It wouldn't be.

If the finances are in place then it wont fail. The RFL just need to make sure that they are and have watertight guarantees.

Wrong , lots of businesses , especially sport based businesses have had finance in place and have failed

£ 10 million in cash would be about right

Because it would ruin the RFL sponsored expansion plan. And the fifteen years apart bit - would mean that, after another fifteen years the game still can't plant a team in Paris. It just wouldn't look good for that particular area of the RFL's strategy.

Simple really , if the argument is that Paris joining SL would be a massive possitive to the sport , much more than Widnes joining SL

Then surely the failure of such a high profile venture would be a massive blow to the sport if it failed

So , Money up front , no big ' promises ' , no fancy bull business plans , if they are so bloody clever and good at running a sports business as has been posted on here then they should be confident enough to stump up the cash

it wouldnt look good, but it wouldnt be disastrous,

there will at some point in the future be clubs that fail, it happens unfortunately

it would be a blow, but not one that we need to avoid at all costs, we dont lose more trying and failing than not trying at all

and no club is going to pay year 6 costs before receiving year one income

If they are backed by a multi millionaire, follow the Stade Francais model and the RFL get guarantees and some sort of a bond then they wont fail. That is what I am talking about when I say finance and guarantees. Take the extreme example of £10 million then they could operate at a loss for years before they even come close to going out of business.

All of the expansion clubs that have failed have failed because they werent well funded in the first place. This meant they couldnt afford to develop the club or the game in the area properly or even stay in business for long enough to build. A well funded club, with funding for say 5 years, with money to develop the club and the game as well as build a good team is an entirely different prospect. No expansion club has ever had this before and I am not saying that Paris has. However if they have then the RFL would be stupid to say no.

Why not , all that would tell me is they are not confident of success

Spot on, but there is no reason why we could not have them and Widnes in next time around. Currently though Toulouse are in with a good shout if they can win a final, they got a huge crowd for the international.

Why is that ' extreme ' ? , it is about half of the money required to run a club in paris for 6 years , they would have to take another 10 million over that time to break even


Or are you saying that a city the size of London cannot support one SL club ?

to save people a lot of headaches it would be easier if widnes and leigh fans would stop trolling threads on SL expansion to include toulose and paris.

really you want unbiased opinions on this matter.

New sports businesses take 5 years to break even, so it's only prudent to put up enough to cover 5 years' expenses. That should be a given.

If ever

Biased they may be , but they do actually have some base on fact , unlike the garbage you dish out

i just want whats best for the game of RL.

thank god richard lewis isnt running the future of the game based on the views of the trolls on here.

RL in england would always remain a minority sport.

but if you think leigh can add more to SL than a Paris Stade Francaise bid or toulose, then perhaps you should apply for his job !

Last time I checked, this was a thread about licensing, not expansion.


Translation: really you want expansion-biased opinions on this matter.


There's a difference between wanting what's best and knowing what's best.


Now who's trolling? Your two posts had nothing but shots at the people who hold a different opinion to you hoping for a bite. That's trolling.

If you feel the opinions of those who oppose the current system aren't worth listening two, then why should yours be?

When do you reckon Mr Lewis will have made RL a majority sport by? 2018? 2020? 2080 if we cryogenically freeze him?

When Halifax get their stand finished they can shoulder some of the blame and take the pressure of Widnes and Leigh.

lewis is taking the hard decisions now which will pay off down the track

the way RL in france has been revived again after it was written off is one particular example

after the failure of PSG all people said was weve tried france it wont work

he didnt listen and put Les Cats in SL with a 3 year immunity from relegation and look at them now

now we are looking at maybe 2 or 3 French SL sides.

id say thats a stunning turn around

hes given Celtic Crusaders a chance when people said its failed in wales too.

his vision is one the game shouldve had 100 years ago and hes got the guts to stick with it

why is is the same people that dislike the franchising system are the same people who are fans of clubs that have missed out?

or are the same people that take a negative slant on expansion clubs?

i see a pattern here!

richard lewis is doing whats best for RL. unlike the small minded on here that dont care about that, just their little club which has failed in over a century to establish itself

ill bet once widnes replace wakey in SL in a few years time widnes fans will have an ambivalent position towards expansion clubs whilst it will be Wakey fans turn to take up the aggrieved little club mantle.

Maybe they should merge clubs. Worked in Australia.

What? How much time do you think we've got?