And if that private owner decides to sell the licence to a WA businessman for a quick profit? I can imagine our ol' mate Benny doing something like that. Using his profile to secure the licence, then selling 5 minutes later. Resulting in the Perth Pirates taking our place.
I also follow the NFL and it must be heartbreaking for cities/regions to lose their teams to another location and have them renamed. What is worse is when your team tanks for it's last couple of years, in your town, so it can hit the ground running in it's new location, with higher picks/better players, like the Raiders just did. So fans go to the games, watch their teams lose, then get to say goodbye.