Article The Tale of Fitzroy and the Merger

[NorthernLights]

By their own agreement, Brisbane are the custodians of Fitzroy's AFL identity, in the AFL. That's why I support them in the AFL.

The Brisbane Lions are not the same club as Fitzroy. The Brisbane Lions are also not the product of a merger between Fitzroy and the Bears. The Brisbane Lions are a rebranded Brisbane Bears. As I have said, many many times on these boards THE Fitzroy Football Club (which was established in 1883) still exists in its own right in Melbourne and currently plays in the VAFA.

I understand this point. But what was to be gained (from a Brisbane point of view) by rebranding as the Lions? Given that they are not officially the Fitzroy Football Club.

 

[The_Wookie]

I understand this point. But what was to be gained (from a Brisbane point of view) by rebranding as the Lions? Given that they are not officially the Fitzroy Football Club.

Technically they are the Brisbane Bears - Fitzroy Football Club

 

[Bunk Moreland]

I understand this point. But what was to be gained (from a Brisbane point of view) by rebranding as the Lions? Given that they are not officially the Fitzroy Football Club.

Fitzroy's best eight players, a pile of cash and a supporter base in Melbourne.

 

[West_Coast_Eagles]

When the name changed in 1996/97 to brisbane lions they faced a battle with brisbane lions the soccer club. Remembering brisbane roar is really a lion also.

 

[The_Wookie]

When the name changed in 1996/97 to brisbane lions they faced a battle with brisbane lions the soccer club. Remembering brisbane roar is really a lion also.

Evidently the Lions had to pay them a 5 figure compensation amount in order to use the name. (cited on Wikipedia as AAP in 2005, no online link)

 

[Roylion]

Just for the record so that posters are clear on how and why Fitzroy was eventually forced to seek a merger and eventually forced out of the AFL, the following is a list of measures that the AFL took against Fitzroy in the years leading up to 1996. This expands on the list provided by Wookie in his opening post. Much of it was not well known merger history...but it did happen.

