Balmain set to retain stake in Wests Tigers as deadline extended
- Thread starter Benjirific
- Start date
tigermac88
New member
It's not how I wanted things to play out but their is obviously something we don't know that's assisted in making this decision… At a guess I'd say their is a big portion of our sponsorship dollars that come as a result of Balmain being associated with the JV
Bobs guess at what happened.
Wests: we can't get any players unless we can find some big TPA's. We would pay for some, but legally aren't allowed to get involved.
Harry, Dawn and other other Balmain sponsors: Balmain is in trouble, how much have we raised guys?? 3 mill, not bad, but not enough.
Meeting between two parties: instead of buying half of Balmain, how about you give that 3 mil I'm TPA's? We will buy out your loan and in return give you 2 board members (As you haven't got all of the 5 mill needed) That way Balmain still get the board members you wanted but now, we have the TPA's available to purchase / keep the players we want.
Everyone: wow, this works for everybody. We even have a great story for the media to publish!
Wests: we can't get any players unless we can find some big TPA's. We would pay for some, but legally aren't allowed to get involved.
Harry, Dawn and other other Balmain sponsors: Balmain is in trouble, how much have we raised guys?? 3 mill, not bad, but not enough.
Meeting between two parties: instead of buying half of Balmain, how about you give that 3 mil I'm TPA's? We will buy out your loan and in return give you 2 board members (As you haven't got all of the 5 mill needed) That way Balmain still get the board members you wanted but now, we have the TPA's available to purchase / keep the players we want.
Everyone: wow, this works for everybody. We even have a great story for the media to publish!
@Patts said:
You're putting words in my mouth - please don't. I never said the grants ensured an equal competition, I was talking about the supposed rewards for contributing to the WT operating costs.
diedpretty
Well-known member
@Gary Bakerloo said:
Wests did offer assistance to Balmain 12 months ago. It was refused and it was Balmain who ran to the NRL with cap in hand and triggered this mess.
goldcoast_tiger
New member
@Bob said:
Balmain have been in trouble for a long while.
Where have all these Balmain benefactors been hiding all this time.
Or, did they want to wait until there was only a dead carcass to save.
So far the line of saviours isn't very long.
i think that we're missing out on a chance of stabilizing the club for good, instead we'l probably be revisiting this whole thing again in the future.
diedpretty
Well-known member
:crazy
@Yossarian said:
Gary_Bakerloo
New member
@hammertime said:
I disagree with these comments.
The issue for Wests Tigers was not that "leagues clubs" were running the show, but rather the relationship between the stakeholders, two of which _happened to be leagues clubs_, had deteriorated to a point such that the board was stuck in a permanent impasse and could not move forward.
Agreed, football clubs (ie: WSRLFC), should not be running multi million dollar businesses. However, I think leagues clubs do know a thing or two about running a business.
Harvey
Well-known member
@Gary Bakerloo said:
Yes, the tigers will be making a huge profit soon on the basis of the business plan to put a pokie in front of every game seat at home games.
@diedpretty said:
It's still a long way shy of 75%. I also wonder if anyone has calculated how much members and fans contribute annually. We should really be seeking to ensure the club is viable without pokie revenue.
The goal of the current board of the Wests Tigers is for the Wests Tigers to become self sufficient..so as not to rely on shareholder funding to cover operating losses…..Last financial year Wests Tigers came closer to that goal than any other year in it's history...this included signing the richest front of jersey sponsorship we have ever had...Memberships despite the slow start now sit over 11K the best since 2011...
This should continue to be the way forward......
This should continue to be the way forward......
tigermac88
New member
@Geo. said:
I agree geo but the question needs to be asked would membership be so high or would our jersey sponsorship have come about if Balmain were thrown out without any effort to keep them involved in the JV?
Absolutely it's a reasonable goal to aim for WT covering operating costs. But thats totally different to investment. Covering operating costs doesn't move your club forward and build infrastructure such as League Acadamys/excellence centres. Clubs will require leagues clubs or personal benefactors going forward or those that don't will wither and die.
I don't understand people's issues with Leagues Club owning the club. The very reason clubs such as Wests Ashfield were formed were to support rugby league for their region. As they've grown so has their charter to provide benefits to members and the community but it will be written into their mission statement or constitution that supporting rugby league is a key reason for the clubs existence.
Private benefactors are a lot more fickle as are their fortunes. I'll take a successful club/s over a successful person anyday as the owner of the club.
