Maybe he looking at Asian teams.
Canberra is very close, trying to determine a venue.

Asian expansion would have to be approved by FIBA. That is the stumbling block.

Think aim for one team 2025/26 then another 2027/28.

Do it once do it right and slowly.

The LK / NBL PR machine working OT!

I wonder what capacity there is to partner with NZ NBL and create NBL1 NZ, and then have a second NZ team and see if you can engage with the kiwis differently in the sense that they're part of the league and don’t just have a token side in an Aussie league for a cult following.

I’m guessing they might get told to piss off, but it would be an interesting business case.

Otherwise - I think Hawks will need to be NSW Hawks eventually, so I’m not game on a second Syd team.

Darwin just doesn’t really have the right infra yet, so maybe you go Canberra as team #12.

If they absolutely wanted to go 14 sides, maybe we see a GC team around 2032 Olympics and Darwin in 2030 or something.

Maybe you’d go Canberra 2025, NZ 2027, Darwin 2029, GC 2031

It makes sense to try to capitalise on perceived demand while things are looking good. He's clearly trying to get licence fees by someone willing to buy the hype.

It was a big change in narrative and messaging from LK.

Previously the league has a very direct message of "slowly, make sure it is right."

But to so they want to be "aggressive" is a big change.

How much is fluff, how much is real?

I'm going with mostly fluff.

Loeliger is on record recently, within the last month in fact, that the contenders are Canberra, Darwin and the Gold Coast.

Canberra - AIS Arena is undergoing a minor refurbishment but LK has made statements indicating he doesn't deem them to be sufficient enough. There are no other appropriate venues available. Beggars can't be choosers Larry so which is it? Could be something there if they relent on the stadium issue in the short term and concrete plans for a new facility by the ACT government go through.

Darwin - including this in the list at this stage indicates padding. No appropriate venue available. Pure fantasy.

Gold Coast - there was a lame meetup with drongo Mayor Tate and a local businessman not wealthy enough to take on a NBL club setup by the league. Pure fluff.

Asia - is there something in this? The league self-generated a possible return to Singapore story a while back. More fluff.

Newcastle - there are two stadium projects under way relating to basketball.

The first is a confirmed basketball-specific facility featuring a show court which will seat 2,000 spectators for NBL1 and possibly a future WNBL team. Not NBL compliant.

The second, still in a ten year long planning phase with no end in sight, is for a general purpose indoor stadium with a capacity of 11,000 spectators to be constructed within an entertainment precinct. This has been severely delayed and not rubber stamped yet.

Loeliger didn't bother name dropping Newcastle in a list of cities recently which I think says a lot about the lack of progress when a PR machine doesn't bother to give you a mention.

Basketball is booming in NZ. The logical location is Wellington and the Mills family are very good at running a basketball franchise. The problem, however, is that Kestleman wants $$$$$ for franchises and the Mills are savvy business people that won't get the tax shelter Americans do and know these businesses burn $$$$$. Canterbury would also be a logical next step. But I think for some of these locations if Kestleman is serious he will need to soften licence fee expectations.

SE Queensland - Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast will host basketball events at the 2032 Olympic Games so a lot of spending has been allocated to infrastructure. The latter could possibly be a new NBL location in future but I doubt it would be within the next five years, assuming a pro sports team is even viable in that region.

Second Sydney team would need a new stadium, preferably closer to the city which isn't in the pipeline.

Darwin likewise hasn't got a stadium.

Guam anyone??

Guam anyone??

My absolute first preference would be to try and capture NZ properly.

I'm not a kiwi so I’d love to hear from the NZers - even if they convey a Perth wildcats type response of 1 team and 1 team only.

But I get the feeling that a NZ team more caters to bball cult followers rather than the casual fan by virtue of being a NZ side in an Australian league.

A second team might make it more engaging and be less of an Aussie league and more of an Australia + NZ league.

I also wonder whether there is benefit for all if NZ NBL could become NBL1 NZ?

Wellington Saints just replied to nbl Insta account with handshake emoji

Please please please do not consider Asia. NZ yes (Would love to see Wellington/Christchurch in it), but not any further a field.

