New York club running out of time to enter Super League in 2019
Organisers are pressing ahead with plans to take a Super League fixture to America but admit they face a race against time to enter a New York club in English competition in 2019.
It is six months since a consortium submitted an application to join the Betfred Championship for next season but they are still waiting to get the go-ahead.
A Rugby Football League delegation, led by former chief executive Nigel Wood, visited New York in January and has asked for more details about the business plan of the proposed new club.
Organisers are pressing ahead with plans to take a Super League fixture to America but admit they face a race against time to enter a New York club
Ricky Wilby, the Englishman fronting the bid, says the consortium need an answer by the middle of June if they are to make the start line for 2019 but is keen to stress any further delay would not kill off their interest.
'We need time to organise pre-season and arrange players' visas and green cards and so on,' he said.
'If we get an answer sooner rather than later, then 2019 is still the preferred option, the longer it goes on, pushes us closer to 2020.'
Wilby says he has lined up a prospective coach and is fielding plenty of interest from high-profile players keen to become involved in rugby league's latest trans-Atlantic project.
The New York backers have been encouraged by the success of Toronto Wolfpack, who drew crowds in excess of 7,000 to the Lamport Stadium for their inaugural season in 2017 when they secured promotion from League 1.
By 2020, there could be as many as four North American clubs competing in the English competition, with US businessman Spencer Kassimir and former Harlequins chief executive Mark Evans involved in a proposed Boston club, while Toronto founder Eric Perez has designs on setting up a club in Hamilton.
It comes as England prepare to play New Zealand in a Test match in Denver, Colorado, on June 23, as part of the build-up towards the 2025 World Cup which is set to be hosted by the US.
Wilby says the extent of global expansion could depend on the outcome of any restructuring of Super League amid speculation about a move from 12 to 14 clubs or even two divisions of 10.
'We have maintained all along that we do not wish to take the place of any existing club but that we want to add value to the competition, in terms of TV revenue and sponsorship,' Wilby said.
Meanwhile, talks are ongoing with both the Red Bull Arena and US broadcasting companies about taking a Super League game to New York later this year and Wilby says the consortium will cover all costs of the travelling teams.
Salford have expressed a willingness to switch one of their home games to the Big Apple and, although an initial proposal to move their Good Friday fixture with Catalans Dragons has fallen through, Wilby says there are two other Super League clubs keen to become involved.
'Taking a game there this year is vital,' Wilby said. 'We need to demonstrate that we can get the logistics right and that we can market the sport over there.'
Wilby says the consortium has been promised the support of the Mayor of Harrison, the district of New Jersey which includes the Red Bull Arena, home of Major League Soccer club New York Red Bulls.