Frizelle and Kelly hold off rival bid to secure Titans’ NRL licence
LONG-SERVING Titans duo Rebecca Frizelle and Darryl Kelly have staved off an audacious $25 million rival bid to win the Gold Coast licence.
NRL
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THE Titans will remain on the Gold Coast and eventually be owned by the community following a guarantee by Rebecca Frizelle and Darryl Kelly to ensure rugby league survives on the Glitter Strip.
The NRL will officially hand over the club to its new owners within days, ending the governing body’s near three-year stint in control of the Gold Coast.
The consortium comprising Frizelle, Kelly and their partners is in the final stages of negotiations with the NRL, who have elected to grant them the licence pending an agreement on terms.
The NRL ultimately decided to stick with the committed Frizelle and Kelly rather than enter the unknown with Brisbane-based fund manager Stuart McAuliffe’s bold $25 million bid.
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Frizelle and Kelly have guaranteed to keep the Titans on the Gold Coast while they transition it into a community-owned club.
“We’ve got no intentions of shifting it from the Gold Coast, there is no doubt about that,” Kelly told The Courier-Mail.
“We are looking to entrench it and eventually our aim is for it to not only be a community club but owned by the community. That’s our long-term aim.
“We’ve got to build the financial model and it’s got to be sustainable for the club. It’s 5-10 years to get to where we need to be.”
McAuliffe’s cashed-up bid was attractive to the NRL but it was Frizelle and Kelly’s sustained commitment to the club over the past five years that paid dividends.
While the takeover is yet to be finalised, McAuliffe conceded he had missed out on securing the licence.
“I’m really disappointed,” he said.
“It’s been a lot of work from a lot of people but we knew the incumbents would be hard to beat. I went for a knockout bid and it appears it was pretty close.
“The Titans can move on now and go forward from here. There are a lot of experienced people that can now put new plans into action.
“I enjoyed the bid and working with the NRL. Tony Crawford was very impressive at NRL headquarters and Titans CEO Graham Annesley is clearly one of the coolest heads in the game.
“I hope some of my community plans are put into effect with appropriate funding. The Gold Coast has so many up and coming players that should be given opportunities whenever possible.”
Frizelle, who resigned from the chair role in September, and husband Brett have been long-term sponsors of the club through their car dealership business.
In 2013, Kelly and wife Jo rescued the Titans from extinction by buying the club from founder Michael Searle, only to lose more than $5 million when the NRL assumed control in February 2015.
Despite Kelly’s loss, he has remained committed to keeping the Titans on the Gold Coast and the consortium’s long-term guarantee played a pivotal role in securing the licence.
Kelly, who has built his wealth in property, and Frizelle will implement an external revenue stream for the Titans to help the franchise become profitable given the NRL will no longer issue handouts to cash-strapped clubs.
The Brisbane Bombers and North Sydney Bears made bids for the club but the NRL was reluctant for the Titans to lose their Gold Coast identity.
Three rugby league clubs have died in the region since the birth of the Gold Coast Giants in 1988, with the Seagulls and Chargers also going bust.
The Titans are now rugby league’s last shot at success on the Gold Coast, with another failure unlikely to see the NRL venture into the region again.
Frizelle and Kelly intend to return to the club’s board once the sale is finalised, however former Broncos chairman Dennis Watt is expected to assume the lead role.
Watt has hit pause on plans to join the ARL Commission and his elevation to Titans chairman seems a fait accompli.
Originally published as Frizelle and Kelly hold off rival bid to secure Titans’ NRL licence
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