The Asia attempt failed miserably with the Singapore Slingers. I recall before they came into the league, the exhibition/one off games that were held there the years prior were sellouts and they used this as part of their research into establishing the team. Once they were in, no one went. They died quickly.

They need to consider Asia in the sense of trying to get NBL clubs part of a Euroleague/Asia cup soccer style tournament.

Having an asian side in Australia would just end up being tokenistic and struggle imo.

The cup style pushes the NBL presence into Asia, probably captures some expanded sponsor market whilst having sides play in Australia and capture the Asian crowd in Australia for those types of matches.

That's why I think you take the approach to incorporate NZ better into NBL/NBL1, reach into Asia via tournament and then ultimately fill the last 5 long-term spots with something like:

Canberra
Gold Coast
Darwin
Sydney #2
North-West Melbourne

With your second NZ side, that’s your long term 16 side comp IMO

Ideally that’s the 15-20 year vision

It'll be geelong over north west Melbourne.

Singapore was a failure attendance wise because only expats or Americans went to the games. Without local talent (which Singapore has none) no locals ever attended. It was doomed from the start.

Nbl got make sure that it doesn't become Melbourne centric, like the afl. Nsw , west Sydney, Newcastle, central coast area should be next in line.

That sounds extremely nsw-centric

Why would you prefer a league be nsw-centric over Vic-centric?

One is the sporting capital of the nation, the other is Sydney

Think how crap NRL is run and supported vs AFL

Singapore could still work. Just have a team full of Asian talent. I've been to the Singapore Indoor Stadium, it’s an amazing stadium for basketball.

It's not that good

Yeah, it's ok but it's no WIN Entertainment Centre

Wollongong's stadium really needs an upgrade. Oldest stadium in the league by far.

The Adelaide Entertainment Centre is the oldest main venue (built in 1991), year older than the old 36ers arena even. Silverdome in Launceston is even older (1985) but only used for 2 games a year. Cairns and Hobart were built in 1996 but had recent upgrades and Wollongong was built in 1998.

Hobart was built after the Devils folded? I thought it was the same venue they'd played in.

Adelaide Entertainment Centre completed a $52 million redevelopment in 2010.

The renovation included: major upgrades of the foyer, backstage area and corporate facilities; creation of additional car parking; new staging and curtains; renovation of administration areas; and restoration of the heritage-listed Revelations Chapel for use as a wedding and function venue. In the main arena itself 8,000 new seats were also installed.

Hobart was built after the Devils folded? I thought it was the same venue they'd played in.

It's weird how out of all the stadia in the NBL WIN is now a meme according to the TV viewers, purely based on having no crowd and a leaky roof in recent years, when in reality if you've been there you know it's the complete opposite.

Dollar-for-dollar construction cost wise it packs more of a punch than any other venue. It's got a sneaky big, yet small boutique, but not really feel to it which is architecturally deceptive in the perfect manner.
(The only other place where I was similarly impressed was in Miami over their tiered seating. Every arena should copy it.)

Best atmosphere (on the east coast) when it used to draw fans.

Sexiest location due to being on the coast straddled by a beach with a foreshore park to the north, that puts every other locale around an NBL stadium to shame. There is an independent brewery attached to the bulding facing the ocean (since before they became a fad) and across the road on the city side the iconic Chicko's.

============================ Park. /
Chicko's. || (WIN). Brewery. Beach/

(* Not to scale)

The whole block should be heritage listed.

Devils played in it from 89 to 96.

"
The Tassie Devils Australian National Basketball League team called the then DEC home from 1989 to 1996. During that time, the venue was always referred to as the "Devils' Den" by sports commentators
"

https://www.mystatebankarena.com.au/about

A second NZ team would also free up more local spots for Aussies. A Wellington team for NZ could look like:

Ili / Import or Le'afa
T. Webster / C. Webster
Import / Te Rangi
Fotu / Delaney / Vodanovic
Import / Waardenburg

A number of those players have already played for the Saints.

I’d suggest Wellington 2025 and Christchurch 2030.