USA Rugby League Southern Conference Teams will head to Orlando for their first Annual General Meeting.
The Administrators from the Tampa Mayhem, Central Florida Warriors, Atlanta Rhinos and Jacksonville Axemen will head to Orlando this Sunday to hold the first Annual General Meeting for the Southern Conference of the USA Rugby League.
The four teams will discuss a variety of items that are all geared at expanding their own team brands while also finding common elements that will help grow the sport in the Southern region. “The goal itself is simple, but finding the right path to get us there is more complex”, said conference director Spinner Howland. “We need input from all teams to ensure we are combining as many costs as possible to lower the operating budgets, and also joining forces in the overall marketing of the sport in the South”.
The group plans on combines forces to cement more effective growth across the entire conference and outlined some key points for discussion that are aimed at the overall goal: Lower the operating budgets while still providing a professionally operated environment for our players and high quality sporting events for our fans. The hope is by combining similar line items on the budgets they can lower the cost due to either quantity or frequency of use, and then use the savings to improve the advertising and marking reach for each team as well as the overall conference.
Each team had stated they have their own unique opportunities on some things and their own areas for improvement, but all agreed they have a sporting product that is a proven success in the market. “The Jacksonville Axemen have proven that Rugby League is a sport that American fans can follow, understand and support”, Howland said. “The three other teams also had good game day attendance using very limited resources for marketing and advertising. All teams feel if they can find partnerships and a few more dollars to spend on advertising, then the sport can become a true summer alternative to American Football that will have larger fan bases across the South. Every team had larger crowds as the season went on and that is because of word-of-mouth advertising. Now we need to find ways to open next season with more “Mouths” and let them all spread the word again.”
Another major focus items will be to find a conference sponsor for the Southern Conference Championship. “The four teams reach fans in Atlanta, Jacksonville, Central Florida and Tampa”, said Drew Slover, Axemen General Manager. “With our sport growing, and dedication that is rarely rivaled among the player and supporter groups, as a combined group of teams we offer an incredible value to a regional sponsor who is looking to grow their own brand with us as the vehicle.”
The teams will start their 2015 plans as soon as the meeting closes and the early start will allow for improvements in all facets of operations.
You can follow each team by starting at their websites:
Tampa Mayhem – www.MayhemRL.com
Central Florida Warriros – www.WarriorsRL.com
Atlanta Rhinos – www.AtlantaRhinos.com
Jacksonville Axemen – www.JaxAxe.com
