Barry Maranta

Barry Maranta (born 18 December 1934), is an Australian businessman and co-founder of the Brisbane Broncos rugby league team. As well as being a founder of the Broncos he is currently a Sky Shades president. His grandson Lachlan Maranta, became a Brisbane Broncos player.

An Old Boy of Marist College Rosalie in Brisbane and a former first grade cricketer and rugby league footballer, Maranta became a sports consultant and entered into a partnership with Wayne Reid, forming the organisation, International Sports Management. After seeing an interstate Australian Rules Football match that utilised "state of origin" selection rules in 1978, he started trying to convince Queensland Rugby League president Ron McAuliffe to instigate a similar concept in rugby league. This would ultimately have long-ranging effects as the State of Origin series phenomenon took off, becoming one of Australia's biggest sporting events.

By 1984 Maranta had been active in property development in Queensland for over fifteen years and was closely associated in business with former test cricketer and prominent Brisbane businessman, Greg Chappell.

In 1985 Barry Maranta expressed interest in fielding a Brisbane-based team in the New South Wales Rugby League's Winfield Cup premiership, the top-level rugby league football competition at the time. He was one of the principal owners of International Sports Management who had contributed to the advent of rugby league's State of Origin concept. In 1986 Maranta joined Paul Morgan, Gary Balkin and Steve Williams to form the Brisbane club. All men had played for Brisbane domestic teams. Four organisations made bids for the team which would be established in 1987. Ron McAuliffe, had the support of the NSWRL over the Maranta-Morgan group, other groups included 'International Syndicate' led by John Sattler and Bob Hagan, and one by Darryl van der Velde (who would later be CEO of the South Queensland Crushers).

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