Should have set up a bubble a month ago, pick a centre and get on with it. NZ would've been good.

#234 you couldn't get into NZ a month ago so nice one champ

Ok Brisbane then.

Bogut saying Tassie

Hopefully it's just Perth and the NSW teams that need to relocate, with states other than WA staying accomodating towards pro sport

#249 WA's borders are open to everyone but NSW and Victoria so your post makes zero sense

Let's do what Bogut says.

https://www.hoops.com.au/forum/47935-is-the-nbl-start-in-trouble/#p826268

He heard teams are going to Tasmania you spanner.
Confirmed by Olgun

Happy New year people.

So who is paying this?

Why TF did anyone at any point think that Melb/VIC would be a good place for a mass gathering??!

Clubs foot the bill.

Are Tasmanians going to buy tickets to dozens of games though? Doesn't the NBL need tickets sale to make the season remotely viable?

There won't be games in Tasmania. It's only 2 teams so far.

ME the issue isn't the NBL jumping at shadows it’s states like WA that have immediately closed its borders to both NSW and VIC. If the teams didn’t relocate they can’t get into WA for example. The league is reacting to what the states are doing, not the other way around

@ME, also Victoria had it well under control but nsw lost the plot and Victoria let it back in. As above WA locking the border every two minutes doesn't help.

Vic never had it under control until thei recent 6 week lock down.

The following is extracted from the article at https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-01/nbl-teams-set-to-scramble-out-of-melbourne-due-covid-19-outbreak/13025708

'"Given the current situation in Melbourne we have decided it's prudent for both clubs [Phoenix and Breakers] to relocate to Hobart and they will be accommodated and train there under strict COVID protocols," NBL commissioner Jeremy Loeliger said:

"This will give us time to assess and work through the next steps required as we prepare for the forthcoming NBL season.

"We hope the current restrictions and resulting border closures will be eased as quickly as possible but we will need to stay flexible in our approach and we will continue to be guided by the advice of the relevant state health authorities."

The NBL had planned to host a hub in Melbourne from February 20 for a month-long blitz of 36 games but that is now in jeopardy.'

Hobart it is!

When you actually read the article, its isn't quite right.
"NBL clubs South East Melbourne Phoenix and New Zealand Breakers will temporarily move to Hobart following a fresh COVID-19 outbreak in Victoria."

Then it goes onto say "Sydney Kings and Illawarra Hawks recently moved to the NSW border city of Albury, but they too will be moved due to the worsening situation.
The NBL is yet to announce where those two teams will be shifted."

So they are in fact going into limbo land.

Hobart has hardly any basketball courts, re the DEC getting refurbished now and brand new courts next to it for public use. If anymore teams go to Tasmania it will need to be around Ulverstone, Bernie, Davenport and Launceston.

The dec has one court. Not an issue.
Moonah 3. Kingston 3. Warrane 1. 4 teams would train once a day? Not a problem. Phoenix already here.

How many courts are realistically needed to cover playing and training for the whole league?
5 absolute max IMO.
Tassie no worries.

9 teams in Tassie.
Play 24 games ( each team three times)
No home court advantage.
2 to 3 games per week.
10 week season plus finals.
Start late January to early April.
Finals over by late April.

H2H used as tiebreaker.

#325 dreaming

I like that idea as long as Fox are on board.

Tassie been wanting a team for decades, now they get a whole league!!!

Put teams in different locations in Tasmania, I bet the locals will love it.

Yeah the crowds at the blitz last year were massive hahaha

PLease understand that most courts in Tassie aren't NBL compliant. Not even the DEC according to LK (which is bullshit IMO)

If the afl can operate a hub out of brisbane, then the nbl could as well. But could have 2 to 3 hubs running if necessary.

I'd suggest LK is going to dip into his pocket rather substantially this season.

Scout as previous poster mentioned before someone who doesn't no Hobart, said Hobart would be fine, the north of Tasmania can accomodate clubs and has reasonable training facilities. Ulverstone has held many a national championship. They could be spread out between Ulverstone and Launceston.

Refer above, crowds were paltry at the Blitz. Currently games can be played in WA, SA and Queensland. I'd expect the first 5 rounds to be scheduled to these venues and then who knows where they will Hub after that.

