WA’s bid to get NRL team Western Bears off ground to cost tens of millions with grass roots support and centre

WA’s bid to secure the Western Bears in the National Rugby League competition has been revealed, with Roger Cook offering $35 million in local support for growth in the State. The offer, which is set to be rejected this week as the NRL looks to focus on upcoming broadcasting negotiations, included a high-performance rugby centre at a $20 million sports precinct in Malaga. It also included a five-year $35 million funding plan to establish and deliver league programs for boys and girls across WA, as well as gameday support such as public transport that is offered to other codes. But with the deal facing the axe after reports emerged late last week that the NRL was going to drop ambitions for a western expansion, Mr Cook aired a series of grievances against the east coast based sporting competition. It comes ahead of two potentially now awkward NRL games in Perth this weekend. Mr Cook, a die hard rugby fan himself, said the NRL needed to realise he was their best chance of getting a deal done. “Western Australia has never had a premier more supportive of bringing NRL to our great State — and may not again,” he said. “It is a shame the NRL can’t see the opportunity in front of it. “I love rugby league but my first responsibility is to do what’s right for WA. “The strategic benefits of bringing a licence to Perth should be self-evident to the NRL. “WA is the strongest economy in the nation — our location on the Indian Ocean Rim and in the same time zone as 60 per cent of the world’s population should make this a no-brainer for the NRL.” Mr Cook said the league should have prioritised negotiations with a consortium of business owners. It instead chose to switch its focus to the State Government after the AFL’s talks to expand into Tasmania. Reports from east coast media during the talks put forward a figure as high as $320 million — including a licence fee and upgrades to HBF Park — during the election campaign. “Last week, we presented a detailed offer to support a potential NRL licence, focused on the grassroots development of the game, while protecting the interests of WA taxpayers,” Mr Cook said. “Our offer was about setting both the licence and the code up for success in WA, rather than handing over taxpayer funds to the NRL. “There is no need to redevelop HBF Stadium for an NRL licence. The ground is vastly superior to many existing NRL grounds and has successfully hosted a number of international fixtures and competitions in recent times.” Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas said the deal was not going ahead because the Government had been caught “red handed”. “It was a terrible, wasteful deal — and I along with my Liberal colleagues are proud to have called it out and saved WA taxpayers a fortune in the process,” he said. “At the right time, for the right price, a WA NRL team will be fine. “But it must be for a fair price and the public must know how much we are paying.”