I should mention that these meetings will also be attended by other members of the management team, so your questions can be as broad as you may want them to be.

ASk them
1. why they are so slow in getting news to the media
2. Why they put ticket prices up
3. what is being done to improve the catering at the dome
4. why they allow incorrect game times to be advertised



will post more q's as i think of them

Kent, if you can fire them off in an email to me, so I can print out the mails and take them with me when I have my meeeting :)

Why don't you start with a congratulations on the performance of the team this last season. It was a huge improvement on the previous season. The right players were signed up giving us a team that we are now reluctant to change too radically. Something was was done right there. This team had the potential to go all the way. The finals format is what stood in the way not Sixers management.

I certainly hope it will.

It may not be monthly, as obviously some times there may be nothing to discuss, and I also need to arrange time that are convenient to both myself (with my normal employment) and also the club.

But please people, if you have things to raise, I do ask that you email them, as it will be easier for me to just print them out, rather than have to read through these threads and write them out.

Also, I am willing to ask (and respond) to you in your name, or anonymously, if you would rather.

I think you'll be better off taking questions from here as well as you'll get anonymous posts (see above) from people not wanting to reveal their identity. Not hard to copy/paste into a Word document and then print those.

Anyway, my questions are:

1. What do you think have been the successes of the 2004/05 season?

2. What do you think have been the not-so-much successes of the 2004/05 season?

3. What will be your top three areas of focus for improvement in 2005/06?

Ok, Ill take them in here as well then.

Isaac, maybe we could get this with a little basketball, and dated so it stays near the top of the forum??

The club has been good enough to give us, the fans, a forum in which they are willing to discuss our concerns, now we need to use the oppurtunity people!

are there any strategies regarding local stadium renovations / development?

would consideration be given to teams from mildura or mt gambier moving from SEABL?

The club has been good enough to give us, the fans, a forum in which they are willing to discuss our concerns, now we need to use the oppurtunity people!

Yogee, hate to be pessimistic, but did that work with the 36ERS' official forum which would surely be the first place the club would make this type of effort? No official response from the club there to threads about catering, 11 week merchandise delays and bad service, inaccurate information about crowds, etc.

Well, thats something I will be bringing up :)

It's been brought up before a number of times with no change. Good luck.

Nah, leave Mount Gambier alone. We're happy in the SEABL. Get a Riverland team back in it and perhaps one from Port Augusta if you're desperate for travel.

Yogee,

Could you ask what the situation is with the team photos under the Apollo restaurant.

Is there any plan to update the last 3 years that are missing?

If not, they have ruined it for good.

Ask him when is he going to resign to help basketball in SA.

Yogee,

On the serious side, I'd like to know what is being done to rid basketball of the noose around its neck (ie being held by the state government).

Organisations with large debts (and in reality, this isn't THAT large) work feverishly to rid themselves of that debt. I just don't see it happening. They need some radical, innovative thinking and to date, it seems to be the same ho-hum ideas from the same ho-hum people. My biggest concern there is that it's always basketball people being employed for basketball jobs. If you want business decisions, you need business people.

Also, the stadium is in need of refurbishment but again, this is a money thing. They really need to stick it to the government and start hiring the venue out for other activities. I know they do already (eg JW convention, lawn bowls, visiting overseas teams in a variety of sports), but they need to do more and challenge the government on this.

"You say we have a debt and we must repay it, but then you limit our ability to do so. Well, it's our debt, it's our stadium, we'll do it our way, there's an election coming up and if you want bad publicity Media Mike (and we all know he doesn't), then challenge us. We're booking events and let's see where it ends up." Something along the lines of this, in a diplomatic manner of course, might change the status quo .... and that's what's needed.

And then re-consider the governance arrangements between BASA, the Lightning and the 36ers. Is it working? Should they be separate entities with nothing to do with each other or be partially linked like they are now? Can we pursue private ownership (the debt isn't that big)?

And finally, in terms of getting people back to the stadium - drop the damn prices until it fills again (supply and demand), and do everything you can to get the Lightning back to the venue.

PS. Happy staff = equal happy customers. Your staff are not happy. Might want to do some morale building as well and perhaps guarantee pay, leave entitlements and a safe, friendly working environment. My mail is that this just isn't there. Hire managers with real management abilities.

There endeth the sermon and yes, I've emailed this to you too.

Talking about the stadium,why havent the team photos been kept up to date?
I know this issue has been brought up many times before,but still no action.
Maybe they have realised that the pictures are TOO BIG and they will run out of room soon!
Why not make the pictures smaller and put them around the stadium?
You could move the lightning pictures to the lighthouse for a start!

Catering stinks !! i agree

Moses ... you make some good sense! Lower prices .. hire business people who will lead not follow in a committee situation ... too many bleeding hearts ... and state govt meddling .. God forbid we would have success on AND OFF the court!