I don't understand people's issues with Leagues Club owning the club. The very reason clubs such as Wests Ashfield were formed were to support rugby league for their region. As they've grown so has their charter to provide benefits to members and the community but it will be written into their mission statement or constitution that supporting rugby league is a key reason for the clubs existence.
Private benefactors are a lot more fickle as are their fortunes. I'll take a successful club/s over a successful person anyday as the owner of the club.
Black_n_White
New member
@Geo. said:
While I whole heartedly agree with the models we are striving for in self sufficiency, there is a marked difference between self sufficient and prospering. There is without a doubt a vast difference between our facilities and the top clubs, something which needs to be addressed not only as soon as possible but also with quite a bit of investment capital.
I sound as though I am dogging Balmain here, but lets say we become self sufficient next yr, our football department doesnt need a cent from either Wests or Balmain…. does that mean we dont need a centre for excellence anymore? Better training facilities than Concord? The money value being touted around for a COE was in the $10M ballpark, Balmain may need to front the $2.5M for their 25% Wests $7.5M. Balmain couldnt pay $800k a year... That puts us 4+ yrs away on that time frame. Thats not good enough. Facilities can cost you players in the market, no doubt about it.
Self sufficiency should be the take off point for grander things, the platform from which further investment can be better funnelled. It can not and should not be allowed to be a means of barely surviving.
Also on the biggest front of jersey sponsorship... every new sponsorship deal should be bigger than the last, thats the basics of inflation. Sounds nice, but it really means nothing, the biggest for us is still likely less than the majority of other clubs.
Cosimo_Zaretti
New member
It's smart play by Wests. They extend a deadline on a debt they'll never collect anyway and come away with a PR win. Wests maintains its control of Wests Tigers and holds onto it's inner west fan base.
@Cosimo_Zaretti said:
Exactly what it is and had to be in many ways. I strongly believe both sides want the spirt of the JV to endure. The power shift will mean going forward Wests will be the old Balmain and Balmain the old Wests. I don't think Wests want the club without Balmain.
Good on Wests for honouring they're commitment in 2000\. They could have opted for full control and insisted on going back to Wests Magpies …. But thankfully they can see that going back is not an option. Let's hope Balmain can continue to contribute and both foundation clubs can continue they're existence through Wests Tigers.
Black_n_White
New member
@Black'n'White said:
quoting my own post, but if you just saw on the Footy show, Gould unveiled Panthers $21M Centre Of Excellence…. and they already owned the land. Sustainable means sweet FA.
Shows you how far we are behind the pack.
If you have a plan and Wests Tigers do regarding centre of excellence it's only a matter of time. Yes we are behind the pack in regards to facilities but it's not the end of the world.
We will get there its not about the bricks n mortar but the quality of personnel that operate within them
We will get there its not about the bricks n mortar but the quality of personnel that operate within them
Yes I applaud Wests Group if it occurs. As a few others have stated why would you want Wests Group to have 100% control of a team that was a merged entity and risk losing Balmain supporters/sponsors/juniors. It's not like the 25% ownership will be anything other than show, as Wests will have full control and any change they want to make will always be 'passed by a board'. A 10 year 'deadline' is very smart allowing more time for current ex-Balmain sponsors, supporters to lose that connection to the club.
If they ditch Balmain completely what's to stop another club say the Roosters/Souths from stepping in and funding the Balmain junior league. If Balmain is no longer an active member of the Wests Tigers (apart from the token Tiger) I and I would imagine a few others will be lost as supporters as Balmain was my passion. It will be much like what the Super League days did to a lot of old supporters, people just stop following and tune in to Origin and Finals games only.
Wests owning the club 100% will not progress the team in anyway in my opinion! With the impending stadium changes, I could not imagine Wests group would risk alienating more supporters especiallywhen they are already going to have to manage the outcry when Campbelltown and Leichhardt are left with 1-2 games per year starting as early as next year.
If they ditch Balmain completely what's to stop another club say the Roosters/Souths from stepping in and funding the Balmain junior league. If Balmain is no longer an active member of the Wests Tigers (apart from the token Tiger) I and I would imagine a few others will be lost as supporters as Balmain was my passion. It will be much like what the Super League days did to a lot of old supporters, people just stop following and tune in to Origin and Finals games only.
Wests owning the club 100% will not progress the team in anyway in my opinion! With the impending stadium changes, I could not imagine Wests group would risk alienating more supporters especiallywhen they are already going to have to manage the outcry when Campbelltown and Leichhardt are left with 1-2 games per year starting as early as next year.
