I once worked with a man who was extremely partial to Custard Tarts. He would have one for morning tea every day if he COULD. Problem was the local lunch-bar only ever ordered a single custard tart each day, so depending on when delivery was made and when he went for his coffee he often missed out.
So he asked the owner to order him an extra tart, promising to buy it every day. The owner refused stating "I only order one custard tart, because that's all I sell"!?!

The same problem applied to a venue. If you start with a small shed in the boonies that only seats 2,000, you will only get the die-hard fans. And because you can only sell 1,800 tickets, you will never move to a better venue, so you will only EVER get the same die-hards, and so-on it goes.

If I suggested starting the team with no imports and playing only amateurs until you could afford better, people would say I was nuts. Well the same applies to venue choice.

You wouldn't open a new cafe with one table, one chair, and one cup.
To launch a new business or an NBL team, you MUST have a PLAN. You WILL lose money until that plan comes to fruition, so if you can't afford that, go away.
If your plan is to play in front of 2,000 people, then you'd better have planned on an alternative source of revenue.

Not every team can be a Perth, and truth be told had the Cats been given a say they probably would have opted for a capacity closer to 10k than 14k.

The number one consideration MUST be looking after the fans. As the realtors say; "Location, Location, Location." It doesn't have to be huge but you need a comfortable venue, with good amenities, in a great location. Make attendance an enjoyable experience and people will come back.

I don't know Brisbane well enough to say what is the best location, but my point is that they need to go after the BEST venue, rather than simply the most economical.

No one should eat a custard tart everyday. Need to be more mindful of sugar intake.

" If you start with a small shed in the boonies that only seats 2,000, you will only get the die-hard fans. And because you can only sell 1,800 tickets, you will never move to a better venue, so you will only EVER get the same die-hards, and so-on it goes."

Dazz, when you've got a moment I'd like to introduce you to a team called the Perth Wildcats. Once we're done there Ill take you to meet my other buddies Essendon and Collingwood. There's lots of other friends to meet too but I'm afraid we'll run out of time.

Dazz got me at Custard tarts

Dazz...the Wildcats had to move from the PEC to Challenge Stadium to survive the spiralling costs of the PEC.

They were bleeding money.

It was not until they stablised, and built on their brand that they could move to PA.

I too think 1,800 seat venue is too small for a State Capital City but if that is affordable and sustainable, do that first.

Dazz...the Wildcats had to move from the PEC to Challenge Stadium to survive the spiralling costs of the PEC.

They were bleeding money.

No, the reverse is true.
They had to leave PEC because it closed.
(It was old, required too much maintenance, and was more valuable as real estate, but end result it closed.)
They beld money at Challenge, which is why Vlahov had to bring Bendat in.

Paul, this isn't the 80's.
At the inception of the NBL most teams local clubs stepping up, or otherwise had similar venues and budgets. There's a reason NONE of those teams are left.

In the 80's I bought a new car. It had vinyl seats, 4 spd manual, 1.3l carburettor engine, painted metal on the inside, no aircon, no power steer, no power windows, no ABS, no airbags, and no stereo. When I went to the footy as a kid, we STOOD.
People won't put up with the same things they did 30 years ago.

I'm not necessarily disagreeing with the idea of starting in a smaller venue, PROVIDED it is part of a long-term plan. Maybe their plan is to concentrate initially on building a roster and getting some on-court stability, establish a small core of fans, then in say their 3rd or 4th year move to a better venue with an accompanying big push in marketing and memberships. That might work (I'm no expert.) However starting in a crappy venue on the premise of moving only when crowds warrant, won't.

Nor is it only about numbers, size is NOT the key. If you had a choice between a 7,500 capacity shed out in the burbs, or a 4,500 premium venue in the city, go for the premium venue. (Although anything smaller may not be viable.)

And forgetting Brisbane for a moment, if you're a regional team then a smaller venue may be all you can get (or all you can fill.) My point there is that you STILL need to have a (different) plan. Smaller venue means either a much smaller budget for your team, OR a significant alternative income stream.

Perth would sell custard tarts at $15 a pop

Dazz, your point wasn't about standing up and vinyl seats, it was about it not being possible to start in a 2,000 seat stadium and grow from there.

"No, the reverse is true.
They had to leave PEC because it closed."

Dazz, the Wildcats played at Challenge before they played at PEC (and at Perry Lakes before that), contrary to your theory of 'start small, stay small'.

Dazz,

Your analogy may have been better served (pun intended) in one of the previous threads relating to the NBL's lacklustre efforts to promote, market and sell its product, even to the diehards.

In a related point, I just went across the road to buy a custard tart and guess what.....couldn't get one. Just like the NBL there never seem to be easily accessible custard tarts when I want to satisfy my cravings. I spent my money elsewhere.

Hmmmm custard tarts, oh well I might just give up going to the NBL, I mean the deli. Oh and it's good to know I'm not alone, did your former work colleague go to a support group/internet forum for custard tart tragics? (:-))

Dazz your a champ mate!

As for the stadium deal and what not... I think conservative may just be the way they need to be right now and hopefully when they try and get to a bigger stadium then the NBL has plans in place to get the best deal for all clubs with renting stadiums as the current plan of just letting teams hope for a better stadium deal seems so wrong.

I'm off for a custard tart

Whatever venue they choose, they'd better serve custard tarts at the kiosk.

I'd like to see the Bullets follow the model the Breakers and Tigers have used, splitting games between big and small venues. That allows them to really market some marquee games to get big crowds while not be exposed to financial losses for the other games.

It's a model I think most of the league should follow to allow for a few more TV-friendly midweek games in the schedule.

Custard Tarts hey!
The perfect non life threatening item to chuck at the ref's......I like it!


P.S. Might need to drum up some more floor wipers though:)