Chance for fans to play the market

By BILLY ADAMS

As the chardonnay-sipping supporters who occupy the executive boxes at Eden Park will readily testify, rugby has undergone something of a metamorphosis in recent years.

Now brace yourself for the next development in sports relentless march to the big end of town. Coming soon to a stock market near you; shares in Jonah Lomu, Tiger Woods and Maurice Greene.

The idea is not so much far-fetched, more a little ironic. In a cut-throat arena where the major players are often accused of taking their loyal customers to the cleaners, the fans will soon have a chance to strike back by trading their favourite human commodities on the markets.

Not surprisingly, the concept for moving sport towards a new corporate level has been dreamed up in the country that these days seems to win everything - Australia.

A group of businessmen - including former test cricketer Geoff Lawson - are launching Sports Equities, a company which essentially aims to put high-profile sports stars on the stock market.

The company hopes to float on the Australian Stock Exchange early next year before taking their innovative product to the richer playing fields of the United States and Europe.

If everything goes according to plan, punters may soon have more than an emotional stake in Andrew Mehrtens' converting a penalty or Michael Campbell sinking a crucial putt.

Mr Lawson, a former fast bowler, says sports fans will embrace a concept which sees them investing in athletes, watching those athletes perform, then getting money back.

"It's a nice cycle and a win-win situation," he says.

"From a financial point of view you are investing in a product [sport] which hasn't had a downside in the last 50 years.

"And you actually get to look at your investment every time you turn on the TV on a Saturday or Sunday.

"In Australia people are into their sport as much as any country in the world. Were trying to transfer that interest from the armchair in front of the TV into a tangible result."

Mr Lawson hatched the concept, believed to be the first of its kind in the world, with Sydney businessman Stephen Duval six years ago.

The idea is relatively simple. Sports Equities is essentially a sports bank.

Its main plan is to sign up budding stars by assessing their potential income from sport, including contracts, sponsorships and anticipated prize money.

If that estimate was $500,000, Sports Equities would offer to buy, say, 20 per cent - $100,000. Taking into account costs such as insurance, risk and a return for the company, the athlete may then get an up-front payment of $90,000, which effectively amounts to a loan.

The athlete would have ready cash to support career progress, and would pay back the full $100,000 as their anticipated income flows in.

Mr Duval says they would benefit from an insurance scheme he has negotiated which is both cheaper and more wide-ranging than "prohibitive" policies presently on offer. Twenty per cent of an athlete's income stream is guaranteed under a policy which covers standard claims such as broken legs plus some more unusual instances - such as when a disgraced athlete is sacked after a public scandal.

The company also hopes to cash in on a "blue sky" scheme by receiving a cut of athletes' earnings which shoot past the assessed level. So if the next Pele signed a multimillion-dollar deal with a top soccer club, Sports Equities would receive a small percentage and the company's stock price might be boosted.

Backers see particular potential in Europe where youth development is not as structured as in Australia. A significant cash boost could jump-start the career of a young athlete who otherwise would be lost to his or her sport. "Money like that would save parents having to take out second and third jobs, as some do at the moment, to support these young people," says Mr Duval.

He argues that fans will finally be able to prosper financially from the success of their heroes; an exclusive domain so far populated only by the athletes themselves, plus corporate and TV interests.

The 31-year-old marketeer has spent the past four years working full-time on the project, and is now seeking seed funding to launch the company privately in Australia this year.

He says there are 411 expressions of interest from high-profile sports people and management companies.

After floating on the Australian Stock Exchange, the company plans to launch in other parts of world, most notably the US and Europe, where negotiations with a number of interested parties are taking place.

Mr Duval predicts that a first share offer in the US will reap $US50 million ($125 million), and between $US30 million and $US40 million in Europe.

Eventually, the company hopes to list hundreds of sports stars and athletes around the world.

"From a personal point of view I believe this will be one of the largest sports organisations in the world within the next five years," predicts an enthusiastic Duval.

"Sports management and the sports industry in general has become a lot more professional in every aspect over the last five years.

"And the public are crying out for something where they can be involved more directly. They are the ones who buy the tickets, wear the T-shirts and watch the events on TV, but until now they've been unable to share the profits of the athletes.

"Athletes care about the public. It's now time for the athletes and the public to share something together."