Latest news with #V'Landys
The Star
08-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Rugby League-NRL expands westwards with Perth Bears to launch in 2027
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia's National Rugby League (NRL) will expand westwards in the 2027 season with the addition of an 18th club, the Perth Bears, the league and Western Australian government announced on Thursday. The government said it had agreed to fund the new team to the tune of A$65.6 million ($42.36 million) over seven years, ensuring the return of professional rugby league to the state for the first time since the demise of the Western Reds in 1997. The announcement is another triumph for rugby league chief Peter V'landys, who has already helped secure A$600 million from the federal government to fund another NRL expansion team in Papua New Guinea from 2028. "Western Australians love sport and now they have the opportunity to get behind a Perth-based rugby league club that will capture the hearts and minds of fans across the country," V'Landys, the Australia Rugby League Commission chairman, said in a statement. The new team's name honours the heritage of the North Sydney Bears, one of the nine clubs that founded Australia's first league in 1908 and which played in the top flight until 1999. "As a foundation club, the Bears have a rich history in the game and automatically provide hundreds of thousands of east coast supporters for the Perth-based team," V'landys added. "The heritage of the Bears combined with the energy of the west will have this team flying from the outset." The last expansion team to enter the NRL was the Brisbane-based Dolphins in 2022. They finished 13th and 10th in their first two seasons. ($1 = 1.5485 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by Michael Perry)
Sydney Morning Herald
08-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Perth Bears picnic includes another $25m for club as V'Landys chats with Twiggy
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. Loading The government is yet to make that modelling public in its entirety. 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.' 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.
The Age
08-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
Perth Bears picnic includes another $25m for club as V'Landys chats with Twiggy
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. Loading The government is yet to make that modelling public in its entirety. 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.' 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.
The Age
28-04-2025
- Business
- The Age
Foxtel owner's French crisis on NRL's radar as it kicks off broadcast bidding war
The NRL is keeping a close eye on a breakdown in relations between pay TV provider Foxtel's new owner – DAZN – and France's top football competition as it gets ready to seek its own multibillion-dollar broadcast rights deal. DAZN, which took control of Foxtel this month, is locked in a dispute with France's top-flight football league after a majority of clubs voted to prematurely terminate the league's broadcast contract with the UK-based sports streamer. The stoush is being closely watched by top NRL executives, a senior NRL source with direct knowledge of the matter, who did not wish to comment on the record, said. The NRL will now take its next rights package to market, Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V'Landys confirmed on Sunday, after approving last week an expansion bid in principle to include an 18th team, in Perth. While the dispute between DAZN and France's premier football league does not directly affect Foxtel, it has put the NRL on notice as it looks to vastly increase the value of its own media rights deal this year to apply from 2028 onwards. The NRL's top executives, V'Landys and league chief executive Andrew Abdo have sought to position the NRL as the larger and more valuable competition compared with the AFL. It took representatives from several Australian media companies, including Nine, News Corp and Seven, to its season launch in Las Vegas in March.
Sydney Morning Herald
28-04-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Foxtel owner's French crisis on NRL's radar as it kicks off broadcast bidding war
The NRL is keeping a close eye on a breakdown in relations between pay TV provider Foxtel's new owner – DAZN – and France's top football competition as it gets ready to seek its own multibillion-dollar broadcast rights deal. DAZN, which took control of Foxtel this month, is locked in a dispute with France's top-flight football league after a majority of clubs voted to prematurely terminate the league's broadcast contract with the UK-based sports streamer. The stoush is being closely watched by top NRL executives, a senior NRL source with direct knowledge of the matter, who did not wish to comment on the record, said. The NRL will now take its next rights package to market, Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V'Landys confirmed on Sunday, after approving last week an expansion bid in principle to include an 18th team, in Perth. While the dispute between DAZN and France's premier football league does not directly affect Foxtel, it has put the NRL on notice as it looks to vastly increase the value of its own media rights deal this year to apply from 2028 onwards. The NRL's top executives, V'Landys and league chief executive Andrew Abdo have sought to position the NRL as the larger and more valuable competition compared with the AFL. It took representatives from several Australian media companies, including Nine, News Corp and Seven, to its season launch in Las Vegas in March.
