A. Bitoni Fan
Years ago

Context to the Perth basketball success story

It's been a hallmark of recent NBL seasons. Perth drawing truly remarkable crowds (relative to what is going on with the rest of the league), showing unparalleled professionalism from everything ranging from game night entertainment to social media presence and having a membership base more than double of what some teams could dream of achieving as a season high crowd.

As an outsider, I've often found myself wondering just what it was about that market that made it such an outlier as far as the popularity of the NBL relative to the rest of the country. Being between jobs over the past 6 months, I took the opportunity to travel the country a bit and spent a bit of time in Perth talking and researching the environment and industry over there to find out just what is driving the NBL phenomenon over there.

I'll illustrate my findings below, but part of the reason I post this here is to see what other opinions are out there regarding why Perth's NBL team is so popular.

1) The WA Sporting Landscape

Western Australians love their sport, and more importantly love a winner. That's one part of the equation - the Wildcats are an established brand name associated with success. With 6 championships under their belt, there is no competition with regards to success in other sporting clubs and particularly so in recent years, as the Eagles/Dockers/Glory/Force have flopped.

The other interesting part is what I like to call "the role model" element. An underrated part of what makes this current model of Wildcats so easy to support is that their Australian core (which was built back in the Rob Beveridge era) of Martin, Knight, Redhage, Wagstaff and more recently Jervis and U'U are known as clean cut, well behaved, professional men who act as great role models for young children. One of the things you can't tell from afar is that the Eagles' brand has been damaged from their string of poorly behaved players such as Ben Cousins, Daniel Kerr and more recently Murray Newman. It certainly doesn't help when a prominent player like Dean Cox writes in his book that there were several players under the influence of drugs during their most recent premiership success. Parents are finding the NBL more conducive to a family friendly environment because of this and you only need to visit "The Jungle" once to see how popular it is with the kids, not to mention the face painting and carnival-like activities that are at the Arena.

2) Weather

Spend a bit of time in Perth during summer and you will realise how oppressive the dry heat can be, with days in excess of 40 degrees the norm. Basketball has traditionally been a winter sport, but comes into its own in summer by providing a cooler, "under the roof" alternative for entertainment. People are also becoming more educated regarding the dangers of UV rays, which also helps to shape decisions about how one spends their afternoon/leisure hours. The hot Perth summers provides an advantage for Wildcats ticket sellers over their Eastern States counterparts.


3) Mining Boom

This one probably needs little introduction, as it has been well-documented how the WA economy has been underpinned in recent times by substantial resources projects (both in iron ore and LNG) and the flow on effects this has had to disposable income of WA families. Make no mistake, the Wildcats ticket prices are not cheap, yet fans still regularly fill every seat in the Arena with their fistfuls of disposable cash. It will be interesting to see how prices are changed (if at all) in coming years, with plenty of anecdotal evidence about regarding the slowdown in the resources sector.


4) Wealth / Power

This one is slightly controversial. It is a well known fact that Wildcats boss Nick Marvin is also the NBL boss - providing a potential conflict of interest. There has been much conjecture about rules being bent in favour of Perth, allowing them to construct a mighty roster that breeds continual success and provides non-stop entertainment. It did not stop in the recent off-season, with allegations that Drake U'U and Earnest Ross were signed to bench roles with the Cats using "loop hopes" in the points cap infrastructure and taking the Wildcats' tally of American-born players to an astounding 5.

Above Marvin sits Jack Bendat, who boasts a net worth allegedly approaching a billion dollars. Bendat's financial weight has allowed the Cats to provide great facilities and amenities to players and staff alike, assisting them to attract the best talent, including current NBA star James Ennis and most recently College Final 4 championship star DeAndre Daniels.


Lack of Alternative

Since moving to the Arena (in Perth's CBD), the Wildcats have scheduled as many Friday night fixtures as possible to cash in on the "weekend" factor. Many have often commented that Perth is a "boring" city with little alternatives when it comes to nightlife - the Wildcats have made the most of this by providing a feature entertainment offering on a Friday night in the CBD.

I'd be interested to see what other reasons others (particularly those in the Perth market) have regarding why Perth is such a popular NBL city relative to other cities in Australia.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

On Friday nights Perth isnt boring. Id say its probably the one night of week where the Perth CBD really comes to life and can rival some of the bigger cities in the country.

A very nice summary of how it is in Perth though.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Is Nick Marvin negotiating the new TV deal for the NBL for next season ?

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Jim G  
Years ago

I also think that a very important point is the fact that all the players are involved in the community in some form or other. Look at Greg Hire, who was nominated for a national award for his community work. He being a local boy also gives strength to the popularity of the team.

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Dazz  
Years ago

The Wildcats have developed and held a strong following for over 30 years. During that time there has been no BBL competition for the City's heart. They're not a local team that went national, they were established as THE state team, and have remained so. They haven't come and gone, they haven't merged and de-merged.

