The Perth Bears will officially join the NRL in 2027, after the ARL Commission and the Western Australian Government reached an agreement.
The competition’s expansion will see the game permanently venture west for the first time since the Western Reds’ demise in 1997.
Meanwhile, North Sydney Bears will emerge from hibernation as part of the agreement with ARLC supremo Peter V’landys revealing some of the key details about how the joint venture will function upon the club’s unveiling at HBF Park.
HBF Park details revealed as the Perth Bears welcomed into NRL
"The North Sydney Bears were one of our foundation clubs and have been around since 1908," V’landys stated in front of the assembled Perth press pack to announce the historic deal.
"It’s been proven in other sports that if you have one of those traditional clubs behind a new club, it helps.
"They’ll provide the players - they’ve got the pathways and junior systems back in the eastern states, so they’ll have a great partnership with Perth."
This partnership won’t only extend to behind the scenes and out on the field though, with V’landys highlighting how thebuilt-in fan base of North Sydney was also key to getting the deal across the line.
The ARLC boss spruiked how the fans will travel interstate to support their new team while providing a boost of tourism dollars into the WA Government’s kitty.
"It’s important you have an established fanbase and we wanted to guarantee the visitation because this is an investment by the government," V’landys said.
"[WA Premier] Roger Cook was very clear - what’s our return on capital?
"The return on capital is those 200,000 Bears fans, who will certainly be making the trip over to Perth.
"I think it’ll be worth closer to the $50 million return each year rather than [the WA Government’s estimate of] $28 million."
MORE: Perth Bears potential signings - The NRL stars that could be targeted by new franchise
Yet within the negotiations fronted by V’landys and Cook, the WA Premier stressed the need for the club to have a distinctly West Aussie flavour.
This means a chairperson will be appointed from the state to oversee the beginning of the franchise, while there will also be at least two local members on the board.
"The deal with the Bears is that there will be at least one game played in Sydney, but the substantial majority of games will be played in Perth," V’landys said while trying to highlight the club's WA roots.
V’landys did reveal that the 'home' match he mentioned, which will be played over east, will almost certainly be played at North Sydney’s fabled old ground.
"We have honoured the agreement reached with North Sydney and we would be mad to not have a game at North Sydney Oval," V’landys said.
"It’s historical and will promote Perth more than at any other time."
The Perth Bears will call HBF Park their home, but the venue won’t undergo any major reconstruction under part of the seven-year agreement.
During negotiations, it was floated that the NRL was looking for a $200 million financial commitment to upgrade the stadium.
However, Cook rejected this demand with the club set to be put on trial to see how viable further re-investment in infrastructure is.
MORE: All the major details as the Perth Bears are officially unveiled as the NRL’s 18th club
"We certainly want an upgrade to the stadium and I think that’ll happen," V’landys said. "But we’ve got to crawl before we can walk.
"The WA Government will have to pay for it because it’ll get a return on investment. There are discussions but, naturally, the government can’t commit.
"We’ve got to prove ourselves. And once we prove ourselves, they will invest."
Meanwhile, V’landys broke into a fast crawl when he refused to rule out the possibility of taking the club on the road even further when he was asked if there were any plans to reach the regional areas of the state.
"We take games to our country areas in NSW and all around Australia," the ARLC boss said.
"So, if the WA Government wanted to take games to regional areas, we’re good partners and we’ll assist in any way we can."