The Brisbane Tigers Rugby League Football Club have announced its intentions to bid for the 18th NRL licence.
The NRL bid will leverage our great club’s 90-year-old history of legendary players and coaches, premierships and Queensland spirit to become the go-to team of the state’s fastest growing region.
Continue reading for more information about why the southern Brisbane, Logan and Ipswich regions are ready for the next NRL and NRLW franchise.
Why does Brisbane need a third NRL team?
The Dolphins have clearly demonstrated the that north of Brisbane can strongly support a second Brisbane team.
Over the next 10 years, three of the fastest growing areas in Australia will be the Gold Coast, Logan and Ipswich.
The Logan and Ipswich areas are projected to grow during this 10-year period by approximately 275,000 residents.
We believe the Brisbane Tigers can provide a similar commercial stimulus in the south-west corridor that takes in the Logan and Ipswich regions.
Brisbane Tigers also already have one of the best junior nurseries and pathways in Australia, with affiliated clubs and schools spread across the southside of Brisbane and the Logan – Ipswich corridor.
Last but not least, south-east Queensland has proven to be the strongest NRL region for game day attendance, broadcast ratings and corporate support.
In fact, south-east Queensland fans are craving more high-quality rugby league with our four existing Queensland based teams still leaving our fans wanting more.
Why should the NRL consider a third Brisbane team?
With the strong attendance and audience figures we are seeing the Dolphins achieve in their debut year, we believe the Brisbane Tigers can provide a similar stimulus in the south-west corridor that takes in the Logan and Ipswich regions.
Queensland teams are also, on average, the most-attended NRL home games in 2023 so far, a trend that has been consistent over recent years.
The NRL’s Magic Round has also become one of the most popular events on Australia’s sporting calendar since its inception in 2019, with this year being completely sold-out.
As Brisbane steadily builds to the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the appetite for sporting entertainment and venues that showcase incredible homegrown athletic talent is only going to grow.
Why should the Brisbane Tigers-backed bid be the next Queensland NRL team?
The Brisbane Tigers’ NRL bid is backed by a strong balance sheet, assets and financial forecast, comparable with the Brisbane Broncos and Dolphins.
Like the Dolphins, we already have strong and growing pathways south of the Brisbane River with 14 affiliated rugby league clubs and school programs.
From Under Five’s juniors teams to our Queensland Rugby League Hostplus Cup team, we have established roots at all levels in our wide-reaching community.
Brisbane Tigers will build upon our programs that already empower Queensland grassroots footy clubs and thousands of local players to dream big and offer unique fan experiences with the game we love.
If successful in becoming the 18th NRL team, our goal is to be the go-to club for sports fans on Brisbane’s southside, western corridor as well as throughout Australia and Pacific regions, particularly the millions of casual fans who do not support the Broncos, Dolphins or Titans.
The Brisbane Tigers is an established and iconic rugby league club in Queensland, and we strongly believe the Dolphins’ similar standing has significantly contributed to their early NRL success both on and off the field.
How will you build a new fan base without negatively impacting other NRL teams?
There are 987,119 people living north of the Brisbane River in Greater Brisbane, but almost 1.6 million living south of the Brisbane River.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, over the next 10 years, three of the fastest growing areas in Australia will be the Gold Coast, Logan and Ipswich.
We will also be able to offer unique fan experiences for the forecast growing population in these regions as well as national and international rugby league fans.
With their recent expansion into Springfield, the Brisbane Tigers will also aim to compete with the Brisbane Lions and the AFL for players and fans across the southern Brisbane regions.
What would your NRL team be called?
As the West Tigers already hold an NRL and NRLW licence, we are not looking to become the second ‘Tigers’ team in National Rugby League competitions.
We are not yet at the stage where our bid has considered the name of our potential NRL and NRLW team.
However, whatever our name may be, the Brisbane Tigers’ NRL bid is more than ready to once again prove that Queenslanders want another team to cheer on to premiership glory in exciting new ways.
Do the Brisbane Tigers already have NRL-standard facilities, and where will NRL home games be played?
The new facilities at Totally Workwear Stadium are the perfect foundations for our bold and innovative bid to become the NRL’s next franchise and the fifth Queensland team.
Our Queensland Cup sides including the Hostplus Cup, Hastings Deering Colts, BMD Premiership and many other Suzuki Brisbane Tigers teams train, prepare and play at our home den, Totally Workwear Stadium.
The redeveloped stadium now provides an even better facility for Queensland rugby league matches and is regularly used by NRL teams for training when playing in Brisbane such as the recent Magic Round, as well as Queensland Maroons and Australian Kangaroos.
Our new change rooms and gymnasium are female-participant compliant and will encourage more women to play rugby league.
Suncorp Stadium also has the capacity to support another NRL team. This year’s 27 rounds of the regular season will see nine weekends where no game is played at Suncorp.
Suncorp Stadium will of course be considered as an NRL game-day venue for our team, but we are open to considering other appropriate stadiums across the Greater Brisbane area.
Why have you not been involved in any NRL bid discussions for the 18th team until this week?
We waited until 17 May to publicly announce our bid as we have been busy fulfilling the major initiatives outlined in our 17th NRL team bid, to put our best foot forward for the new licence submission.
The Brisbane Tigers Rugby League Football Club are now in our strongest ever position to be the next NRL team and franchise, and we look forward to working with the NRL and other stakeholders to make this a rewarding reality for Brisbane, Queensland, the NRL and all rugby league fans.
Is there enough playing talent for an 18th NRL team?
You just have to look at the players in contention for this year’s State of Origin series, from Cameron Munster, Patrick Carrigan and Cody Walker, to see how fruitful our home region in south-east Queensland’s rugby league pathways are in producing NRL-ready players.
We have strong Hostplus Cup and Hastings Deering Colts squads that feature players who may well be the next stars of the NRL, and several Tigers from our BMD Premiership team will feature in the 2023 NRLW season.
Who will be your first marquee player, and coach?
While that is an exciting question, and one of the first things that rugby league fans will start thinking about, it is too early in our bid process to discuss potential players or coaches.
Until the NRL can define who and what they are looking for in terms of timeline and criteria for the next franchise licence, we cannot provide further details regarding our bid at this time.
A recorded live-stream of the Brisbane Tigers’ NRL bid announcement and opening of Totally Workwear Stadium is now available on Tigertv.net
Read the full Brisbane Tigers NRL 18th Team Bid Announcement media release here.
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