Do Cairns even spend the full cap?? i remembered hearing a few years ago they didnt, but is that still the case.

They seem to do a good job of targeting young/cheaper talent even with there imports, that play the right way/fit in there system, instead of bidding for the big name guys.

Is that simply what they do better than some of the other clubs, that makes them more successful on the court and more profitable off the court?

They didn't cut guys the fans love like the Crocs did which has lead to the dwindling crowd support.

From the outside looking in:

1) live within your means. Taipans don't use the cap or have large numbers of admin staff. It also means taking a punt of young players and developing a team - not buying one on paper.
2) 1000 hours this year in community engagement. On top of all the uncounted fan engagement.
3) Best practice corp governance model.
4) Engagement of sponsors and being really good at selling the Taipans narrative to them (and the wider community).
5) A lot of people putting in countless unpaid hours.

No doubt there are always challenges - even with a great model - but they've shown they can adapt to circumstances and learn from past mistakes.

Create a good culture - hire good people - live within your means - Innovate - be accountable = success.

All clubs are already trying to get profitable, attract crowds, etc. It's not as though they need to stop and think "Wait, what if we copy Cairns?"

Talking about affordable imports is one thing but you can remember how many Adelaide have gone through in recent years trying to find a winning combination.

There are a lot of variables with any of these clubs. Venue location, venue costs, strength of sponsorship base (hit to coal knocked a big chunk from Wollongong, obviously), other forms of entertainment in that location, etc. Each can have a significant impact on a club.

Where clubs have a lot of control over things and fewer excuses for lapses are in effort/communication with members, ticket pricing strategy, marketing, etc. A team like Adelaide certainly haven't done all they can in those areas in recent years.

those unpaid hours come from the board down to the guys handing out raffle tickets at the game.

And the Taipans do a lot of work engaging with jnr's - for example it's not uncommon to see Fearne helping with jnr coaching etc etc.

Spot on Issac.

I believe it also has to do with the fact that Cairns doesn't have any other sporting team based out of it, the Cowboys play a few games out of there a year but that's about it, they don't have any other major sporting team to compete with thus have a large share of the market for that city at that time.

Thanks guys,

I wasnt meaning simply copy Cairns, but there have to be some lessons there that other clubs can learn from as they have clearly got it right without needing to spend huge $$$ or have a mega rich owner.

The things KingPdge mentioned in his first post of

1) live within your means. Taipans don't use the cap or have large numbers of admin staff. It also means taking a punt of young players and developing a team - not buying one on paper.
2) 1000 hours this year in community engagement. On top of all the uncounted fan engagement.
3) Best practice corp governance model.
4) Engagement of sponsors and being really good at selling the Taipans narrative to them (and the wider community).
5) A lot of people putting in countless unpaid hours.

Is what i was sort of getting at, as some of these things are likely not being done as well at other clubs, ie as its been mentioned the 36ers didnt do aswell in fan engagement at times in the last few years, could they learn from how Cairns go about it? Im sure there are many other examples like this across the league.

Also the fact dont get caught up in spending big/blowing there budget in signing a 'big name' player, they buy the best they can for what they can afford and often means taking a punt on a younger guy, or someone who has had injuries/been let go by another team. I think thats something other clubs dont do aswell at times imo, they get too carried away signing 'big names' that either dont draw extra people, dont turn out to be as good and result in extra wins.

I have just been impressed with Cairn's franchise from afar and reckon there is plenty others could learn from how they go about things.

Cairns only spent 750 000 this year. Pretty crazy when you relize the Breakers imports nearly get that alone. Taipans players are at every single community event and always at schools playing against the kids. Fearne has also never cut a import for playing reasons and shows great faith in young guys coming through and takes a punt signing them to longer contracts. Beecroft (GM) does a great job with his relationship with sponsors. They could be even better if they had a good marketing manager. Lucky Fearne carry's them putting a good team on the floor!

win? we had 2 sub .500 season before this one and the club still posted a profit.

Someone is always going to lose, you can't have a business plan that relies solely on 'winning'.



Manshipkirk - yes there is less 'competition' in the market, but there are still other organisations out there competing for limited corp $$ - Cairns is still smaller than t'ville with a lower GDP.

Definately Cairns have built a good young team which helps, Crocs have been working toward this also.

Can anyone tell me what the Taipans pay for the Cairns convention centre and if they get a percentage of food and bev revenue? Cheap rent would definately help

The Crocs were paying $24 000 per game at tecc thats $336k a year and huge chunk of their income, they have been negotiating with new owners for $4000 to $8000 a game. Thats $220k to $280k a year saving right there.

