Hangin' With ... Toronto Wolfpack Founder & CEO Eric Perez

ERIC PEREZ is the founder and CEO of the Toronto Wolfpack. The newly created Canadian rugby league team will become the first transatlantic professional sports team when it joins the English Rugby Football League's third-tier competition, League 1, in '17. The Toronto native also founded the Canadian Rugby League in '10. In addition to his roles with team and governing body, Perez has hosted and produced a weekly rugby league show on Sportsnet for the past six seasons. The York University alumni recently talked to SBD Global about the team's concept, ambitions, sponsorship interest and rugby league's growth in North America.



On being the first transatlantic sports team ...

Eric Perez: We've had a few years to think this through it was not an overnight decision. There are a few factors that need to be considered. Travel and sleep is the first that usually pops up -- to put it into perspective a flight from Boston to L.A. is over six hours and a flight from Toronto to Manchester is approximately 6.5 hours (depending which way you are flying). We certainly recognize the potential impact of jet lag and we have retained the best Canada has to offer in sleep therapy to implement strategies to manage this. This includes sleep education (on optimal sleep strategies) to coaches and players, optimizing the travel schedule and deploying jet lag counter measures. As a result, we feel this will not have any material impact on player performance. Our road game schedules will be at appropriate times for our Canadian fan base from Victoria, BC to St. Johns' Newfoundland.

On sponsorship interest ...

Perez: Given the popularity of Rugby League around the world coupled with the excellent branding work of McLaren McCann with our iconic logo, I believe potential sponsors recognize the global impact our brand can have. We have been approached by airlines, sports equipment providers, sports books, social media providers, tech, ride sharing and of course alcohol providers.

On the club's structure ...: The RFL voted unanimously to allow us to enter the league. We will be working with the CRL to develop a strong talent pool. The team is privately owned -- the majority owners being myself and David Argyle. Our owners are in this for the long haul. Our goal is to build a competitive Super League level club from day 1 but also focus on investing in player development here in Canada so that we can build our homegrown talent. We will be certainly pushing our potential sponsors on our vision for immediate success and long term growth.

On obstacles along the way ...

Perez: Toronto is a sports rich city with seven professional sports teams now. We are introducing a new sport to the city even though it's 120 years old. Other than the past six years, Canada's (North America's) view of Rugby was solely Rugby Union and 7's. The Rugby 7's style is comparable to the non-stop action of Rugby League. Growing our fan base will be the biggest obstacle but I'm confident that once a fan watches this fantastic sport once they will fall in love just as I did six years ago.

On the team's goals ...

Perez: Our personal upside is to someday be Super League Champion which I believe is the goal of every team in the RFL. Walking into a sold out Old Trafford stadium for the finals and watching the Toronto Wolfpack take the field would be a dream come true. We can also grow a North American Rugby League. There is already interest from U.S. cities in the northeast who are watching closely. Our long-term goal is to organically grow the sport in Canada and the U.S. and see Touch Rugby (based on Rugby League code) grow in the elementary and high school levels. This game is beloved in so many countries, now it's our turn.

On whether rugby's return to the Olympics contibuted to the team's creation ...

Perez: No, not at all. I had a vision six years ago while I was living in the U.K. I fell in love with Rugby League and set my mind to bringing this game to Canada and eventually having a professional team in my hometown of Toronto... and it happened.



Hangin' With runs each Friday in SBD Global.