I think the first thing is for someone to work out a business plan. I know that crowds will probably never match the NBL crowds, but I can't seem to find actual numbers. I hear anecdotal evidence that crowds have plummeted and you look at the crowds they do seem very low. How do they compare against other teams?
I think if you can't make the brand attractive then the crowd should follow, but firstly there needs to be a calculation on what the breakeven crowd number is.
The next step is sponsors. The Lightning seem to have very few.
For the Lightning to continue, someone needs to prepare a solid business plan that makes the team viable for 9/10 seasons, not 0/10 seasons, because the romantic thought of a rich millionaire pouring money into a black hole is not going to happen.