Brisbane Bombers enter race for Gold Coast Titans’ NRL licence armed with $10 million

THE cashed-up Brisbane Bombers plan to blow the Titans and North Sydney Bears out of the water in the race for the financially-stricken club’s NRL licence.

Brisbane Bombers enter the race for the Titans' NRL licence.

THE Brisbane Bombers have entered the race for the Titans’ licence armed with a $10 million bid to stave off the North Sydney Bears and keep the club on the Gold Coast.

The Courier Mail can reveal a Bombers consortium has begun due diligence into the Titans after contacting the NRL to formally express interest in buying the financially-stricken club.

The NRL last week officially placed the Titans up for sale, prompting Rebecca Frizelle to resign as club chair as she ramps up plans to purchase the club with former co-owner Darryl Kelly.

Brisbane Bombers enter the race for the Titans' NRL licence.

Frizelle and Kelly are red-hot favourites to clinch the Titans licence, while North Sydney represent a threat with a $7m bid aimed at reviving the famous Bears as an NRL identity.

But the Brisbane consortium has the financial muscle to blow rival bids out of the water.

The Bombers launched in 2011 with a view to becoming Brisbane’s second team to rival the Broncos, but with the NRL putting expansion on the backburner, they are keen to rescue the Gold Coast.

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“We’ll be making a bid for the Titans licence,” said Bombers CEO Nick Livermore, whose late father Ross was formerly the boss of the QRL and a board member at the Gold Coast Chargers.

“We’ve contacted the NRL and formally applied to be part of the bid process.

“We’re currently looking over the Titans’ financials, we’re understanding the ins and out of the business and looking to see if we can add value to the club.

“Our motivation is growing the game and bringing stability to the Titans on the Gold Coast.

“My father was part of the Gold Coast Chargers, so there is some history and heritage which makes it a passionate pursuit for me.

“If the NRL decides there is someone better suited for the licence, that’s fine. But the Titans deserve an opportunity to thrive in the NRL and at the moment, through some unfortunate circumstances, that’s not the case.

“It takes time to heal wounds but hopefully we can make that happen.”

A four-man Bombers consortium is currently examining the financials of a Titans club that will lose an estimated $2.3 million this season.

Livermore praised the work of Frizelle and Kelly and said the Brisbane group had no plans to relocate the Titans.

Nick Livermore is driving the Bombers’ NRL push.

While expansion is on the backburner, the Bombers hope the NRL will consider adding a second Brisbane team when the code’s next TV rights deal is brokered for the 2023 season.

In the meantime, the Bombers believe they have the finances, business plan and administrative acumen to resurrect the ailing Titans.

“Fans should not be concerned, we have no plans to move the Titans,” he said.

“It’s important that the Titans stay on the Gold Coast full-time.

“Ultimately, the Titans don’t need another rebrand. We’ve had enough name changes. They wouldn’t be the Gold Coast Bombers.

“If we were successful, we’d look at establishing a separate company entity because you couldn’t have one club potentially owning two NRL licences.

“We remain hopeful of one day seeing a second team in Brisbane, but it would be remiss of us not to look at the opportunity to buy the Titans.

“We estimated we needed a capital base of around $15-20 million to start up an NRL club in Brisbane so if we got the Titans licence, finances wouldn’t be a problem.”

Originally published as Brisbane Bombers enter race for Gold Coast Titans’ NRL licence armed with $10 million