They have always done a good job of attracting and retaining talent to become naturalised. You talk about "5 American Players," that's nothing. I remember the days when Grace, Crawford, and Fisher ALL played as naturalised Australians, complemented by imports such as Lichti and Michaels.

They HAVE, for most of their history, benefited from deep-pocketed owners. During the 90's it was Kerry Stokes, and for the last decade or so it has been Jack Bendat. That has helped them stay strong through the lean years.

The Eagles are the number one team in WA, but they've had a waiting list for memberships for the last decade. The teams don't directly compete, but for a family that could only afford one season membership, not being able to get an Eagles ticket makes the decision easy. Similarly for corporate boxes.
Also, Subiaco Oval is a ____hole. The seats at Perth Arena aren't exactly luxurious, but it beats paying for "PREMIUM" seats at Subi and sitting on wooden slats.

They have done a fantastic job of marketing. What started as "hey, wear red to the game," has become "The Red Army." Not only is their tremendous loyalty, but of course if you're going to wear red, might as well buy MERCHANDISE.

The Wildcats have worked hard to look after Fans, even at the new Arena. We complained about the queues for refreshments, and The Arena doubled the tills, we complained about the heat, they turned up the aircon, we complained about the lights, and they changed them.

The Arena IS a good venue, and it has great location. Its easy to get to, plenty of parking, an easy walk from the Central train station, plenty of bars to go to after the game, etc. And yes, the Friday night games are perfect for people to come to from work in the city.
And yes, Sunday afternoons in Perth's summer, sitting in the comfort of the Arena is preferable to baking in the sun.

Perth is a big rich city (approaching 2M) to be supporting only one team, and that's how it works here. There's never been any other NBL teams, and there's nobody (local) who sits in the "Love NBL but hate The Wildcats" camp.

And the fact is, when you consider how freaking expensive it is to live in this city, Cats tickets aren't that bad. One of the pluses of the Arena is that it allows the Cats to release cheaper tickets (for the nosebleed sections.)

And yes, being the most successful team in the league sure helps. What is also great for the locals is that our distance and isolation creates a strong home-court advantage. So even in not so great years, they will still win most games at home, which the crowds love.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Nick Marvin is NOT the NBL boss.

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Bear  
Years ago

What I get from this is that no other NBL team can actually copy the Wildcats system or process to achieve their level of success and durability...

Well, that about does it for NBL expansion then!

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RMQ  
Years ago

There is also a firm basketball culture in Perth stemming from the golden age 90s.

Perth has always been isolated and when Bball was booming in the 90s many kids paid more attention to the NBA and basketball in general than any other sport.

Our domestic league are constantly filled with social players and their is a massive undercurrent of die hard basketball fans.

WA is basketball country.

But for a long time these fans shunned the NbL for its lack of talent.

Families have brought the wildcats back to prominence and with the steady improvement in talent Perth's basketball savvy underbelly is slowly showing its head again.

Basketball and its culture is massive here. But great management and a bit of luck has kep the wildcats afloat.

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Isaac  
Years ago

Sounds like Dazz is on the money to me. Another thing is that Perth never seem to have spent so extravagantly that they threatened their survival, but have consistently looked to serve their fans, get their marketing right, etc. Other clubs are routinely too rash and burn out, or too miserly and project cheapness or frustrate fans.

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FYI  
Years ago

Nick Marvin is the decision maker and controller.
He has seen off many people on his quest

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Perth Arena alone is a massive part of what makes the Wildcats successful.

If every team had a nice new arena located similarly conveniently to the city centre, things would be a lot healthier league-wide straight away.

The history of success helps a bit for sure, but I don't think it's that big a factor.
At Challenge Stadium they were pulling 4k crowds. Now it's suddenly 10k. All the success and professionalism and marketing in the world would not have pulled huge crowds to Challenge, even if it did have a bigger capacity, because it was a mediocre venue, in an inconvenient location, with nothing else to do nearby.
The Cats turning an NBL game into a complete experience extends outside the walls of the arena and into the surrounding areas where there is heaps going on pre and post game, with shitloads of parking and at the very hub of the city's public transport system.

Good luck for any other club trying to replicate all of that with just a bit of extra advertising, marketing and social media work!!

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Dazz  
Years ago

The Cats were very savvy in their last years at Challenge. They knew that the Arena was coming, so they put a lot of effort into building their brand, and even pre-sold "Arena Memberships."

But yes, overall The Arena is a pretty good venue. I don't know about other cities, but the biggest problem with Challenge was that it was in the middle of nowhere. Nothing to do before or after the game, and practically no public transport. In those days my wife and I can seats that included booze, but one of us always had to drive. I still usually drive to The Arena, and stick to one or no beers, but it is almost perfectly located to the central train station.

