sydneyfc wrote:melbourne storm are a tiny club when it comes exposure to the rest of the world
lowly melbourne city is definitely more famous than the storm despite being a a poor franchise up until now
the storm will probably be the first club to line up at city's door when david villa comes to town to try and leach off his success the same way the roosters tried to when del piero came to sydney. leeches !
and then, in all seriousness, i think the jest of what he was saying is that there are at least double the amount of soccer fans in melbourne than rugby league. this is proved by ratings, membership and attendances.
the heart where debt free as well one of the reasons why Man united brought them.
now for the storm
Storm’s new owners face five years of losses
The consortium of private businessmen that has bought NRL club Melbourne Storm from News Ltd faces another five years of financial losses before the club breaks even.
Incoming Storm chief executive Mark Evans said the club, which cost News an estimated $75 million in losses in its 15-year history, had a plan to break even in “four to five years”.
Though Mr Evans would not reveal the identity of those in the consortium besides incoming chairman Bart Campbell, a sports entertainment executive from New Zealand, The Australian Financial Review understands the other three investors are Jayco Caravans owner and BRW Rich List member Gerry Ryan, Sportsbet co-founder Matthew Tripp and a businessman with links to the entertainment industry from New Zealand.
Mr Ryan is a former Storm director, who was forced to step down in 2010 by News when the club was discovered to have been cheating the NRL salary cap for several years. The Storm was subsequently fined heavily and stripped of its 2007 and 2009 premierships,
Several directors, including Mr Ryan, had attempted to take legal action against the NRL, then half-owned by News. It is understood News will hand over the club to the consortium for nothing, or for a small token sum, although Mr Evans would not comment on terms of the deal.
The sale means News’s only involvement in rugby league is its 66 per cent stake in the Brisbane Broncos. News has spent more than $700 million on the sport since the 1997 Super League war that split rugby league.
The Storm’s new owners will have access to the guaranteed $20 million funding from the Australian Rugby League Commission for the next five years negotiated when News gave up its half-ownership of rugby league at the beginning of 2012.
Mr Campbell, a former barrister in the High Court of New Zealand, is the primary shareholder; the other shareholders would be announced at a Melbourne function in two weeks. Mr Evans is a former CEO of English rugby union club Harlequins and was once coach of London side Saracens.
FINANCIAL BURDEN
The Storm has long been a successful enterprise on the field, winning its latest premiership last year, but has also been a financial burden for News.
The Storm has cut its annual losses from between at least $4 million and $6 million to closer to $2 million in recent years under departing CEO Ron Gauci, who has grown crowd and corporate hospitality numbers. The club has signed 15,000 members this season.
Mr Evans said the Storm would try to find new revenue sources, including from overseas and Australian sponsors and a better stadium deal with the Victorian government, the owner of AAMI Park.
“What the group hopes to bring is operation expertise and a lot of contacts in Australia, Asia and further afield that gives you access to financial support that you may not have been able to access before,” he said.
It could also investigate taking home matches interstate or overseas in exchange for large match fees, although that would require a change to its contract with the Victorian government.
http://www.afr.com/p/business/marketing ... eJPfXNDJFP
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