Have we been sold?

[absentee]

Very interesting times ahead.

[Bourbon Rat]

Melbourne Storm's chief executive in waiting Mark Evans says rugby league does not have to fight with the AFL in Victoria and instead all sport should be trying to attract people away from other leisure pursuits.

Tell him he's dreamin'

In most markets, rugby league and rugby union are not really competitors.

JOKE RIGHT
Union in the UK has been hell bent on kneecapping League every blood chance it gets

[Go Storm]

Melbourne Storm's chief executive in waiting Mark Evans says rugby league does not have to fight with the AFL in Victoria and instead all sport should be trying to attract people away from other leisure pursuits.

Tell him he's dreamin'

In most markets, rugby league and rugby union are not really competitors.

JOKE RIGHT
Union in the UK has been hell bent on kneecapping League every blood chance it gets

I thought the same thing on both quotes. Whilst Demitriou and McGuire have the media at their beck and call League is in a constant battle with the AFL, and Union for that matter.
The club thrives on sponsorship dollars, and whilst anyone with deep enough pockets is emptying them out on AFL clubs and players very little is coming our way.
Perhaps he's paying lip service to the AFL until he takes the helm proper??

I can't understand these Englishmen (Dave Smith and now Mark Evans) getting the top jobs in our game. Surely an Aussie, and a Victorian Aussie, would be much more in tune with how the average Victorian punter thinks, acts, watches sport and spends his money??

Anyway, welcome aboard, and I hope he and the new owners do a top job of maintaining our success both on and off the field.

[LESStar58]

If storm are relocated I will never watch a game of rugby league again.

[LESStar58]

Melbourne Storm's chief executive in waiting Mark Evans says rugby league does not have to fight with the AFL in Victoria and instead all sport should be trying to attract people away from other leisure pursuits.

Tell him he's dreamin'

In most markets, rugby league and rugby union are not really competitors.

JOKE RIGHT
Union in the UK has been hell bent on kneecapping League every blood chance it gets

Union in Australia, however, is a joke. Raa raa is not a threat to rugby league. Period.

Remember how apparently the Rabble were going to take Storms supporters because the latter are a means to an end a now there was a "real" rugby team.

Hows that working out for them?

[Woody]

If storm are relocated I will never watch a game of rugby league again.

I dont think you`re on your own there Lesstar. If the NRL were stupid enough to allow Storm to relocate ( or fold in the manner of the Reds, Rams and numerous incarnations of Gold Coast) they may as well take the N out of NRL and sit back and which the game disappear into oblivion in a couple of states. I doubt whether anyone outside of NSW and Queensland would take the game seriously enough to bother setting up another team if that occured

[Mattpoet]

I agree, we are the MELBOURNE Storm, that's where our identity lies, they'd better respect that and keep us here!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Go Storm]

Where'd the relocation talk come from? Won't happen. The NRL need Melbourne. The ARLC are a lot smarter than those dickhead media types in NSW

[Ice]

If storm are relocated I will never watch a game of rugby league again.

This. That said i can't see it happening. The Storm have found their niche in Melbourne and we're only growing in every aspect in regards crowds, memberships, revenue etc and going by what this bloke did with the Harlequins it looks like he knows what he's doing in maintaining and improving those areas. As we know there are several would be clubs who are desperate to become one of or the next expansion team so i'm sure that it will be one or more of those to enter as opposed to relocating a team.

One thing i am worried about though is how much they're going to contribute in regards to resources/operating costs for the football department. While i dislike News as much as the next person and am glad they're finally out, in that respect they always tipped in a fair bit which has helped us remain successful on field.

I just hope this mob don't come in and cut costs drastically solely to post a profit. While i understand that's the name of the game, it shouldn't be at the expense of the areas that have made us so successful. From all reports Bellyache had discussions with the consortium when he was weighing up whether to stay or not so hopefully one of the reasons he decided to re-sign was on the proviso he still received the same or similar resources that he receives now.

[stormy]

the new owners won`t want to turn a CHAMPION CLUB into an eels type outfit..

[Go Storm]

the new owners won`t want to turn a CHAMPION CLUB into an eels type outfit..

Not deliberately anyway. But as said above if its more about profit than passion then it could be difficult to attract quality players and coaches in the future.

[MENACING*STORM]

Just an update

Source: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/nrl/m ... 6645665011
(Open up the page using 'Incognito' mode in Google Chrome to circumvent HS paywall)

Melbourne Storm sale a done deal

THE sale of Melbourne Storm has moved from probable to definite, with an official announcement expected next week.

It's believed incoming chief executive Mark Evans has returned to Melbourne from London to finalise the deal for the consortium he's fronting. It will take control of the club.

The group of well-heeled businessmen, thought to be as few as four, with the potential to expand, will take over the Storm NRL licence from News Limited, publisher of the Herald Sun.

They boast a wealth of experience in sports administration, particularly Evans, a long-time chief executive of English rugby club Harlequins.

Evans has spent a lot of time in Melbourne exploring Storm's potential, while negotiations have been held since the group first flagged its interest in the club last November. It's believed the final hurdles have been cleared and the official handover is imminent, if it hasn't already happened.

The sale figure is confidential but the new owners will have immediate access to more than $20 million in NRL funding, guaranteed to the club when News withdrew as part-owner of the competition.

Evans will take over from current Storm boss Ron Gauci, who was given five years to help News Limited make the club viable for sale. He's achieved that in less than three.

It's unlikely there will be any other major administrative changes.

[stormy]

I will hate to see Ron Gauci leave Storm.I am sure he will be snapped up by a rival club.

[LESStar58]

I will hate to see Ron Gauci leave Storm.I am sure he will be snapped up by a rival club.

Bulldogs wanted Frank ponissi to take over from Greenberg....

[Mattpoet]

if this is to be his last home game in charge, let him front the fans and receive the applause he deserves