Widnes, Halifax and Barrow meet Super League deadline

[TRF_Cymro]

Widnes, Halifax and Barrow have all met the deadline to submit bids for a three-year Super League licence.

The trio are competing for a place in Super League starting from 2012.

The RFL have made it clear that at least one Championship club will be awarded a Super League licence, provided they meet certain criteria.

The criteria for approval for a Super League Licence include a stadium capacity of at least 10,000 and a turnover of at least £1m.

Featherstone Rovers and Batley, who had also been in contention, elected not to submit an application.

Widnes beat the snow to meet Friday's deadline by driving over the Pennines to submit their bid to the Rugby Football League in an Eddie Stobart truck.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/9255910.stm​

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Aha, that's dedication that is.

How do they work out who gets the franchise? Turn over? Attendance? A play-off system? Or just draw a name out of a hat?

 

[Teh Mite]

[strike]Combination of the above[/strike] Sepp Blatter advises them

 

[TRF_Cymro]

A better voting system will be in place, for me like to see Widnes get the license.

 

[Saints1]

Aha, that's dedication that is.

How do they work out who gets the franchise? Turn over? Attendance? A play-off system? Or just draw a name out of a hat?

There is a set list of criteria to adhere to.

Personally I feel Widnes are almost certainties to get a license and with the problems going on at Crusaders I think both Barrow and Halifax will be confident as well. I'd like to see all three of them in myself.

 

[Teh Mite]

It's catch 22: Kick out Crusaders because of their problems and the games expansion is set back 5 years as it becomes once again insular to the heartlands. Allow them to remain in place and there's a team who can't even sustain themselves in Super League.

 

[Saints1]

It is, but my stance on the Welsh Crusaders is this:

Demote them (should have been done 2 weeks ago) and get them to start over in a permanent home with a permanent. If the Welsh game is to succeed then they can apply again in 6 years and take it from there.

 

[Teh Mite]

There's your problem mate: The one "successful" (I'll use that world loosely) expansion that RL has had in the past bazillion years outside of the M62 corridor would be effectively killed off (London would have died a death long ago of Quins didn't keep them like a pet leper) and the game continues to be ignored outside that area.

Warriors/Crusaders/Whatever their new name is won't last 6 years without top flight rugby. The Magners league teams struggle for crowds in the HEC around there - And Union is the national sport in Wales!

 

[Saints1]

I'm going to strongly disagree with Harlequins saving the RL team. I was looking at some stats the other day and their crowds have gradually decreased year on year since the inaugural season. Alternating homes they might have been but the London Broncos were doing just fine without Harelquins. The most successful expansion in the history of Super League is Catalans. I would personally let Quins RL drop down a division as well as Crusaders, and Salford. Both of their crowds are utter rubbish.

As for the Crusaders, if they can't sustain an existence in the lower league how are they going to do it a division higher? I know what you're saying, and a big part of me agrees. But they need to sustain ANY existence at the moment. They need to build and attack it again, but only in 6 years. If the Crusaders aren't axed from Super League next year it shows are much the RFL will pander to clubs over their new expansions - because that's exactly why Widnes weren't given a franchise in 2007.

I am all in favour of expansions when the time is right. To me, we got it spot in with the Catalans but successful franchises outside of the heartlands (which the South of France is, actually) and virtually everything else apart from London has been a disaster. If the 14 right clubs for the league involve teams just along that M62 corridor, then so be it. I'd rather have 14 heartland teams that are for the benefit of the competition than 12 heartland teams and 2 expansion teams that aren't even close to drawing in the big crowds.

If we admitted Widnes, Halifax and Barrow they would get better crowds than the teams they'd be replacing. Those three teams are desperate for a Super League team. Especially Barrow - Cumbria hasn't had a Super League team since Workington in 1996. Incidentally, that was almost a disaster as well.....