National Rugby League side St. George Illawarra "received interest from private investors" wanting to buy into the club but Dragons officials will not consider any offers until they finalize a review of the joint venture's governance model that may "pave the way" for members to gain voting rights, according to Brad Walter of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. St. George Illawarra is considering privatization "as funding of the game shifts from traditional leagues club funding to broadcast revenue" since the A$1B TV deal negotiated by the NRL in '13. Dragons CEO Peter Doust said that directors acknowledged after more than 15 years of being run by a combined St. George and Illawarra board "it was time to consider a new structure but change would only be made if it was in the best interests of the club." Contrary to the "widely held perception of the club's financial situatiuon," Doust said that St. George Illawarra was "not broke but had gone to the NRL in 2013 seeking assistance to ensure the club would be strong in the future," and its business plan forecasts a profit in '17 -- something only two clubs achieved last season. However, the club "was open to change and has been looking at alternative governance models," includng that of South Sydney, which is 75% owned by Russell Crowe and James Packer, with members controlling the other 25%. Doust said, "Of the 16 clubs in the NRL and all of their membership programs, there is only one club that has member voting rights and that is South Sydney. We have been looking at that but there are various ways of doing it." Doust confirmed that "there had already been interest from private investors but the Dragons board did not believe there was any need to rush into any decision after managing to avoid the internal conflicts that have affected some other clubs for the first 17 seasons of the joint venture's history" (SMH, 4/2).
