"They should bring back the in-season tournament and call it that!"

Mitsubishi Challenge, that is.

When Mitsubishi took over NBL1 I had a feeling they would take over MG

Mitsubishi Challenge

Oh man, this brings back memories and specifically (and very randomly) these pocket fixtures of yesteryear:



The old joke re: that slogan was that it should be "no better than ever".

The only thing I liked about that season was the new logos.

If memory serves me correct, Rymarz was in charge and did sweet f all

I was wondering a few weeks ago why the MG logo no longer appeared on the NBL website. Wonder no longer, all is revealed :)

Yeah I noticed it was gone and the Mitsubishi announcement for NBL1 could see it coming for NBL.

Wonder if it's just a 1 year deal?

If memory serves me correct, Rymarz was in charge and did sweet f all

Correct. F that guy.

"We want an aggressive expansion, and I can see us being 13 to 15 clubs over the next five years."”

3-5 clubs in 5 years, seriously?

Key element is clubs that a profitable and have a good entertaining roster. If you expand the clubs into multi-city and memberships drop, talent of individual clubs is reduced then your overall product suffers.

About finding the balance. More clubs maybe leads to 4 imports to make up the talent gap.

Maybe stick to 2 in 5....

The Ranger and Hilux are far better....

Mitsubishi will only be building ships in 10 years, they are well behind on evs.
The car company may not exist.

Mitsubishi are a lot cheaper than hilux or ranger, I've had them for years, great value.

Great Mitsubishi is back. Miss all the Mitsubishi Challenge NBL teams. Logos were all sick. With expansion I just hope the can resurrect some old NBL teams like the Razorbacks, Crocodiles, Falcons. It would be a start?

Maybe just me but feels like a more legit sponsor than MG. Ultimately about the $$$ though.

Those 3 franchises will never succeed so please NBL do not go back to the future

Prepare to be disappointed Sebastian.
We will see 2 of those teams soon.

Falcons, Crocodiles likely but Razorbacks unsure. The rivalry between the Kings can never be forgotten.

Actually you won't but that’s ok

Mitsubishi will only be building ships in 10 years, they are well behind on evs.
The car company may not exist.

You couldn't make this up, it's quite comical really. Although if their subsidiary is deluded enough about their future to give the NBL some money now then why not?

This really is going back to the future type stuff and not just from a returning former sponsor perspective.

Firstly it reminds me of the Philips deal, during a time when that company were already becoming irrelevant in the Australian consumer retail market which they ultimately pulled out of, where they (and this is no joke) once advertised a specialised wholesale imaging device, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars for the medical industry, during a NBL telecast. Maybe we'll get to see an ad for a Mitsubishi oil tanker, spacecraft or tank in future?

Secondly we're in 2023 and the new sponsor is a dinosaur petrol guzzler product. The lack of awareness around EV and its take-up is astounding and even more so by the auto industry itself.

Great Scott, where's my flying car?

They loved pushing the EV aspect of MG the last few years, that's for sure!

I’d be curious as to whether MG dropped out and then they went and found a car sponsor, or if they said to MG soz we going Mitsubishi

Not sure if this has been widely reported outside of my area, but Kestelman is on record as saying they'll look strongly at expansion to Newcastle if the state government comes to the table with a new stadium. They have an owner lined up - the leagues club empire that owns the Knights (which is frankly shocking if you know your Falcons history). I'm not holding my breath on the stadium issue though - Newcastle generally takes forever to have new infrastructure built.

Yes, the NSW state government plans for a new indoor stadium in Newcastle have been discussed on here. Correct me if I'm wrong but my reading of the situation was that it won't be ready within the next five years.

4,500 capacity minimum

Options ready now
Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre or Convention Centre
Wellington TSB arena
Shared stadium, western Sydney/Sydney or Sydney/South Sydney

Within 5 years is possible.
Canberra AIS needs replacing or an upgrade. NBL have looked all over act recently.
Townsville EC needs an upgrade.
Newcastle EC needs an an upgrade.
Western Sydney QC needs an upgrade.
Sunshine Coast has no stadium until late 2027 for Olympics, 6,000 seat.
Overseas based team Phillipines, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, China

Sort of Impossible within 5 years
Newcastle 11,000 seat proposal.
South Sydney proposal.
Geelong new stadium.
Townsville new stadium.
Western Sydney new stadium.
Darwin new stadium.

PW, it'll depend entirely on whether the new state government wants to fund it. I hate talking politics on here, but Newcastle is a very safe seat, so the pork barrels very rarely venture up the M1. Not sure how long it would take to actually build should it be funded, but it won't be ready for the current round of expansion talks.

Just wanted to point out that trying again in Newy isn't as remote a prospect as some seem to think it is.

Second Sydney would make sense, netball play out of tennis centre just down the road from kings. Western Sydney got nothing which is a dam shame considering the number of league grounds that get funding.

I hate talking politics on here, but Newcastle is a very safe seat, so the pork barrels very rarely venture up the M1.

I felt like I was missing something regarding how long the planning phase has been going on for and now it makes sense. Thank you.

I suspect that the deal with MG had run its course. They've expanded their sales considerably, and may now look to sponsor more major sports (at higher cost, obviously).

Mitsubishi used to make a Mitsubishi Challenger. Why didn’t they call it the Mitsubishi Challenger, or make 1 team the Mitzi Challenger each game? I think that that car would now be the replaced by the Pajero Sport or Outlander.

As for the EV angle, put your money where your mouth is folks. I’ve invested in a startup called Evee. It’s basically a franchise hire car model renting out EVs, particularly Teslas. I think it’s an interesting business model. Hire cars are typically used for more driving than a personal car at home. I think people will pay more on holidays or business travel as a test for EV driving. Long term it’s riskier though, as more mainstream car hire companies buy EVs with the economies of much larger scale. I couldn’t justify buying a Tesla for the km I drive, so I’ll just stick with my overengineered German POS at home.

I’m in Adelaide in December this year, but they don’t seem to have availability then. I’ll check closer to the time.