I don't really know enough about other cities to say whether they could combine the same ingredients.
Like Melbourne, BBL is popular in Perth. Winter in Perth is cold, so athletic sports are fine, and most serious BBL is now played indoors. I Don't know but I would expect levels of support to be potentially similar in Adelaide? But of course Adelaide is smaller and has a lot less money floating around.
I can't understand why Brisbane fans aren't screaming for the Bullets to be brought back, but maybe BBL just isn't as BIG there.

Sydney has been baffling NBL theorists for decades. The biggest city in the country, and they can barely turn out to support one team. Perhaps Union, League, and Soccer are just too big there.

Theoretically Melbourne should be able to support at least two teams in a similar way. But as I understand it, you still have a lot of people with allegiances to former NBL and now SEABL teams, and many still see "United" as "The Tigers." Perth has never had that problem.

You also can't underestimate the impact of just having one team, unchallenged, that is accepted as representing the whole city. When WA finally entered a team in the NSL, Perth Glory gained widespread support because it was a new team, free of history, that was seen to represent everyone.
Simple fact is, that if you're from Perth and you love NBL, then you support the Wildcats. The problem you have in Melbourne (and even Sydney) is that as long as there is even a chance of another team, some fans won't support United. Then, if you do introduce a "South-Eastern" teams, there will be those from the Western suburbs who think they should have a team as well.

And longevity is important. Wildcats support is well and truly into its second generation, and working on the third. I have adult children who are now avid supporters.

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Mick  
Years ago

Big city that only has one of NRL/AFL is also a factor.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

How is competition from winter sport teams a factor?

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Mick  
Years ago

It's a huge factor. People who aren't super wealthy and want to buy a membership for a sports team will generally only pick one to financially support, and it's hard for basketball to compete with those codes. Local companies who want to sponsor a team will only pick one, generally, as well. You're also competing for the affection of your populace in terms of cultural relevance. Public funding, too.

People generally will support one local code more than the other, so if there's less competition it's easier for basketball to get a foothold. Kids normally have a favourite sport team. They will have all the gear, go to the games, watch it on TV every time, etc.

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Dazz  
Years ago

"How is competition from winter sport teams a factor?"

It's a big factor in three ways.

Firstly, BBL IS a winter sport for everyone but the NBL, so for juniors and families there is direct competition. If your kids play BBL, more chance the family will support The Wildcats.

Secondly, if your family can only afford one season membership, you would generally have to chose. Less choice in Perth because you can't get Eagles memberships due to the capacity of Subi oval.

Thirdly, there is the competition for the corporate dollar, and similar restrictions apply.

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Dazz  
Years ago

Another issue, which factors into the wider support of BBL in WA, is probably similar to how it has enjoyed strong support in small cities like Townsville and Cairns.
The weather in northern WA is extremely hot, and not easily tolerated by new families. Grassy ovals are not easily maintained and playing footy during the day is tough. Outdoor sports are often played at night, when the bugs can exsanguinate you. Most sizeable (mining) towns have aircond rec centres where BBL can be played indoors.
(Legendary Eagle Dean Cox actually played BBL in Dampier as a junior.)

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Anonymous  
Years ago

argh BBL is the worst abbreviation for basketball. Stop it.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

The context is Perth is boring. Therefore NBL thrives. and Marvin gets all the credit for just being there. Put him in another club as CEO and the same success does not happen.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

SERIOUS WGAF Perth. Yo'veu have advantages across the board over the last 15 - 20 years which has paid off for you all. Great, be humble and stop with the FIGJAM. Many other clubs and staff could have done the same if they had the same advantages so just shut up about it all already and maybe everyone will just go Well done Perth instead of Hating on you all.... No one loves a Big Head !

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Anonymous  
Years ago

"Nick Marvin is the decision maker"

Wrong. The Chairman of any board has the same vote as any other board member, and does not have the casting vote or final say. It is his job to co-ordinate the board, set agendas for discussion and be a leader.

He may have influence considering Perth's stature but there are still four other board members, and two clubs with representatives on the board (Cairns was the third but apparently their rep stepped aside from his Cairns duties).

If Marvin is such a tyrant, then there are four other board members who have equal say than can do something to overrule him or remove him.

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Isaac  
Years ago

But of course Adelaide is smaller and has a lot less money floating around.
I don't think that's an issue. When big acts come through, you see friends putting up $80-120 each time to see multiple artists. The difference is that basketball at a shed in Findon isn't the same drawcard. It's not seen as a must-see. The 36ers would need a few straight years of success and polished marketing to win that back.

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Dazz  
Years ago

I think it would only impact overall volume, ie: it would take proportionately greater support to generate the same volume. But then the AA can only seat 8,000 so the point's moot.

Brings up an interesting point. SHOULD an NBL team have its "OWN" large stadium?
The Perth Arena was designed with BBL in mind, but also Tennis (Hopman Cup). concerts, and theatrical productions. I think it would be fair to say that it derives most of its revenue from acts other than The Wildcats.

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koberulz  
Years ago

The Perth Arena was designed with BBL in mind

No it wasn't.

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