Leigh Centurions • Re: IMG
WYSIWYG2 wrote:
It won't matter what you do. IMG will want franchises for big city teams through Britain. They won't want small town teams. Over the 12 year period they will have a top league of franchised teams. The heartlands will be the feeder teams. The project is being run by an Aussie and he will implement the Aussie model. IMG will target a fresh young audience of new spectators. IMG will want the game played in big cities mainly in modern stadiums before 20,000 plus crowds. Initially, IMG will tart it up so you think your club has a chance but the carrot will move farther and farther away during the 12 year period. London, Newcastle, Hull, Leeds, Saints, Wiggin are safe. Doubt anyone else will be safe unless they merge.
Ultimately York, Newcastle, London and Cornwall are potential areas of growth. For now the Super League has lost a French Derby and gained 8 North West Derbies (pending todays result). The point I am making is that Super League regulars like Wakefield and Castleford have sub-standard Stadiums and the in the case of the slopey, postage stamp Jungle, will need to invest considerable sums to bring themselves to the required standard. Leigh by contrast can gain considerable number of points by creating a few more teams and an Academy - Yearly cost £250-350K. New Stadia cost £ Millions.
Derek forecasts average gates at the LSV at 7000 - 8000 for the 2023 if in Super League. That puts Leigh above Salford, Wakefield, Huddersfield. Grading systems are about putting ticks in boxes and it is possible that Leigh may be able to invest enough to tick the relevant boxes. Castleford, Wakefield and Bradford will be left with huge mountains to climb. The current Odsal proposal is about £50 Million, good luck raising that and paying off the RFL loan.
Statistics: Posted by Septimius Severus — Sun Oct 02, 2022 1:45 pm