no.

nope

Not a chance. NBL/BA aren't fans of regional teams as it is - it's all about the Brisbane team and 2nd Melbourne team right now.

North Melb Giants or South East Melbourne Magic?

Tinkler has also been scared off by something. What, i'm not sure.

But no. First Brisbane, then Melbourne then maybe another team.

Hobart/Tas has had a great bid for the last couple of years, fulling backing of local clubs and has the $1mil guarantee.

Wellington Saints also but Brisbane and a 2cnd Melbourne team are the priorities.
Saw an article about the points system, it nearly did poor Jacob out of a job (playing crap on a wooden spoon team had nothing to do with it)

I can see a team in Mackay in the future

or at least a central queensland team

You must have a very long term view of the future Spursfan.

Wellington Saint, 2nd Melb & Brissy are the 3 the NBL are working hardest on at the moment.

Then maybe Tassie are next inline....but i would think with the way Perth are going you might even see a second team there before the NBL goes back to Tassie.

TW, I find it very hard to believe the NBL would be even slightly interested in another NZ side at the moment.

haha shit. HO, you must be an idiot. Really. So many idiots...

Why is that HO?
Wellington have consistantly appeared in the NZBL when other teams (Auckland, Waikato, North Harbour)have had their off court struggles and won multiple titles and have strong financial baking and fan support. The Breakers have grown into one of the strongest franchises in the competition on and off the court, there is no reason why Wellington could not do the same.

Ho - Wellington have been putting the business/club admin in place to make the step up the NBL for the last 5 years.

They are in all honestly probably more stable and a safer bet to be viable than Brisbane or 2nd Melb Team as they are already have a solid business which is supported by a community of 400,000 odd people with good sponsorship and administration!

Sounds a bit like you're trying to troll on this thread, HO

Actually Spursfan, I figured you for the troll given your post - i thought you were taking the piss..!

I have been very consistent here on Hoops as to why the NBL will not pursue regional teams in the future and why NZ is really of little consequence to the league.

To save reiterating them, check:

http://www.hoops.com.au/forum/28134-no-new-nbl-teams-next-year/#p359307

or here:

http://www.hoops.com.au/forum/27067-new-melbourne-nbl-team-to-be-announced-today/#p342969

Mystro and TF.

The question is not whether Wellington can do it. It's whether they add value to the league.

They are a small market, half a million people, and the league is already over-represented by small market teams (Townsville, Cairns, Wollongong) which is a hindrance to their FTA TV deal (and no, nbl.tv is not the commercial future).

They will be a poor draw on TV. In this you must always consider their value as the VISITING team, not the home team.

They are not relevant to commercial organisations who the NBL will be talking to - sponsorship and marketing do not cross the Tasman basically. With very few exceptions independent commercial decisions are made, even by brands that sit on both sides of the ditch.

They add nothing to one of the NBL's core problems, which is connecting the league with grassroots in Australia.

Lets be clear, having NZ in the league did not help the Channel Ten, the iinet or any other sponsor negotiations. They are irrelevant to these organisations. Having Wellington increases the white noise around this issue.

HO, I agree with you about bringing in metro franchises before regional ones. All I said is a central Queensland franchise would be good. I take it you don't live in QLD because there is a major interest in basketball I'm that area and they have money.

On the Wellington team that Mystro is talking about, you do realise there is such thing as television in NZ. Well I'm pretty sure there is. Expansion of a league overseas is actually good for growth. As you know, the NBA was trying to get into Europe.

I wasn't at all talking about priorities. Anyway, what is your preference for the next NBL team?

Look guys from a business position. Nathan Tinkler is Asset rich but cashflow poor. on paper he is worth alot but can only realise that wealth if he sells assets. i have focused my business principles on being cashflow rich and asset (well not bad). this stops me from struggling in tough times like eddie groves and tinkler. i do financial education programs, seminars etc on this stuff and its my passion and hobby but at the end of the day. Brisbane or SEQ will be the next team followed by a 2nd melbourne team. dont be holding your breathe for much expansion then that for a long time. Newcastle and hobart do make sense in terms of population and potential market but forget it for the next decade.

I don't live in Qld but I know Qld basketball reasonably well. Yes, there is interest. But Cairns and Townsville, both biggish centres, have struggled.

Sorry, there will not be a central qld franchise in yours or my lifetime, and I have a lot of lifetime to go.

I disagree that overseas expansion is good for the league. Complete rubbish!

Just because someone plays basketball and is good at it and is well organised and has a TV audience does not make them attractive.

Singapore was a disaster. New Zealand as they are add nothing to the commercial operations of the league now. Adding Wellington would take away from the commercial viability of the league.

Imagine for just a second the TV ratings in Sydney (where the tv ratings matter) if the GF was between Auckland and Wellington? Not going to happen, and all for commercial reasons. Imagine the sponsor activation planned around the GF and what would happen to it if the same thing happened?

The NBA trying to get into Europe? Sure, and they have hundreds of staff in China too, but they are not going to play their regular season, even though China would be a more lucrative market than Europe.

Sorry, its not about whether they would be good and draw a crowd. Its about whether they add to the value proposition of the NBL, and they don't.

The ratings in Sydney are bad no matter who is playing, sadly. New Zealand's seven figure sets of eyeballs certainly make a difference to sponsors who operate in both markets, which is a large number in this day and age.

What the NBL needs is good local TV deals for regionals so that their national tv games can focus on big market teams.

Just to be sure, you're saying that Cairns' NBL franchise is struggling? You used the past tense, and that's correct (they have struggled), but are you saying they are currently struggling?

No, i used the past tense. But, they are precarious, even though they appear to be doing a good job. Someone said here they turned a profit of less than 100k last year - that could quickly become a 200k loss and that would drain a community model pretty quickly I would think.

And sorry Paul, I disagree. There are very very few corporates, who have enough cash to make the difference, who have linked Australia / NZ strategies. And lots of common brands (think rebel Sport for example) are independently owned.

iiNet Australia is pretty committed to expanding their NZ market, and what's important to them is pretty important to the NBL with renewal approaching.

Id like to see a reincarnated Geelong Supercats, a S E Melbourne, a Hobart Chargers and even an All Stars team from the NT but I reckon I am dreaming in the current climate.

If it takes almost 3 years to get a Brisbane team back, then there aint no way in the foreseeable future any of the above clubs will get another gig.

Spursfan, bit rough on HO. One of the best posters on Hoops and always worth paying attention to, IMO.