They'll make it work in Tassie if they have too...The stadiums arent up to the standard of the full blown NBL game day show but downscaled to ensure a season happens safely won’t be an issue

Meanwhile United are still saying they'll play their first game in Bendigo on Sunday next week...

#371, I find that highly unlikely

Will there be a season? Who's paying for all this flying around and accommodation. The wage cuts look smart now in hindsight.

Perth has the arena, Bendat stadium how about the old challenge stadium? Surely a professional sports team can get a exemption to play?

The same people who always pay for flying around..smh

Currently no one will need an exemption to play in the opening round in Perth as everyone is out of VIC and NSW.

Um, last time I looked Albury was in NSW, that's where Sydney and Illawarra are at present. Get your map out mate. Perth should play out Adelaide if other teams can’t get exemptions to get in, or Darwin would be good. The afl seemed to be able get teams in and out though.

So have mini-hubs in Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane. Forget the NBL Cup stupidity, and hopefully after a month or two, the remaining games can be played in Sydney and Melb to even things up. Sucks for NZ but there is probably more of a chance of opening a travel bubble to there than it is getting the virus under control in NSW and Victoria.

Why do you think they went to Albury Einstein?

Albury is in NSW, you can't go to any state from Albury at present, Einstein you are not.

Why do you think they moved them there? To sit around for 2 months until the crisis eases and twiddle their thumbs. Maybe think before you make a fool of yourself flog.

And you can travel out of NSW to certain states as long as your suburb is not a designated hotspot, Einstein.

I think the point both Einstein's are missing is the fact that Kings and Hawks left the red zone areas on 26 December so can’t go anywhere (another state) until 14 days after that. That’s the real problem.

Hearing rumours of them going to Tassie, they would have to quarantine in some form until the 9th or 10th. Tassie are also being a bit more relaxed on border closures than normal. Usually they are just behind WA and Qld.

Trying to connect some of the dots.

So they can go to QLD or Tassie for example as of January 8. Gee that is prior to the season starting isn't it.

No they don't. The NBL will just change the schedule. Send a QLD team to Perth and Sydney go there. It's not that difficult

Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane in Perth.
Cairns, Sydney and Hawks in QLD.
Both Melbourne clubs and Nz in Tassie.

3 hubs isn't going to work as you do not have enough referees to work the games with NSW/Vic and NZ referees unavailable

I'm pretty sure referee availability is not going to be the sticking point to a hub starting somewhere.

Townsville Bulletin from this morning suggested that a hub might be set up in Townsville after the WNBL successfully did it.
https://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/news/townsville/townsville-is-in-line-to-host-another-season-of-toptier-basketball-this-time-the-nbl/news-story/c3cf8e2d86b94853e8f6c0056ece5011

There is a difference between 1 Hub and 3 Hubs. With referee's from those 3 areas excluded you have about 10 referee's of NBL standard left across the whole country

Looks like QLD border will be closing soon. QLD Facebook states QLDers should start making their way home ASAP. I am assuming will be closed to all NSW and VIC. Here we go again!!!!

Guys, no nbl this year. Refs aren't available, let's shut it all down.

Yes a few weeks out and it's turned to poop. Shut it down. Cases on the increase in Melb (again) it's going to be a while yet until the antidate gets here and even then the other strains will persist.

#428 unfortunately they are a necessity or you get what the WNBL dished up

Let's shut down everything for a handful of cases.
Smh

Talk to the state premiers numbnuts

"Talk to the state premiers numbnuts" About what exactly? Sydney and Illawarra afaik are in the exclusion zone, Phoenix and Breakers are in Tassie already. So please tell us how it's all going to work? I await your response which is extremely unlikely.

I'm not the NBL, I don’t have to give you the answer idiot. The NBL moved teams because states were going to close their borders to NSW and VIC. Thus if the teams stayed cross state travel would have been impossible. So the NBL reacted to states like WA jumping at shadows after 3 cases of community transmission. That simple enough you dumbass

#438 Albury is in nsw, the hawks and kings can not fly to WA without going into quarantine. It's closed to all nsw. The easy way out is bubble in Perth or move Perth to play out of a friendlier state.

Please keep up. NSW teams don't have to play in Perth immediately. Plenty of other clubs can.

I'll keep up but at present you are making it up.

