NRL expansion: Firehawks, Jets and Dolphins make final pitch to become 17th team in 2023
The Firehawks and Jets will get one last crack at dislodging the Dolphins in the battle to become Brisbane’s second NRL team in 2023.
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The NRL will seek final responses from their expansion hopefuls as the Firehawks and Jets get one last crack at dislodging the Dolphins in the battle to become Brisbane’s second team in 2023.
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo will request further information from the Jets, Firehawks and Dolphins following a Friday meeting of the Expansion Assessment Committee.
The NRL will officially launch a 17th club in 2023 and the EAC spent around 90 minutes discussing the merits of the three bid consortia.
Abdo is part of the Expansion Committee, which includes ARLC boss Peter V’landys, and the NRL CEO will contact the bid rivals seeking a final instalment of information ahead of the ARL Commission announcing the winning bid next week.
Effectively, the Jets and Firehawks have arrived at the last-chance saloon. They have 48 hours to table fresh evidence as to why they deserve to be Brisbane’s second team as the ARL Commission edges closer to unveiling the Redcliffe-backed Dolphins as the NRL’s 17th franchise.
The development comes as the Jets hit out at speculation they cannot meet the NRL’s $10 million bank guarantee, with a Brisbane-based white knight coming on board on Wednesday with a multimillion-dollar financial commitment.
Brisbane Jets bid chief Nick Livermore confirmed the fresh investment and said the western-corridor bid is armed with $24 million in private equity as the expansion race enters the home straight.
“The NRL should have zero concerns about us,” Livermore said.
“I appreciate this is a huge decision for the game.
“If the NRL is required to reach out again to make sure our information is understood, I’m happy to have another conversation with them.
“I can confirm a prominent company, based in Brisbane, has come forward and injected substantial additional capital into the bid to go beyond what is required from the NRL.
“The NRL requested a $10 million bank guarantee and we have got more than that.
“We have informed the NRL in recent days that we have $24 million in private-equity backing with $12 million in the bank that is ready to go immediately.
“The Brisbane Jets bid is entirely sustainable. We would not go broke. In fact, we have firmed up our position.
“We have been involved in the expansion process for 10 years. No one understands the expansion landscape in Brisbane better than we do so if the Commission has more queries, we’re happy to provide it.”
According to documents filed by the Redcliffe football club, the Dolphins empire has assets of $73.5 million as of September 30, 2020. They have loans totalling $13.2 million, leaving the Dolphins with a formidable net asset base of $59.1 million.
Redcliffe’s football arm has $1.8 million in cash reserves, while the Firehawks claim to have $80m in assets with $25m in the bank and no debt.
Based on those figures, the Firehawks have usurped Redcliffe as the richest of the three bids, but the Dolphins possess a gymnasium and aquatic facility valued at $30 million and a shopping centre on land owned by the club.
Dolphins bid chief Terry Reader dismissed suggestions Redcliffe cannot be beaten by the Jets and Firehawks in the battle for the NRL’s 17th licence.
“The Dolphins persist in taking nothing for granted,” he said.
“We will continue to work in the background to be ready to enter the NRL competition as early as 2023 if our bid is successful.
“Obviously the Dolphins NRL bid team, the Dolphins club and its supporters are excited by reports of an impending (expansion) announcement, but we respect the NRL’s desired process.
“Analysis also demonstrates that the Dolphins will also have the least material impact on the current fanbase and operations of the Brisbane Broncos and the Gold Coast Titans.
“The Dolphins have the strongest financial backing of any bid, including an established club with a diversified business model and over $100 million in assets.
“We are confident that our pitch provides the necessary peace of mind, stability and confidence for the NRL to expand the game with the Dolphins.”
EXPANSION CLUBS’ FEUD GOES PUBLIC
—Peter Badel and Brent Read
The Jets and Firehawks insist that Brisbane must be part of any expansion name as the favourites for the 17th licence prepare to take a final decision on their moniker to the people.
The Expansion Assessment Committee will meet on Friday to discuss the merits of the Firehawks, Jets and Dolphins before recommending a preferred candidate to the ARL Commission.
The commission will then confirm the code’s 17th team early next week. The Dolphins head into Friday’s meeting as the warm favourites to secure the licence but so wary are they of jinxing their chances, they have thus far refrained from finalising a name for the franchise.
There was a school of thought that they would be simply called The Dolphins, but ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys has indicated that he would prefer that any new club has a geographical identity in its name.
The Firehawks and Jets say it needs to be Brisbane.
“In my opinion, it’s crazy if a second Brisbane team isn’t called Brisbane,” Firehawks chief Shane Richardson said.
“You are either attached to Brisbane or you aren’t attached to it. At the end of the day, the NRL is bringing in a second Brisbane team and Brisbane is going to be an Olympic city.
