The NRL squeezed a further $25 million out of the state government to get the deal done to establish the Perth Bears rugby club in Western Australia.
After getting ahead of the NRL and revealing the deal on his social media on Wednesday, Premier Roger Cook and Sport Minister Rita Saffioti were joined by Australian Rugby League Commission chair Peter V’Landys and NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo at HBF Park on Thursday morning to make the announcement official.
WA Premier Roger Cook, Australian Rugby League Commission Chairman Peter V’landys and National Rugby League chief executive Andrew Abdo officially announce the Perth Bears will join the NRL on Thursday.Credit: Getty Images
During the lengthy press conference, Cook admitted the video posted to social media had been filmed ahead of the deal being done, while V’Landys revealed his organisation was speaking with Western Force owner, WA billionaire Andrew Forrest, about player-sharing between the teams.
V’Landys also took aim at Seven West Media’s coverage of his efforts to expand the team into Perth, saying the organisation didn’t want the NRL in the state because it had the AFL broadcast rights.
Howe the deal was done
The Cook government quietly added a further $25 million to its offer to secure the Bears compared to its rejected offer in April – but Cook maintained it was still a solid investment for WA.
“They don’t want us to be here because they realise we’re going to be competitive, and we’re going to take some of their lunch, and we eat a lot.”
ARLC Chair Peter V’Landys
On April 7, details sent to media of the initial $55 million offer included the $20 million Centre of Excellence in Malaga in the government’s calculation alongside the $35 million pledge for grassroots development.
On Thursday, Roger Cook said the state government’s total direct funding assistance was $65.6 million over seven years.
This included $35 million for grassroots funding and $5.6 million in match day support and tourism marketing. Cook later said the extra $25 million was to “support the club in its establishment”.
“This is work that we will do with the NRL and with the new board to make sure that they’ve got the support they need to really get ahead and make sure that we’re match fit for 2027,” he said.
Cook confirmed the $20 million for the high-performance centre was not included in the $65.6 million figure because that money was part of an election commitment.
“There’s been a whole range of numbers thrown around. Today, we’re providing you with absolute clarity around what the proposal is and the benefit that will be for Western Australia,” he said.
The new club will be not-for-profit and owned by members, but the board governing it will be controlled by the ARLC for at least the first years of the club’s life.
Cook said independent modelling conducted by Acil Allen on behalf of the government suggested the state would get a return on investment of $28 million every year once the team entered the competition.
The government is yet to make that modelling public but it provided figures on Thursday afternoon, which showed the modelling was based on 545 interstate visitors per game.
The 18th team in the NRL will begin playing in 2027 and will play the majority of its home games at HBF Park, with the potential for one game to be played at its spiritual home in North Sydney.
Cook said the government took a strong negotiating position with V’Landys, which secured the club structure.
“The club will be chaired by a Western Australian. Every dollar of WA government support will be spent in Western Australia to develop the game. The NRL will not charge a license fee,” he said.
Cook said V’Landys was a “great mate”, while the rugby chief praised Cook for being a strong negotiator.
“He was a halfback I couldn’t catch, so he’s certainly a wily character and a very good negotiator. But at the end, I think we’re both very satisfied with the deal that was done,” he said.
When questioned whether the video he posted to social media on Wednesday was filmed in advance of the deal being signed, Cook said he had recorded that video three times.
“Once the agreement was signed – I signed the agreement yesterday – and then we were obviously able to then release the video,” he said.
Negotiations between the WA government and ARLC have been marred by leaks, with some figures published in east coast media suggesting the NRL was seeking up to $320 million.
“Let me say this and let me make it very clear: we never leaked single word,” V’Landys said.
“It certainly wasn’t leaked by us at any stage, and I can confidently say in my career, I haven’t leaked a single thing, and I didn’t start with this one.”
Opposition leader Basil Zempilas said the $85 million deal look “reasonable” and he supported the establishment of the team in WA but he took aim at Cook for filming the social media video in advance.
“Why did the premier record an Instagram video last week announcing this deal...clearly, this time last week he knew and was recording a video in parliament house,” Zempilas said.
“That is not being transparent or open and honest with the public of Western Australia.”
Hungry for the AFL’s lunch
V’Landys took aim at Seven West Media when asked about the media coverage of his attempts to expand the competition into WA.
“Well, I think the media coverage has been a bit biased, in the sense that the main newspaper here is owned by Seven West Media, that has the AFL rights,” he said
“Let’s be quite frank ... they don’t want us to be here because they realise we’re going to be competitive, and we’re going to take some of their lunch, and we eat a lot, so we’ll be taking a fair bit of their lunch.”
V’Landys bristled when questioned whether he consulted with the AFL on the expansion west.
“I don’t see McDonald’s checking with Kentucky Fried Chicken when they’re opening a new store. So we certainly have not consulted with the AFL,” he said.
V’Landys boasted that the club already had large sponsors lined up which would be announced in the coming months.
“I’ve got to tell you, the sponsors certainly haven’t been worried about the AFL because we’ve been inundated with sponsorship requests,” he said.
Twiggy enters the chat
The new $20 million high-performance centre in Malaga will be for use by both the Bears and the Western Force.
V’Landys also dropped a bombshell during the press conference that he was in discussions with mining billionaire and Western Force owner Forrest about player sharing.
“We’ve had talks with Twiggy Forrest in regards to the Western Force, and there’s an opportunity here that may never have been done anywhere in the world, where the two teams could be combined to a certain degree, and can use each other’s players in specific matches,” he said.
“So we’re going to look at that. It’s a novel idea. And who’s to argue with Twiggy Forrest?”
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