Australian Rugby League Commission to spend $200 million to grow the game as code warfare intensifies

THE Australian Rugby League Commission has announced a $200 million fund to grow the game and released a new logo as part of their new strategic plan.

FOUR hundred thousand club members, 20,000 fans at every NRL game, 5.8 million people connected to the NRL through social media, a new brand logo and a $200 million fund to grow the game.

Welcome to the NRL's strategic plan  after the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) this morning unveiled their objectives for what the game will look like in 2017.

It came as ARLC chairman John Grant admitted he would have preferred the game's new chief executive, to be announced soon, to have had a say in the objectives that person will be responsible for implementing.

Grant said the new plan is a giant leap forward from where the game sat under its previous administration before the formation of the ARLC.

"This is a wonderful day for rugby league following on the back of a wonderful season," Grant said.

Phil Rothfield's letter to John Grant

The NRL's vision for the game is a bold plan to thwart the growing threat of AFL, but the rival code was not mentioned once as Grant and interim NRL chief executive Shane Mattiske addressed some of the biggest issues in the game.

However, some of the biggest issues afflicting the game went undiscussed before the two highest ranking officials at the ARLC were questioned about the lengthy pursuit to find a new CEO, the standard of refereeing and the financial stability of NRL clubs.

Bid teams left in wilderness

Grant said he does not believe stakeholders and fans have a reason to be frustrated at the lack of problems being solved, despite being heckled by a fan at this morning's announcement about a lack of NRL assistance in the development of the game in western Sydney.

Mattiske unveiled the game's primary objectives for the next five years will be to:

·         Make the NRL the benchmark for exciting elite level competitons in Australia, including the staging of the 2017 Rugby League Lorld Cup in Australia and New Zealand

·         Grow total rugby league participation to 700,000 - an increase of 3%

·         Increase the number of fans in the game through a 4% surge in crowds to 20,000 and a 14% increase in club membership to 400,000

·         Increase the game's presence in the public arena through the creation of a new media unit - following in the footsteps of the AFL.

·         Grow grassroots exposure to the game to have 1,650,000 people having an NRL experience every year

·         Increase the game's non broadcast revenue, to ensure the game has over $300 million in total central revenue.

"One statement encapsulates our vision for the future: 'rugby league - the greatest game of all'," Grant said.

"For the game to be the greatest game of all it must be the most entertaining, the most engaging and the most respected sport.

"We believe we can achieve this by bringing people together and enriching their lives as rugby league can on so many levels. This is our mission."
 
Grant said he was not frustrated by the drawn out search for a chief executive, despite admitting a new CEO would have ideally helped decide the strategic objectives for the next five years.

"I think we’re working down a process and we’re narrowing it down every time we meet with someone," Grant said.

"We’re now what we regard as a very short list and we’d hope that we can conclude that, but, you know, sometimes stuff happens and you don’t get the outcomes you want. But that’s where we are at the moment.

"It’s absolutely clear to everyone that these things sometimes take longer than you expect them to.

"We have a charter to put in place a CEO for this game and we’re nearing the end of that cycle. Again, there can be no promise to that because I’ve said that to you probably before. But, that’s the fact of life, we’re in a process and we’re going to continue to work through that process until we get a process so there’s no frustration."