• Fitzroy were forced to move from the Junction Oval in 1984 as part of VFL's ground rationalisation policy, beginning the process of the Club depending on other clubs such as Carlton and Collingwood (their traditional rivals) to generate significant revenue from a home ground.
• the VFL refused to allow Hecron in 1987 to take part ownership of Fitzroy as part of a sponsorship deal that had seen the club reject a relocation to Brisbane in 1986.
• the AFL refused permission for the club to play four home games per year in Canberra from 1995 onwards. The club even offered to play up to seven-eight home games a year in a partial relocation. Upon their application to play four games in Canberra the Club was told that Fitzroy's application to play 4 home games in Canberra (which would have netted the club $350,000 annually guaranteed) would not be a credible exercise in the Canberra market and would not be enough games to be worthwhile. Ross Oakley later said that Fitzroy was their 'worst product" and that the AFL wasn't going to send their 'worst product" up to Canberra. Fitzroy then offered to play 7 home games in Canberra, which would have netted Fitzroy at least an extra $700,000 a year on top of what had already been negotiated. This was refused as well. In fact when adding in corporate sponsorship, and ground rights at Bruce Stadium (which would have been upgraded), Fitzroy's projections were they could have made $1 million extra per season. Fitzroy's application had the support of 'AFL for Canberra' organisation, the Canberra Raiders, the Ainslee Football Club and the ACT chief minister who had offered for the ACT government to upgrade Bruce Stadium. However the AFL point blank refused to entertain the idea. An AFL commissioner later admitted that the reason why the AFL knocked it back was because they wanted Port Adelaide in the competition and therefore wanted to keep the pressure on Fitzroy to merge.
• the AFL refused to help financially assist Fitzroy's Tasmanian experiment in 1991-1992. Fitzroy had to pay the whole cost themselves, including accommodation. Fitzroy had to even billet players in supporters' homes. Since that time, AFL support for Hawthorn, St Kilda and North Melbourne home games in Tasmania has been significant
• the AFL refused to guarantee on at least three occasions the annual club dividend to pay creditors; standard procedure for all other clubs and forcing the club to consider merging, relocation or folding.
• In 1993 the AFL threatened to sue Fitzroy for $250,000 that had been paid to Fitzroy by CUB as part of a club sponsorship, which included selling CUB's product in the Fitzroy Club Hotel. CUB was the AFL's sponsor and the AFL thought they should have received the money instead of Fitzroy. This was despite the fact that CUB had been a minor sponsor of Fitzroy for over ten years previously. They even threatened to reduce the dividend to other clubs by the amount Fitzroy received. This was the major reason the Lions had to consider a better financial deal at the Western Oval, in order to try and raise more revenue which in turn alienated some supporters and players. That new deal included Footscray loaning Fitzroy the $250,000 demanded by the AFL. Alistair Lynch later said that Fitzroy's forced move to the Western Oval was the major reason why he decided to leave Fitzroy and sign with the Bears. Broderick, Gale, Elliott and Dundas followed Lynch shortly after. Robert Shaw the Fitzroy coach lamented at the time that he'd just lost his next three club captains.
• the AFL objected to a Fitzroy sponsorship deal with Schweppes because the AFL were sponsored by Coca Cola. Fitzroy managed to raise $110,000 from this sponsorship.
• it was later discovered that it was the AFL that had been advising player manager Damian Smith on the best way for the Bears to acquire Alistair Lynch from Fitzroy.
• From 1993 the AFL issued a number of solvency notices to Fitzroy where the club had to satisfy AFL criteria that they could meet their financial debts for the next 12 months or their AFL licence would be withdrawn. Fitzroy was the only club to receive a solvency notice.
• the AFL refused to allow millionaire Bernie Ahern to lend any more money to Fitzroy, after he saved them from merging / folding in 1991. He lent money to Fitzroy for a second time later on, because in his words he felt Fitzroy had been treated unfairly.
• From 1994 onwards the AFL presented several proposals to the Fitzroy directors to surrender Fitzroy's licence to the AFL and thereby liquidate Fitzroy Football Club Ltd., if it could not effect a merger, in return for "assistance packages" to keep the club going. That way Fitzroy's creditors wouldn't get paid. One of these included a merger with the Port Adelaide Football Club to form the "Port Adelaide Power Lions."
• the AFL regularly leaked sensitive information provided by Fitzroy about their finances to the media, in order for media flunkeys like Mike Sheahan to write negative stories about Fitzroy, which in turn scared off potential sponsors.
• the AFL regularly informed potential sponsors who would make inquiries about the possibility of sponsoring Fitzroy that not to bother because Fitzroy would not be in the competition for much longer (That's from a Fitzroy director at the time)
• Fitzroy's auditors KPMG were even raided by the Australian Securities Commission under a warrant to investigate Fitzroy for 'suspect trading while insolvent' for 1993 and 1996. The ASC claimed they were acting on information passed to them. Naturally Fitzroy believe it was probably the AFL, who were the only external organisation who had full access to Fitzroy's finances.
• ....and even at the end, the AFL gave Fitzroy and North Melbourne until July 5th 1996 to complete their merger, only to give the go-ahead to a Brisbane - Fitzroy merger on July 4th, after a Richmond led protest over the merger conditions agreed to by the AFL and communicated to North Melbourne and Fitzroy.
• The reason that Nauru appointed an administrator to recover their $1.25 million loan was because the AFL was telling North that if they held out against Nauru, they wouldn't have to pay them at all and would receive the merger money themselves. Then the AFL threatened to not guarantee the merger money which forced Nauru to step in and recover the money themselves by appointing aan administrator. This was despite the fact that the Fitzroy directors had already done a deal to settle with Nauru out of the merger money. However on the AFL's advice and urging North refused to authorise Fitzroy to pay any more than $550,000.

 

[The_Wookie]

Oakleys remarks on AFL 360 on Wednesday