Let the Tigers come back.

Thoughts - has Aussie Hoopla been taken over by News Limited, almost as many grammatical, tense and spelling errors as a News Limited article.

Call it Aussie all you like, we have Convention Centres not Convention Centers.

Have to ensure access to venues, I don't think you can take insurance to ensure venues are available

I won't continue

Two tiers of 8 teams each should probably be a model to shoot for with promotion and relegation.

Infrastructure requirement is understandable but the viable business plan requirement can go out the window if you can attract super cashed-up owner(s).

Owning a sports team isn't about making money or investment. There are far more lucrative ways of making money out there for the amount of money you put into a team. Its prestige or passion. For the former you need to build your sporting code into a polished, exciting and buzz-worthy product.

^^ Ummm... Were you around when the Razorbacks existed?

the viable business plan requirement can go out the window if you can attract super cashed-up owner(s).

Owning a sports team isn't about making money or investment.

Curtly, I like the two tier idea and have spoken about it previously.

It could give places like Adelaide a second, "budget" team, just like Port Adelaide in the AFL.

Seriously though, I would imagine the capital cities having a "Div 1" and a "Div 2" style team. The regional cities would then fill the void and then the pro/rel would happen. (Maybe the Div 2 Premiers/Runners Up could challenge the bottom two Div 1)

The lower salaries lower in the Div 2 could make it viable, but as SteveK2 says, there's no real money in sport (unless you're the AFL)

Ha, nice dig at the Power there Jack, very cute. I wonder how the responses will be if the Tiggers catch your Crows by the tail this weekend and eat ya'll up?

Anyhoo, I digress, the topic has of course been spoken about for ages. This article appears to be more direct however, showing that the NBL bosses are not going to accept mediocrity. Nor should they!

One team every year or two is fine I think, and yes the front runners may be:

Hobart
Melbourne
Aukland (a second NZ team)

Where I do not see expansion in the immediate future is Sydney, already a second team (Hawks) nearby and the ings still need to establish a stronger foothold.

Adelaide is also not ready for a second team, IMHO the 6ers are almost there but risk being hurt by a second team for at least another 5 years.

Queensland is also a no-touch zone for some time, two teams are still not quite established but Cairns is probably the more settled of the two and the Bullets should get crowd support if they continue to improve.

NZ could expand if they show solid crowds and the infrastructure capacity they are speaking about to support that second franchise, but Asia for me is just not a clever plan, too many issues to even consider it. (Still have Slinger-Phobia).

The best chance for expansion is obviously a major city, even if it competes with an existing franchise, but please forget the Tigers in Melbourne, it has to be more like a Dragons franchise, to capture enough of the market not already scooped up by the United (Ex-Tigers).

That leaves rural zones, maybe within 5 or so years, but I can see towns like Bendigo or Geelong having that potential if they continue to grow and build that court that is big enough and modern enough to make an NBL game one of the biggest tickets to buy in the summer, remember no football to compete with!

Just my 2cents worth...

Aukland (a second NZ team)

Bear, could be quite a shock if the Crows choke.

My bad is there a better option, I just mentioned a location I thought was big enough, by all means, it can be elsewhere in NZ.

@Jack Toft, I got a very close-up look at both teams, I am not able to split them mate just looking forward to a killer game.

Go Storm!!!

It will be a good game, and Storm are looking v good too. Last game in purple for Cronk so he will be looking to go out on a high

My bad is there a better option, I just mentioned a location I thought was big enough, by all means, it can be elsewhere in NZ.

Tasmania are a must in my mind as they don't take any existing fans away from any other teams.

I'd love to see Geelong back but until they get a court NBL standard it just won't happen and nor should it.

Murmers when Big Joe was in Darwin that we'd get a Territorian team but that has gone no where.

Always had a soft spot for the Newcastle Falcons but Novacastrians are a bit unpredictable (dad is one) so can't trust them to turn up

NZ having a second team feels very much like West Coast, Adelaide, Brisbane and Sydney getting inferior cross town rivals to weaken the original teams with the go home factor and the breakers certainly are strong but do we want to destroy something that is keeping the fans happy? Yeah maybe we should!

NO to Gold Coast getting a Chinese team.

Next year Tasmania to join in the on court action and then 2019 maybe NZ2 or Geelong

Anyone give Newcastle a chance of returning? Work is being done on the Newcastle basketball stadium for a potential WNBL team so I don't see why an NBL team can't be a possibility?

Most viable in Vic is probably East Melbourne playing out of the state basketball centre. A second team in the centre of Melbourne certainly wouldn't be a good idea yet (as much as I'd love my Tigers back, I understand that won't happen and will simply keep whining about it instead).

The NBL is going to make the same mistakes as it did in the growth period for the sport in the early 90s. Growth doesn't mean bring in more teams & dilute what is already a limited amount of $$ available to the current teams revenue wise.

The NBL is already fighting for sponsorship $$ with all the otehr major sports bodies like AFL, A league, Big Bash et al, who have more resources to push their product.

The NBL IS NOT conducive to any of the following:

* Unneccesary expansion ( See Razorbacks, Slingers etc)
* Conferences. ( A stupid idea.. I'd rather look at a single ladder any day).
* Promotion/relegation. ( With our limited population .. even an AFL or NRL 2nd division would struggle to survive. ).

A team out of the state centre would be great. Not sure the existing show court is big enough, although I believe there are plans for a bigger court or expansion?

A second Melbourne team should work, just picking the name/brand would be interesting. I was a tigers supporter, and whilst I follow Utd I don't really feel completely invested in supporting them. If the new team was a reincarnation of the magic or dragons, I don't particularly feel like I'd be invested in that either. Maybe a new name would be good..

