Up, up Cronulla: Sharks to become Sydney's richest club
Australian rugby league fans, answer me this: how often do you read a positive news story about our great game?
How often do you see a mainstream newspaper mention the community work that league players do, compared with news about sackings, run-ins with the law or troubles with ASADA? How often have you been told by anyone other than your chosen club itself about the membership growth they’ve enjoyed, compared with news that it’s on the verge of going broke, or relocating to the Central Coast? In fact, consider this: when was the last time you heard a journalist from one of Australia’s major media organisations refer to rugby league as “The Greatest Game of All?”
Don’t get me wrong, genuine rugby league promotion happens. The big-wigs in the media know how to disguise themselves as nothing but honest, down-to-earth footy fans like you or I and, to be fair, it’s not their job to give the NRL free Public Relations. But over time the most successful journalists have learned that it’s public outrage, not warm fuzzy feelings that sell more papers – and the result? A growing culture of negativity, where every NRL decision is waiting to be complained about, every video ref replay is an unnecessary waste of time and where no player is ever considered a role model until they say something controversial on social media. We’ve come to know the game as one which, no longer part-owned by a media company, is played by thugs and run by bankers who don’t quite understand it.
As a fan I think it gets a little bit much sometimes; it’s easy to stop taking any of it too seriously. I sometimes feel the need for a good news story here and there, just to prove that the future of my game, or my club is not all doom and gloom. So after moving away from Sydney’s major news channels and onto NRL and club-run websites, I came across something that hasn’t had a lot of coverage, yet probably deserves it: the bright financial future of the Cronulla Sharks.
Since 2009, when the infamous Four Corners report about a 2002 sexual assault surfaced, the Sharks have struggled both on and off the field – just two finals appearances and significant bad press resulting in the loss of sponsorships and portrayed likelihood of bankruptcy, elimination from the NRL or relocation to Perth, Adelaide or the Central Coast.
These fears were at an all-time high in early 2013 when the Sutherland Shire club was dragged into the ongoing ASADA investigations – a process that has most recently resulted in the pending suspension of head coach Shane Flanagan and a hefty fine of $1 million to the NRL.
As any of the Sharks faithful will tell you, all of this adds up to one thing: a media goldmine. While it’s understandable that the events themselves have been reported extensively, former Sharks Chairman Glen Coleman put it best in April 2013: “rumours of the death of our club have been greatly exaggerated!” The fear-mongering tactics and general exaggeration present throughout Sydney’s papers have not only been unnecessary, but have only worsened an already-bad situation, while in the meantime, a lot of the positive news surrounding the club has often been downplayed – or gone unreported altogether. I might do my part to change that.
Having always been an asset-rich organisation, the Cronulla Sharks and Sharkies Leagues Club negotiated a $300m land development agreement last year, which was finally approved in August. The agreement secures at least $28m in property sales to the sharks, in addition to increased revenue earned from a newly developed leagues club and the advantages of hosting NRL matches in a modern, heavily-populated area.
With this in itself enough to pay the club’s outstanding debts and secure both its immediate and long-term financial future, the news on Monday about the overwhelming level of interest in the property was another good news story for a club that has had a difficult five years. Over $100m of property on offer in the development’s first release was sold immediately, with over 95% of buyers coming from local areas. One observer keeping a close eye on the development was NRL skipper Paul Gallen, who has expressed an interest in investing in the area himself.
As construction gets underway for a Stage One completion by the end of 2015, the future of the Cronulla Sutherland District Rugby League Football Club is looking brighter by the day, meaning fans can finally begin to refocus on the team’s on-field performances. That can only be a good thing for all supporters of The Greatest Game of All.
