John MacDonald: I'm yeah nah on council's NRL pitch
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The idea of having a National Rugby League team based in Christchurch sounds brilliant.
Last weekend, when the Warriors were here, the place was teaming with people. Four-thousand of them from out of town.
Including a couple of National Rugby League honchos from across the ditch who, no doubt, were eyeing up One NZ Stadium and thinking they’d like a bit of the action here.
Which has the Christchurch City Council all excited. Because, apparently, it’s getting involved in trying to get a new NRL team up-and-running here.
It would be New Zealand’s second team in the competition, along with the Warriors.
The question is, though: Is this something the council should be getting itself involved in? Is it the council’s job?
My answer to that is, no.
So, what’s happened, is reports have surfaced that the city council is trying to bring two rival groups together to make a joint proposal for a new South Island-based NRL team.
It’s all tight-lipped on it. Refusing to say yay or nay.
But, as it’s being reported, it’s getting involved because the advice has been that, if a bid for a second NRL team in New Zealand is to be successful, then it needs community backing.
A bid just from a privately-owned outfit isn’t enough.
And that is why I don’t think the council should have any involvement in this.
Because this “community backing” is code for community money. Community underwriting.
And I’m not just making that up. Because there’s a new NRL club starting up in Australia next year called the Western Bears.
It’s had a truckload of public money poured into it by the Western Australian government, which has poured $85 million into it.
Now I’m not saying here that the Christchurch City Council is going to be pouring money into this new South Island NRL team if it eventuates. But I am saying that it’s not the council’s job to be involved in any way, shape or form.
Whatever happened to focusing on the basics?
What’s more, these two separate groups wanting to bid for an NRL team here - to put it politely - can’t stand each other.
Why the council would want to be some sort of peace negotiator, I’ll never know.
What it should be doing, is listening to Warriors CEO Cameron George. Who told me last week that, yes, a second New Zealand team would be great. But, first, the NRL itself needs to invest more to grow the game here.
He’s the guy I’m listening to. Because he’s known the realities of running an NRL club for the past nine years.
David Moffett and Sir Graham Lowe should be listening too.
And the Christchurch City Council should be staying well out of it.
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