“The name of the new team must have Brisbane in it.”
Jets bid boss Nick Livermore echoed those sentiments.
“It has to include Brisbane in the name,” Livermore said.
“We’re the largest market between Sydney and Singapore. Rugby league is not a global sport yet and Brisbane is arguably the second biggest market on the planet for the game. The only way to create a great rivalry with the Broncos is having a Brisbane versus Brisbane team.”
The Dolphins will hold a public vote to finalise their name. The Sunshine State Dolphins and North Brisbane Dolphins are expected to be among the options presented to fans as they look to whittle down their alternatives and arrive at a final destination.
The clear preference of the game’s hierarchy would be to have Brisbane in the name given one of the reasons for introducing a new team is to build the rivalry with the Broncos. Yet at the same time, the Dolphins are cognisant of the need to service the corridor north to the Sunshine Coast, and would therefore prefer not to alienate that group of supporters.
The Dolphins are prepared to leave a final decision in the hands of the people they believe will support their club.
“The honest truth is Redcliffe will be to us what Red Hill is to the Broncos – that is our base,” Reader said. “Brisbane is bigger than the Brisbane CBD now. We have a massive corridor, especially in the north where we are.
“We want to let our city take ownership of the team. We’re in as just the Dolphins – it is not Redcliffe, it is the Dolphins at the moment.
“We want our city to take ownership and let us know how they want us to be referenced preceding the Dolphins. We will do that in consultation with the NRL.”
PLEASE EXPLAIN: FIREHAWKS’ FURY OVER EXPANSION FAVOURITISM
The Firehawks have sought assurances from the NRL that the fight for a 17th licence is a “fair” process amid intense speculation the Dolphins will be formally announced as Brisbane’s second team.
News Corp can reveal Firehawks bid chiefs have contacted NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo seeking an even playing field for the three bid consortia ahead of Friday’s crucial meeting of the Expansion Assessment Committee.
With NRL expansion locked in for 2023, the EAC will discuss the merits of the Firehawks, Jets and Dolphins before recommending a preferred candidate to the Australian Rugby League Commission, who will officially unveil the code’s 17th team early next week.
Reports have suggested the Redcliffe-backed Dolphins are raging favourites to win the NRL’s 17th licence, prompting Firehawks bid chief Shane Richardson to appeal for a fair-go as the expansion race hits the home straight.
“We are hoping Redcliffe aren’t over the line already,” Richardson said.
“I’ve read a lot of media reports saying Redcliffe have got the licence, but we just want to make sure it’s a fair and considered process in deciding the outcome of the 17th team.
“I hope there is due consideration given to Brisbane’s western corridor and its importance to rugby league.
“This will be one of the biggest decisions rugby league will make in a long time, so there needs to be transparency and hopefully they make the right decision.”
Jets official Nick Livermore said he has full faith in ARLC boss Peter V’landys to make the right call after the three bid rivals met with the Expansion Assessment Committee in August.
“It would be ignorant to assume it’s not a fair and open process,” Livermore said.
“To think otherwise would be to suggest the NRL has an agenda.
“I don’t believe that is the case.
“If the NRL is serious about growing the game and creating a genuine River City Rumble rivalry with the Broncos, the Jets are the standout choice as Brisbane’s second team.”
The expansion fireworks hit overdrive ahead of Friday’s D-Day meeting of the EAC, with the Firehawks ambushing the Jets by striking a deal with the Ipswich Rugby League to service the game in the western corridor.
The agreement is predicated on the Firehawks winning admission to the NRL, with the second Brisbane team aspirants to provide coaching, development and administration resources to the Ipswich region.
The Firehawks have also strengthened their bid by adding Patrea Walton, one of Australia’s most esteemed educators, to their board.
“Our deal with the Ipswich Rugby League is another stake in the ground and a huge statement that they are willing to go with us,” Richardson said.
“We are showing we are committed to the western corridor.
“I am trying to make one final push to the ARL Commission to say we are a genuine threat despite Redcliffe’s favouritism.
“If the NRL chooses Redcliffe, they will be turning their backs on the equivalent of Penrith and Parramatta in Brisbane’s the western corridor.
“Why is the AFL spending $80 million in the western corridor and not at Redcliffe? It’s a very simple question. They are setting up their operations in the west because they know that’s where the population growth is.”
Livermore scoffed at the Firehawks’ attempt to dominate the western corridor in the desperate battle for an NRL licence.
“It’s actually a backhanded compliment for us,” he said. “I’m not sure how East Brisbane can service the west of Brisbane, but it goes to show the strength of our region and why the western corridor is the best place for a second Brisbane team.
