“None of it commercially made any sense [to offer a substantial licence fee], which is why we elected not to.”
The Western Bears’ proposal included a formal partnership with the North Sydney Bears and had enticed Sydney Kings part-owner Paul Smith and former NRL executive Paul Kind to join the ownership group.
V’landys confirmed on Wednesday he wouldn’t abandon the Bears as part of any new affiliation and wants a decision on a new Perth franchise to be settled within weeks.
“North Sydney will be part of any deal that will be done,” he said. “But the business case has to stack up, and if we don’t have confidence in it, then how can we take it to our members?”
The North Sydney Bears remained tight-lipped in case they were still bound by a non-disclosure agreement.
“We still very much want to be part of expansion and are continuing to …