Talks to be held between Christchurch NRL team bidders

Saturday, 9 November 2024

Two rival groups are divided over whether they would talk about a possible co-operation with the Southern Orcas following its launch of a bid for a Christchurch-based NRL team.

Three bidders last month had proposals rejected by the NRL for a South Island-based team playing out of Christchurch’s One New Zealand Te Kaha Stadium. The NRL is considering expanding the men’s competition to 20 teams.

The initial bid group was the South Island NRL Bid (SINRLB) led by former Canterbury Rugby League chairman Tony Kidd and former Warriors and Kiwis coach Frank Endacott.

Former NRL and NZ Rugby League chief executive David Moffett heads the South Island Kea bid. He revealed on Friday he had at one point had approached former Kiwis coach Michael Maguire to coach the Kea.

The Orcas - led by former Kiwis coach Sir Graham Lowe and ex-New Zealand Rugby League chairman Andrew Chalmers - went public on Thursday with its plans, claiming it has a“$60 million capital funding base' and “an overall value of $A325m”. It says its bid is associated with a $100 million “centre of excellence’’ at Rolleston and a proposed inner-city hotel and entertainment complex.

Asked for comment on the Orcas’ plans, Kidd said his group was “talking with the other two bidders and we hope to have a concrete announcement next week”.

Asked if they would be suggesting a potential merger of the respective bids, he said: “That’s one possibility”, but there were other options too, although he would not elaborate.

Moffett said on Friday the Kea “are happy to talk to Tony Kidd, but will never entertain discussions with Lowe and Chalmers’’.

He was surprised to hear the SINRLB team would be “talking to Chalmers given their previous views’’.

Chalmers was not available for comment on Friday about whether the Orcas would talk with the other bidders.

The Orcas have declined to name their backers, but Chalmers said in his launch statement they were a South Island-based group of private equity investors with a capital base of $NZ60 million.

It is understood the NRL could be favouring a mix of private and community ownership for any new expansion teams.

Meanwhile, Moffett said rugby league “thrives on controversy and intrigue’’ and the Orcas’ announcement “fell into that category”. He felt it should be treated cautiously but was “sure the NRL will conduct rigorous due diligence as with all bids”.

There were “a lot of rumours on the street about who’s backing that bid, and why they are backing it”, he said.

Moffett said currently there was “no RFP’’ (Requests for Proposal) from the NRL, which had rejected all earlier bids for an NRL expansion, including the three initial Christchurch proposals.

He said the NRL had told the Kea “our bid was unsuccessful even though we felt it “ticked all the boxes and had a $20 million licence fee, and some additional funding which would enable us to be financial from the get-go”.

Moffett said the Kea had a “substantial’’ overseas-based backer, although he said he was unable to confirm the investor’s name “until we get to sit down at the table’’, although “the NRL know’’.

He also said the Kea had reached agreement with the Christchurch City Council to have “an interim, if not permanent high performance centre” at Burnside’s Jellie Park.

They also had former Kiwis coach Michael Maguire lined up as head coach until his recent appointment at the Brisbane Broncos.

The Kea brought Maguire to Christchurch and showed him all the facilities, including One New Zealand Te Kaha Stadium. Moffett said he was “gobsmacked. He said one thing: ‘I can win in this city’.” Moffett said that was good because “we believe we could win off the field’’.

Then Maguire rang to with some “bad news’’, that he had been approached by the Broncos. Moffett told him: “That’s a nanosecond delay before you say yes - Madge take it, the Broncos are the biggest rugby league club in the world.”

Moffett said the Kea might be prepared to launch a new bid but first wanted a chance down with [NRL CEO] Andrew Abdo’’, who had clearly been talking to other bidders but ‘hasn’t engaged with us yet’’.

He felt it was clear the NRL “do not want total private ownership’’ of a new NRL club, but favoured some community ownership component.

“You can’t have total community ownership here, but we will work on a model which would also satisfy all the rugby clubs throughout the South Island.”

Moffett thought the NRL were “focussing on getting something done with Papua New Guinea and Western Australia’’ as the next potential expansion teams.

But he felt in deciding the 20th NRL franchise, “they should give serious consideration to Christchurch.”

The Christchurch City Council had developed “amazing facilities’’, worth $1.25 billion, since the Canterbury earthquakes and “right now is the time to put a rugby league team in this city”.

Moffett said league could be “a real competitor to rugby’’ but needed a focussed, well-backed “team like the Kea playing every weekend out of that fantastic stadium”.

He said the Kea would continue to “give it our best shot, we’ve got good people’’, but were “not in it for ourselves’’.

“If we miss out, as long as Christchurch gets a team here, that’s our main aim.”