The chairman of the Western Bears’ push to join the NRL claimed he was “blindsided” by the bid’s rejection.
Peter Cumins, the executive deputy chair of Cash Converters and boss of the Western Bears bid, said he was delivered the news in a “polite” phone call from Andrew Abdo.
Cumins said he was still holding meetings with prospective staff and coaches when they were informed.
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“This really did come from left field, definitely a blindside,” he told SEN on Thursday morning.
The ARLC’s rejection was due to a decision not to pat a multi-million dollar license fee, but Cumins said doing so would be “completely unreasonable”.
The Western Bears consortium was told their bid had been rejected in a phonecall from Andrew Abdo. Cameron Spencer via Getty Images
He said a licence fee had only been a part of “informal” discussions, and claimed the NRL wanted between $15-$20 million on top of the $30 million just to get the club up and running.
“No other club paid one, including the Dolphins … (who are) in a better position to afford one,” he said.
“In our view, we brought a significant commercial and whole-of-game benefit to the NRL … new eyeballs, new members, spectators, sponsors, and the reintroduction of a foundation club.
“To load us up with a very significant licence fee … we felt was completely unreasonable,” he said.
On Wednesday, Cumins told The Sydney Morning Herald his organisation’s bid was “excellent” and felt he had “spent a lot of money for nothing”.
“We’re a start-up in an AFL state, so our start-up costs are massive. There’s a $16 million burn before you even kick a football. We’re bringing new eyeballs to the game to help with negotiating broadcast rights, new sponsorship dollars because we’re not competing with east coast sponsors.
“None of it commercially made any sense [to offer a substantial licence fee], which is why we elected not to.”
The fall of the Western Bears won’t put an end to the resurgence of the North Sydney Bears though, with V’landys confirming he won’t ditch the Bears brand.
With the NRL and ARLC now in negotiations with the Western Australian government, it’s unlikely any team will be named the Western Bears or Perth Bears considering the trademarks have been taken.
Cumins meanwhile hasn’t given up hope of an 11th-hour backflip.
“We’re all rugby league people and this was never about millions of bucks,” he said.
“I’m still a rugby league diehard from Perth and Cash Converters has poured millions of dollars into the grassroots game over many years.
“I still want to see a Perth team. I want it to be successful. I’m not going to be an obstacle. We’re still there if they want us.”
