- ARLC bosses rejected the private consortium’s bid
- The group had hoped to found an NRL team in Perth
- They had reportedly not tabled enough money
The executive behind the Western Bears’ failed bids to join the NRL has claimed that he has ‘spent a lot of money for nothing’ after the Australian Rugby League Commission rejected bids to found a new side in Perth.
Peter Cumins had been heading a private consortium of backers from Perth and North Sydney in an attempt to found an NRL side in Western Australia.
But their bids fell short of the ARLC’s mark, with Peter V’landys stating on Tuesday that their offers came up ‘too short’.
Cumins, the executive deputy chair of Cash Converters, claimed that the conglomerate’s decision not to pay a multi-million dollar licence fee was why the deal faltered.
‘Disappointed would be an understatement, and we’ve spent a lot of money for nothing,’ he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
‘The frustration from our point of view is there has never been a licence fee paid by any club in the NRL, including the Dolphins. The Dolphins have been going for 75 years with $100 million worth of real estate and they’ve got all the facilities they need.
Peter Cumins has broken his silence after it was revealed his consortium’s bid to found a new NRL team in WA was rejected
The consortium had founded a deal that would see the new NRL side partner with the North Sydney Bears
‘We’re a start-up in an AFL state, so our start-up costs are massive. ‘There’s a $16million burn before you even kick a football. We’re bringing new eyeballs to the game to help with negotiating broadcast rights and new sponsorship dollars because we’re not competing with east coast sponsors.
‘None of it commercially made any sense [to offer a substantial licence fee], which is why we elected not to.’
The deal had involved a partnership with the North Sydney Bears, who reportedly are still keen to be a part of any future proposals.
‘We still very much want to be part of expansion and are continuing to work with the NRL in regards to what that looks like,’ North Sydney Bears CEO Gareth Holmes said to the Sydney Morning Herald.
On Tuesday, ARLC chairman V’landys confirmed that the deal had been rejected but stated that the governing body were looking to do a deal with the West Australian government.
Peter V’landys had announced the ARLC had rejected the consortium’s bids, because they were too low
North Sydney are still hopeful they can form part of a deal to partner with the new Western Australian franchise
‘We will still deal with the Western Australian government to try and resuscitate the bid,’ he said.
‘The bid that they put in was significantly short.’
Despite this, Cumins, a huge rugby league fan, revealed why he was still hopeful of a last-ditch U-turn.
‘We’re all rugby league people and this was never about millions of bucks,’ he said.
‘I’m still a rugby league diehard from Perth and Cash Converters has poured millions of dollars into the grassroots game over many years.
‘I still want to see a Perth team. I want it to be successful. I’m not going to be an obstacle. We’re still there if they want us.’
