A secret consortium of multi-millionaires will meet with the National Rugby Leage to discuss buying Gold Coast’s license after "devising a blueprint to make the Titans a rugby league powerhouse," according to Peter Badel of the Brisbane COURIER-MAIL. In a "huge boost" for the "embattled" Titans, a group of "Queensland-based corporate white knights" are ready to "launch a fresh bid" after the NRL's takeover on Tuesday provided "greater certainty." The team of bankers and finance experts are "described as 'seriously wealthy.'" The consortium first approached the NRL in '12 during the Titans’ "debt crisis" and made it clear that "providing start-up capital" of A$15M ($11.7M) would not be "problematic." The consortium was "set to walk away following the cocaine crisis that hit the club," but the NRL’s decision to "step in" has given the business tycoons "confidence in the Titans brand." The potential investors have spent recent months "performing due diligence, even drawing up an ownership model" that includes the Titans having a leagues-club style facility to "provide additional revenue streams" (COURIER-MAIL, 3/2). In Brisbane, Brad Walter reported the Titans were the "first NRL club to test players for illicit substances" and "did everything possible" to prevent drug culture from infiltrating the club, according to founding Chair Paul Broughton. With five current and three former Titans players "charged" in a Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission investigation into the Gold Coast cocaine ring, questions about the culture at the club have "understandably arisen." It has also been reported that five players "tested positive to ecstasy" the day after Gold Coast's Mad Monday celebrations in '07 and were given an "official warning" along with a fine totaling 5% of their contract money (BRISBANE TIMES, 3/1).
