Join the NRL for free: The stunning move that buried the Western Bears’ expansion bid

The Western Bears bid chief has revealed the Perth-based consortium offered to pay “zero” to become the NRL’s 18th team in 2027 - a move that has left the Perth-based consortium on life support.

A “gutted” Western Bears bid chief Peter Cumins has offered to smoke the peace pipe with ARL Commission boss Peter V’landys in a last-ditch attempt to expand the NRL to Perth.

Cumins has sensationally revealed the Perth-based consortium offered to pay “zero” in a licence fee to the ARL Commission as part of the Western Bears’ bid to become the 18th team in 2027.

The expectation to join the NRL for free went down like a lead balloon with the ARLC, with chairman V’landys formally rejecting the proposal in a move that has left the Western Bears on life support.

V’landys will step up crisis talks with the West Australian government to salvage the bid, with the other partner, the North Sydney Bears, committed to working with the NRL for a resolution.

It is understood the NRL were seeking a licence fee of around $20 million, but Cumins explained why the Western Bears offered nothing as he vowed not to give up hope of saving the bid.

“I’m gutted. That’s the best description,” Cumins told Sydney’s 2GB radio on Thursday morning.

Peter V’landys.

“Peter Beattie (ARLC board member and expansion taskforce chief) did put to us that a licence fee would be required but to be fair, in the actual bid document, the request was for us to proffer a licence fee.

“We chose to say zero.

“We said zero and that sounds ridiculous, but to put it in context, the last new club, which was the Dolphins, they paid a zero licence fee and they are a club that has been going for 75 years and has $130 million in assets.

“They already have all the facilities needed for an NRL team.”

Cumins, a wealthy businessman who owns Cash Converters, which sponsored the Western Reds in 1995, said the start-up costs for a new Perth team would be significant.

V’landys’ message to Bears fans.

“You compare that (the Dolphins’ infrastructure) to our situation where we are a start-up in an AFL state,” he explained.

“We don’t have the facilities for an NRL team.

“In our bid case, we had to provide $10 million in capital expenditure to make temporary facilities until the government was able to build us something long term.

“You can imagine the start-up costs for a new team, just the relocation expense for 40 players and their families.

“With the licence fee stipulation, there was no amount given by the NRL.

“Whether we made it a licence fee of say $1 million, our view was that it was not significant enough to make a commercial difference to the bid.

“If the NRL required a $20 million licence fee, that would have changed the entire nature of our ability to fund that.

“We would have had to have raised a considerably more amount of money ... our view was that the licence fee was going to be so significant that we couldn’t justify it.”

Cash Converters director and Western Bears bid chief Peter Cumins. Picture: Marie Nirme

The ARL Commission is prepared to scrap expansion to Perth if the business case doesn’t stack up, but Cumins appealed for V’landys to show faith in his bid team.

“We’re not giving up,” he said.

“From our point of view, we have been involved in this to establish a team for the benefit of Western Australian rugby league.

“I am a rugby league tragic.

“We are doing this for a team in Perth, not to make money and we are committed to doing that.

“My company has put millions of dollars into grassroots rugby league over the last 20 years.

“I am still committed to seeing a team in Perth.

“If the NRL, with their new approach to this proposal gets up, I will still be a very happy man.

“If not, we are still open to negotiations.”

Originally published as Join the NRL for free: The stunning move that buried the Western Bears’ expansion bid