“After 11 long years and a number of administrations that we’ve dealt with, it’s great to see that the people of Queensland will get another NRL team.”
IT’S ON: NRL EXPANSION APPROVED IN FIERY MEETING
It’s official. Brisbane will have a second team in 2023 after ARLC boss Peter V’landys announced the $50 million profit that will fund the code’s expansion.
On a landmark day for Queensland rugby league, News Corp can reveal NRL expansion will go ahead after V’landys informed the 16 clubs of the financial goldmine that will enable the governing body to proceed with a 17-team competition.
V’landys briefed the code’s chief executives and chairs of the NRL’s strong financial position at a high-powered meeting on Thursday, which included a $50m surplus on top of the code’s beefed-up $100m broadcast deal with pay TV partner Foxtel.
Rugby league’s top executives left the meeting under no illusions the code is ready to push on with a second Brisbane team to rival the Broncos in rugby league’s most significant expansionary move since the birth of the Gold Coast Titans in 2007.
After 11 years of heartbreak, near misses, broken promises and millions of dollars of investment from bid consortia in the pursuit of expansion, Queensland will have a fourth NRL team.
On Friday, the Expansion Assessment Committee will meet to analyse the merits of bid rivals the Firehawks, Jets and Dolphins before making a recommendation to the ARLC, who will officially unveil the NRL’s 17th team early next week.
“This is great news – it’s the right time to grow the game,” said Firehawks bid chief Shane Richardson, the former NRL strategy boss. “I worked at the NRL (in 2015) and the research we did showed Brisbane was the place to go to next.
“The value of the 17th team in the competition will allow everybody to share in the wealth.
“The new team has to stand on their own two feet and be competitive.
“We have to take the AFL on in our heartland. We are defending the castle and the AFL are attacking rugby league in the west of Brisbane.”
There was some robust discussion around future funding to the clubs, who were seeking an extra $1.5 million totalling $24m, plus some additional money in the form of a licence fee for the 17th team.
V’landys made it clear the new Brisbane team will not be paying a licence fee, although he pointed out the 16 clubs will benefit financially from the extra millions a 17th franchise will generate for the code.
That sentiment is underlined by the NRL’s revised five-year deal with pay TV partner Foxtel, worth up to $100 million, to fund an expanded competition.
That cash injection – backed by the NRL’s handsome profit for the 2020-21 financial year – will ensure the code can bankroll a second Brisbane franchise without eroding the financial grants to the existing clubs.
The Redcliffe-backed Dolphins are the frontrunners to clinch the 17th licence. But the Brisbane Firehawks, based at Coorparoo, and Jets, representing Ipswich’s western corridor, are refusing to give up hope of winning the NRL’s first licence in 14 years.
“It’s the best outcome for the game, we’ve always wanted a game in Brisbane every weekend,” said Jets bid chief Nick Livermore.
“The 16 teams, the state bodies (Queensland and NSW rugby leagues) and the Commission have to be recognised for their support of it.
“After 11 years and a number of administrations that we’ve dealt with, Peter V’landys has done what he said he was going to do. He saved the game last year and now he is growing it. It is testament to his leadership in the game.
“The Jets would create a great rivalry with the Broncos and only make them stronger.
“There will be more local derbies and a genuine River City Rumble at Suncorp Stadium, it will rival State of Origin in Brisbane.
“The Broncos would be far better off existing with the Jets than any other franchise.”
V’landys and NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo gave the clubs no guarantee over funding levels beyond 2023, but assured them they would be no worse off under a 17-team model.
The NRL told the clubs at Thursday’s meeting that they would finish this year with a surplus of around $50m, a remarkable effort considering they were forced to shell out around $30m to move the competition to southeast Queensland in July.
The governing body is also close to securing more than $200 million collectively in broadcast and naming-rights deals.
It is understood V’landys and Abdo pointed to the AFL and the growth in their revenue when they added rivalries in Adelaide and Perth with expanded teams in those cities.
The clubs were told that city rivalries meant more eyeballs on the game and that eventually translated into more dollars in sponsorship and via the broadcasters.
The end result was that V’landys and Abdo walked away from the meeting with the imprimatur from the clubs – if not all, then the vast majority – to ratify a 17th team from 2023.
Gold Coast Titans chairman and former Broncos chair Dennis Watt backed plans for a second Brisbane team.
“Peter V’landys painted a pretty clear picture of how expansion would drive participation, fan engagement, sponsorships and broadcasting value,” he said.
“There are some concerns on the inflationary impact on the market for players and coaches and staff, but that’s more a short-term issue.
“From what they presented, it certainly stacks up in a financial sense.”
Originally published as NRL expansion: Firehawks, Jets and Dolphins make final pitch to become 17th team in 2023
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