with the Gold Coast.

“I can’t see the NRL agreeing to a change in the ownership structure of the Titans. You would lose the community completely.

“The indications are they want a local model that is sustainable moving forward. That’s what I’m aiming to produce.”

Mindful the Titans lack the backing of the cashed-up leagues clubs that assist Sydney rivals, Kelly is exploring other revenue streams.

A key plank of his bid proposal is creating a multi-million dollar property portfolio. The rental income from a slew of investment properties would be used to supplement the annual NRL grant, tipped to rise to around $12-13 million next year.

“Our consortium is working on a business plan that involves having income sources other than traditional sources,” Kelly said.

“I’ve had discussions with enough people to put in what we believe we will need. We’re community-based on the Gold Coast and unless another team jumps out as a rival bid in this region, we have that advantage over the Bears.

“I can’t see a Queensland-based club run by a Sydney organisation being acceptable to anybody. I am determined for the Titans to stay on the Gold Coast.”

Titans halfback Kane Elgey, a born and bred local junior, said Gold Coast fans would shun a Bears-owned club.

“The Gold Coast community wouldn’t support a team run by the Bears,” he said.

“I’d hate to see the Titans lost to the Gold Coast, but to be honest I don’t think it’s going to happen. We need to be Gold Coast through and through.”

Originally published as Titans to fend off Bears NRL licence bid with multi-million dollar plan from businessman Darryl Kelly