Wow Cairns only spent $750k on the roster, shows what can be done if you spend it right, they had a very well rounded and fairly deep team, makes me wonder what other clubs did with the extra $200k, clearly not getting value for money, and maybe the extra $200k isnt really needed to put a good team on the floor.

this makes me think maybe $750k should be the salary cap, could even go $500-600k + a marquee player for $150-250k. Either way keep the spend to around $750k tops, this alone makes the whole thing more sustainable as you are saving $200k+ already.

Even if the league doesnt stipulate it, i reckon thats something most clubs should look at, reduce your roster spending whilst remaining competitive.

Think about it at the very least you have reduced your spending and loss by $200k, which is huge imo.

I think Mick Downer (assistant coach and all-round good guy) plays a huge part in their success, as he has a solid relationship with the younger Australian players as they come through (allowing them to recruit well), as well as his work with the Boomers. I'd say he offers more value to Cairns than all 38 of Perth's assistants combined.

I dont think the rent $$ are publicly available - but i doubt it's an insignificant sum, the convention center still needs to cover their costs etc.

I'd think too that the venue would retain all F&B revenue, but i have no idea.

"Cairns only spent 750 000 this year. Pretty crazy when you relize the Breakers imports nearly get that alone."

they actually get that much each plus a ring ;)

^ Welcome to the internet.

Besides not winning the championship ?

I don't know

@ King Podge

With Cairns selling out the stadium in no time over the playoffs, is there any call to make the venue larger?

Is it even possible?

proud: not possible mate, there are no bigger venues around. Even then i'd be waiting until i sold out every game in a season with just season members before i'd take on the extra liability:)

Spending under the cap isn't the answer.
I don't think ANY team decides to pay their players more than they are worth simply because they can.

Cairns have been successful,
because they have been successful.
EVERY team is aiming to get a good balance of players, coach them well, and form a competitive team. Cairns have done that.

Wilbekin has been fantastic for a kid straight out of college. Question will be whether he stays around on the money Cairns can afford, or whether he takes a lucrative offer elsewhere and they have to try again.

Dazz, "Spending under the cap isn't the answer." It's certainly an answer. If you are $200k off breaking even each year, and you can compete and spend $200k less on your talent, you have a more financially stable club. The league should find as many ways as possible for clubs to stay competitive without restraining others from bringing talent into the league.

Council have nothing to do with the convention centre
Its run by aegogden
http://www.aegogden.com/Venues.aspx

Well not paying rent would be a huge benefit

I still think there are other things mentioned by people in this thread such as not overspending on players, putting heaps of effort into community engagement that other clubs could learn from

hahaha I love anon's that drop 'facts'...

CCC isn't a charity and the council has nothing to do with the building's operations - the building is run by AEG Oden (like GTS said) on behalf of the state government.
The lights dont power themselves with the magic of basketball, the security, door and F&B staff aint magical elves, the stadium doesn't clean itself after games nor does the floor magically appear before.....


Taipans pay rent. end of story.

So they would pay $500K+ in rent? I call bull.

and even if they didn't pay rent, so what? If they negotiated the greatest venue usage deal since Caesar leased the colosseum that good on them!

There is no such thing as a free lunch.... especially when that lunch holds 5000+ people.......

Oh good, Harry is back.....





...said no one.

it all comes down to Fearne and co recruiting the right players and then the players buying into the Taipans community model system....Fearne and co have made plenty of mistakes in the past but have LEARNT and are now reaping the benefits of that.

Thanks Uwe. Been away overseas and trying to catch up. Thanks for your welcoming wishes.

I think you misunderstood me...
If a team can spend less and still have a great team, that's fantastic. If the team has a limited budget, operates within that, and is still competative, wonderful.
But the question posed is "what are Cairns doing that others aren't?" And I'm simply saying that "spending under the cap" is not THE answer. If anything it simply ADDS to the question: How did they finish top whilst spending less???

If indeed they did spend less, then they're a terrific example that you don't need Perthesque dollars to be competitive. However that doesn't answer the question...

And WTF do people mean about the Council waiving their rent? Are you talking about their practice venue?

The CCC is owned by the state government and managed commercially, so I'd imagine their venue rental is at a commercial rate. That said, it sounds like an excellent venue, and a good size for them. Big enough to take a viable crowd without being too big to fill.

Practice venue is owned by Cairns Basketball.