Like Melbourne Preferred or Victoria Chosen

A second team doesn't necessarily dilute a market as big as Melbourne. That view assumes all basketball fans are on board with Melb Utd, which is not exactly the case..

Doesn't the league own Brisbane still?

Would love to see more teams in the competition, but until a buyer can be found for Brisbane Bullets ( an established team in a huge market place) how can we seriously expect new money to come in to support a start up team?

Only way I can see new Australian based teams is if LK decides HE needs to plant teams in lager population areas, such as Newcastle, Western Sydney, possibly Geelong or some other outer Melbourne area in order to make the league grow.

Hobart is a no brainer really. No AFL teams down there and a lot of sports fans give them a team to love and support!

Yes a second wa team would work I think

The North V South divide stops any Tas team of any decent support.

Is Perth big enough for a 2nd team? Is the Wildcats interest so overflowing that people will engage witha 2nd Perth team ? ( see Razorbacks for yoru answer)


Look at it this way ... it took the AFL 20 years to add to its roster of teams. And if we applied the same logic that is going on with "NBL expansion" ... we shouldn't expand until the current ladder is embedded into Australian sport for at least 20 years.

LK owns the league Spot up. it wont happen.^{[citation needed]} The Tas Govt are putting in money now into the Nth Melb AFLW side. The negligence of all sides of Gov't need to support basketball in Tasmania. It's happening finally.
Brisbane is still owned by LK and is probably losing shitloads.^{[citation needed]}
The NBL's attempt to get into China has failed.^{[citation needed]}
The only reason LK is still NBL was to get into China and Asia^{[citation needed]}, what will happen now?

1 season to go.

I don't like the idea of Hobart returning, it should be Tasmania and share the home games between the regions with NBL quality stadiums; they make playoffs then the region with the most hostile crowd should get the first playoff game.

North vs south shouldn't be seen as a rivalry that will hinder but one that they should embrace it even to the point of having predominant home strips for Launceston and Hobart (extra merchandise sales) and it doesn't end there, they can be a success and we all know it.

Make it happen

The NBL under Kestleman is expanding^{[citation needed]} and one of the reasons he wanted to get into China was for his own business purposes.^{[citation needed]} That hasn't worked out.^{[citation needed]}

Hell he owns 2 teams and the NBL even you should know that. The clubs can say what ever they want. They are in the 25% minority.

"I don't like the idea of Hobart returning, it should be Tasmania and share the home games between the regions with NBL quality stadiums; they make playoffs then the region with the most hostile crowd should get the first playoff game.

North vs south shouldn't be seen as a rivalry that will hinder but one that they should embrace it even to the point of having predominant home strips for Launceston and Hobart (extra merchandise sales) and it doesn't end there, they can be a success and we all know it.

Make it happen"



Easier said than done.

Lets break this suggestion down....

* There is a history of rivalry between North & South of Tas.... if the AFL can't get a unified Tas team there ... what hope the NBL?

Even if they shared the games between them ... here's some questions.

- Where will the money come from to build TWO stadiums let alone one?

- Even if the plan went ahead .. what identity will the team have playing in 2 different regions in 2 different home strips with 2 different identities?

* Who will be the judge of who is the most vocal/hostile etc? If one mob gets the home final ... you've diluted an already limited pool of supporters.


It would be very nice to see a Tas side in the NBL in a perfect world.... but let the NBL build a solid foundation & not make the same expansion mistakes of the early 90s.

@Southern Joe, can we flip that on its head and suggest that the Tasmania experiment needs to be done in a way to exploit or rather feed the flames of rivalry?

Instead of one team that nobody will join in to support, why not introduce some games between other teams to test the waters and maybe generate an interest in setting up one team north and then one south, as direct rivals.

The best times in Melbourne were when we had direct rivals, but of course both have to be viable financially.

Build it up like that, with the objective in the long run being two teams from Tasmania within say a decade (a ten year plan if you will), in the mean time do what the AFL is doing and play at least one blockbuster game there or some blitz games, whatever it takes to spark the interest.

Another positive for Tassie is that you only have to get 2000 people along to get a crowd head count of 4000.

Great for crowd averages!

Bear.

While your idea might work in theory .... it probably wouldn't work in practicality.

If there were in an overwhelming interest in Hobart & Launceston that could sustain each team over an extended period ... then I say, "Knock yourselves out .. go for it".

But unless that interest is at least as strong in numbers and sponsorship $$$ as Melb. or Perth.... not worth looking at as it would just add to the list of broken franchises in NBL history.

Yep - BTAS and the Chargers have improved out of site. This has included being involved in the community and planning strategically opposed to all about individuals.

If Tasmania do not get a NBL team it is not because it does not deserve it. Financially everything in place , along with a community that is backing it - potential to play North and South and unite instead of divide

Further in reply to Southern Joe; understand your point.

But if you actually look at the structure in place at Hobart (with David Bartlett ex Premier on board as President - driving clear strategic direction); things are getting done and all the boxes ticked.

Venue, sponsorship and crowds. This is including doing the hard work with the local bball community and corporate community.

Strategically the focus is also to include the whole of the state as part of the NBL bid, this bid has not been rushed now in to year 2 of a 3 year plan. Has included move into the DEC with good crowds. Mistakes have been made in the past but work is being done now

Further in reply to Southern Joe; understand your point.

But if you actually look at the structure in place at Hobart (with David Bartlett ex Premier on board as President - driving clear strategic direction); things are getting done and all the boxes ticked.

Venue, sponsorship and crowds. This is including doing the hard work with the local bball community and corporate community.

Strategically the focus is also to include the whole of the state as part of the NBL bid, this bid has not been rushed now in to year 2 of a 3 year plan. Has included move into the DEC with good crowds. Mistakes have been made in the past but work is being done now

Tassie makes sense. Could geelong support a team again ?