Super Netball: Deadline for licence bids passes as Geoff Lord softens stance, Tasmania ruled out

A key contender has ruled itself out of the running to take on Collingwood’s Super Netball licence as the deadline for bids passed after a late twist.

Shimona Nelson and Kelsey Browne celebrate Collingwood’s last-round win over West Coast Fever.

The man flagged as Super Netball’s potential white knight softened his position ahead of the 5pm submission deadline for Super Netball’s eighth licence, with Belgravia Group founder Geoff Lord informing Netball Australia that his company would not be a bidder.

In a letter to NA’s EGM SSN, Events and Commercial Adam Richardson, seen by CODE Sports and dated June 20, Lord said that although his company has a “keen interest in supporting and potentially having a financial interest” in an SSN licence, it would require a financial partner to do so.

Netball Tasmania also confirmed it would not be bidding for the licence due to “time constraints involved.”

Lord said Belgravia’s due diligence had revealed shortcomings in NA’s forecast income streams in the key areas of stadium costs, sponsorship, membership and hospitality for what the group identified as a “high range” franchise among the categories depicted in the Request for Proposal (RFP).

There were emotional scenes at the end of the Magpies’ last Super Netball clash.

Based on the tight time frames and constraints around setting up a new team in place of Collingwood for the 2024 season, the letter said that guaranteed financial support would be needed from “related entities’’.

The letter said Belgravia’s aim was to assist NA “more broadly to drive greater participation and ensure the sustainability of the sport into the future’’, and confirmed it had met with Netball Victoria and other parties that had expressed interest in bidding for the licence.

Eight teams are required under the broadcasting agreement with Foxtel, which is believed to favour a second Melbourne team playing out of John Cain Arena, the home of the successful incumbents, the Vixens.

Netball Victoria has indicated its desire to acquire the rights for a second team in the state to replace the Magpies, but also a preference to locate it in a regional area such as Geelong — which is hamstrung by its lack of an appropriate stadium until at least 2027, once the Commonwealth Games Aquatic stadium at Waurn Ponds is repurposed — so as not to cannibalise the Vixens’ strong supporter base.

While no specific location has been proposed by Belgravia, two of the conceptual options that have been mocked up are a Victoria/Tasmania hybrid called the “Vicmania Valkyries” or a Bass Strait themed model.

Geoff Lord had flagged interest in bidding for a Super Netball licence.

Lord, a former chair of the Hawthorn Football Club and founding owner of the A-League’s Melbourne Victory, is the founder and CEO of the Belgravia Group — which its website says consists of multiple Australian business operating across industries including health and fitness, leisure, tourism, property, finance and technology and has over 10,000 employees.

His letter said the private investment group has been working with NA for the past 12 months on initiatives such as providing shared administrative services, sports apparel, netball clinics, equipment and club support.

Lord’s net worth was estimated at $569 million in 2020.

His letter to Richardson stated in conclusion: “Whilst this is not a conforming bid, it demonstrates our ability to assist Netball Australia in achieving its objectives and shows our willingness to be a financial stakeholder in a Super League (sic) licence, either as a support or partner to another bid, or in partnership with Netball Australia.’’

Lord was contacted for comment.

Meanwhile, Netball Tasmania indicated after the deadline that it would not be pursuing SSN entry this time, despite having made preliminary expressions of interest in bidding for the licence Collingwood announced on May 25 it would be handing back after seven seasons.

Netball Tasmania chief executive Mitch Coulson said via a media statement “we are not making a formal submission now due to the time constraints involved.”

“Over the past month Netball Tasmania have had constant dialogue with both Netball Australia and the Tasmanian Government to fully explore Tasmania as a potential market for an SSN team,” the statement read.

“All parties agree on the many benefits of Tasmania as a home for SSN and the strength and passion of the netball community here.

“Ultimately this is simply a matter of the timing not being quite right.”

Originally published as Super Netball: Deadline for licence bids passes as Geoff Lord softens stance, Tasmania ruled out