Hawaiian bid for Super franchise

The consortium looking to buy the Warriors is also planning to have a Super Rugby team based in Hawaii.

Richard Fale, who is fronting a group which includes current and former NFL players, has revealed their initial plan has always been to bring professional rugby to the USA’s 50th state.

The move into league was sparked when it became apparent that Eric Watson was interested in selling the Warriors, but Fale says the goal to own a Super Rugby team is alive.

‘‘We have been looking at the acquisition of a Super Rugby franchise. An expansion franchise down the road,’’ Fale said.

‘‘It would be a Pacific Islandbased franchise that we would operate out of Hawaii.

‘‘That was actually our initial idea, because Sanzaar was talking about expansion, they were adding Japan and Argentina.

‘‘Then they were talking about the next steps being the United 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 does take over the Warriors, he says it still has 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 PHIL GIFFORD REPORTS 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 from Fale to as dismiss comments the stuff of pipe pB6

It would be a Pacific Islandbased franchise that we would operate out of Hawaii. Richard Fale, left

dreams, but he has the back up what he says.

His consortium wants to be involved in running professional sporting teams. Ideally, it’d like to have an NFL team. While it doesn’t have the budget for that, it can be a major player 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 clout to 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.’’

Hawaii has a population of 1.4 million and because the state is in a closer time zone to this part of the world than to mainland America, Fale believes 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.

‘‘So there are things that are much more attractive of having Hawaii function around an Australasian competition, than it would be around a US mainland competition.’’