The sponsorship is a different beast. I doubt most people (ie people who don't follow basketball) would know who Gary Ervin is, so it wouldn't make that much of a difference. The issue is the price for corporate sponsorship -- which is far too high for the small gain you will get out of supporting an NBL franchise in a regional city, along with general admin ticket prices, which are again far too high.
Compare the prices for games in Townsville and Cairns and you start to get a pretty good idea of why casual fans don't go to the basketball very often in Townsville. Cairns are a community team and have affordable prices through the gate, and therefore bums on seats. Since Cairns re-focused following going into adminstration (ironically over-paying for Larry Abney was rumoured to lead to their downfall), they have turned themselves into a model NBL franchise and now are able to spend more money on their roster in a sustainable way.
Forget the basketball aspect for a moment: sponsors aren't going to pay for involvement in a half empty stadium with tacky game night presentation from a couple of brain-dead radio presenter dropkicks. I couldn't agree more with the Cairns fans who come to town and chant "booooooring" every time a piece of "entertainment" is attempted during a stoppage in play in Townsville.
If Townsville bite the bullet and lower their prices it will be short term pain for a long term gain. More people through the door = greater community awareness of the team (ie. more brand identification with your average joe, which means sponsors gain more benefit from their involvement), a better product come game night (a full, roaring stadium, and more eyes to see that sponsor's banner), and a better product on the floor (a tougher home court advantage). I guess the whole point though is any kind of short term pain right now could put the club under for good.