Hawaiian Super Rugby plan unveiled by Fale
States, so we thought let’s check this out.’’
The current Super Rugby broadcasting deal runs out at the end of 2020, but negotiations for a new deal are likely to begin within the next 12 months.
Even if Fale’s group do take over the Warriors, he says they still have the financial muscle and resources to also run a Super Rugby team in a new market.
‘‘They can’t expand until the new broadcasting deal begins, so we’re still working and talking about that,’’ he said.
‘‘We’re in a position where we could make both happen.
‘‘There are some challenges with Super Rugby, because the question of title is a big issue.
‘‘You can’t ask guys to put in $50 million to launch the team and then they can yank the licence from you like they did to the Western Force.
‘‘Then that would be $50 million down the drain. So those are some challenges where we have to gain clarity.
‘‘The Melbourne Rebels are a privately owned team and even they were in danger of being yanked.’’ It’s easy to dismiss comments from Fale as the stuff of pipe dreams, but he has the clout to back up what he says.
His consortium want to be involved in running professional sporting teams. Ideally, they’d like to have an NFL gridiron team. While they don’t have the budget for that, they can be major players in other oval-ball sports.
‘‘For the Carolina Panthers, the starting price is $2.2 billion and could sell for over $3 billion,’’ Fale said.
‘‘We don’t have the money to play in that arena, each of our guys can put in $5-10 million.
‘‘So while we can’t have an impact when it comes to the NFL, we can when it comes to rugby league or rugby union.’’
Fale can see the strengths of both rugby codes, feeling league could take off in mainland America, while rugby union could work in Hawaii.
‘‘What drove our interest in rugby union is that it’s only been professional since 1996,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s the same age that the NFL was in 1941 and look how far the NFL has come.
‘‘Rugby union is way bigger than the NFL if you count fans and the numbers that play it.
‘‘Rugby league has massive potential for growth, we can see it as an easier product for Americans to engage in and consume.
‘‘There’s constant excitement and people love the collisions, so the potential for the US market is definitely there and we see a lot of opportunity for growth.’’
There are no professional sporting teams in Hawaii. From 1961 to 1987, the Hawaii Islanders were a Triple-A baseball team (the highest level of minor league baseball) who competed in the Pacific Coast League and once had legends Barry Bonds and STUFF Tony Gwynn play for them.
But the franchise ran into financial problems and was moved to Colorado Springs.
Hawaii has a population of 1.4 million and Fale believes that, as the state is in a closer time zone to this part of the world than to mainland America, it works to be in Super Rugby.
‘‘Travel is an issue, but the culture around travel in New Zealand in Australia is very different,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s a lot easier in rugby union than it is around rugby league and there seems to be a lot more willingness to go to different places.
‘‘You don’t find that enthusiasm with other sports in the United States and it’s also a timeline thing.
‘‘Because by the time you’re playing your game in Hawaii, everyone on the East Coast, which is a massive market, has already gone to sleep, so that’s a big problem.
‘‘Timeline wise, Hawaii is much more aligned with the Australian and New Zealand markets.’’
‘ Rugby union is way bigger than the NFL if you count fans and the numbers that play it.’