‘Underwhelmed’: Cowboys’ glancing blow at Townsville fans as NRLW relocation bid advances
North Queensland Cowboys chairman Lewis Ramsay has publicly declared his commitment to shifting its women’s program to Cairns and fired a parting shot at Townsville fans for failing to get behind the NRLW team.
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North Queensland Cowboys chairman Lewis Ramsay has publicly declared his commitment to moving its women’s program to Cairns and fired a parting shot at Townsville fans for failing to get behind the NRLW team.
As exclusively reported on Friday, the rugby league powerhouse is committed to investing up to $10m in the region and the construction of a $25m high performance facility at West Barlow Park before relocating the NRLW side to Cairns in 2027.
The Cowboys’ top brass have previously claimed conversations with stakeholders around a relocation were in the preliminary stages.
But Mr Ramsay confirmed talks have been ongoing with the state government since early 2023.
“This has been over 12 months in the planning,” Mr Ramsay said. “We’re only two years into our NRLW journey but it’s been a really insightful one.
“There are multiple stages to the project which will ensure, bit-by-bit, the ecosystem in Cairns is a significant one on the sporting landscape in Australia.”
The Townsville-based team had invested significantly in the region over the last decade, Mr Ramsay said, with more than $2m poured into QRL club the Northern Pride’s coffers and trial games providing a significant financial windfall.
An improved bottom line had now made the club’s relocation possible.
“The Cowboys in our 30-year history have been a really large brand but we haven’t really had a large balance sheet,” Mr Ramsay said.
“That’s all changed in the last three-or-four years under a new NRL regime. Our funding arrangements have been bigger and better.
“We’ve been able to put more money aside and that’s given us the capital to invest on a project like this.”
Mr Ramsay dismissed arguments the looming threat of a Cairns-PNG NRL team had informed their decision to send its NRLW team 350km north up the Bruce Highway.
“People have tried to join those dots before,” he said. “We haven’t had the money before and we didn’t have a women’s program until last year.”
Sport Minister and Member for Cairns, Michael Healy, said the Cowboys were a better fit for the Far North.
“We don’t want to hitch anything to that because we always knew that was a bit dicey,” he said.
“This, for our city and region, is an enormous opportunity.
“The PNG option was that if they wanted to set up here, that was terrific. The federal government wanted to build a high performance and we had some land identified.”
Poor attendance at NRLW home games at Queensland Country Bank Stadium had partly informed the decision to move north, Mr Ramsay said.
“Townsville has had the benefit of a men’s team for 30 years,” he said.
“In some respects, potentially that can bring some complacency. I haven’t said this on record before but we have been underwhelmed with attendances at some of our games.
“We think having separate markets with separate communities to get behind their own teams is going to be a real driver behind the support factor for the women’s program in Cairns.”
The LNP has yet to declare if it will match Labor’s commitment to building a sporting centre of excellence in the Far North.
Originally published as ‘Underwhelmed’: Cowboys’ glancing blow at Townsville fans as NRLW relocation bid advances
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