#458 OMG do mummy and daddy know you're on the internet?

When the schedule changes I'll comfortably say I told you so. Was it the league who cancelled tonights Cairns v United game? No I don't think so

So you should be able to tell me the score then seeing as it should be completed?

Calm down kober. You're an internet nerd.

Of course he is but in this case he's right. It's a scrimmage and both coaches will be experimenting I would have been experimenting and the score line is meaningless.

He will make sure we all know he is right and that is the problem.
Arrogance.

They have moved to Tassie so they can still travel interstate... Nothing to do with playing games there. What's so hard to understand.

Gosh this thread is toxic

You better have evidence for KR lol

Hahaha. /citation

@ TB, now that sounds like a good idea. Would two teams in Tasmania and two in Canberra do the trick until it's under control.

Which they have

Both NSW teams are still in NSW, Melbourne are in Cairns before the Victorian lock down. Phoenix and NZ are in Hobart, so two out of five isn't quite what they have.

Here's a novel idea, cancel the season. How can teams afford to live away from home for the entirety? Fans, if allowed will be at least cut in half, not good for one of leagues cash streams.
Every few weeks there's a new outbreak somewhere and hard borders go up, does the NBL really have the resources to keep shuffling pieces around? If one squad member gets it, all games against them will be cancelled, when will they be made up?
As for playing in a single hub like the women, what's the point of that, millions of dollars in players payment in a venue and no tv deal to offset the costs.
Vaccine rollout in March will not be a silver bullet, but fingers crossed it will have things under control until everyone has access to it later in year.
AFL took a hammering financially, and they have TV money.
So instead of all these bright ideas of teams moving to safe states, hubs etc, just shut it down. Yes it's disappointing, but it's just flogging a dead horse. It's not financially viable!

#497 you'd be fun at parties. Players already getting paid, imports in the country, might be better get the show on the road and have season and yes the owners will have to pay with sponsors.

" the owners will have to pay with sponsors." So the clubs have sponsors and they are paying to sponsor exactly what? NO home games. I doubt any sponsors atm.

# 500, please open your eyes, all clubs have sponsors on there uniforms, plus main sponsors like , Bunnings, MG, chemist warehouse, hungry jacks, sports bet, Kmart, qantas, Latrobe financial, Aldi mobile plus other secondary sponsors. It's ideal situation but it’s still very viable.

Didn't the Sixers have a caravan park sponsorship on their uniforms recently and the obnoxious owner courtside?
Sure, hungry jacks,MG might pump 6 figures into the league each, but the trickle down is negligible. If it was so simple the league wouldn't need crowds to save it.
And as mentioned above, who sees the sponsorship? And if you haven't noticed, a lot of those secondary sponsors will be doing it tough, don't think they'll chuck in 10 grand as a whim.
And don't imports have to play a certain amount of games for money to be guaranteed? If so there goes a lot of your expenditure. Have a freaking hub tournament with the locals to get something out of them, shit, a state of origin series has always been mentioned, do that instead.
Otherwise the league may totally be gone next year trying to flog this dead horse.

It'll happen and you don’t have to watch it.
Yes those sponsors won’t cover all the cost, all that were mentioned above are hardly small time companies, Bunnings and hungry jacks are huge but as you say if there is a short fall the owners and the league will have to chip in. I for one can’t wait to watch some games.
The virus will probably still be in play by the stat of the next season, do we stop again, life moves forward, you have to adapt. The afl borrowed big time to keep there season afloat last season, they have a lot more teams and much larger squads, do you think they are not going to start next season. They start preseason in late February, let’s follow your idea and cancel.
It’s time to get on with it.

How much did the AFL get from their TV deal to make up for loss of crowds?
So the league and owners are just going to give money away?
Bunnings and Hungry Jack's are huge companies, but doubt they are investing millions. And HJ,s recoup a lot of their money in their cheeseburger promotion, who's going to just grab a free cheeseburger that cost 5cents to manufacture anyway.
I want to watch games as well, it's just that there's no money to be made, that's the be all and end all. Let's face it, league was struggling before covid and LK invested in it. How's it going to survive moving teams around and accommodating them in front of maybe crowds in best case scenario.
Teams lost money, add accommodation etc to that ledger. Nbl owners aren't Mark Cuban, not bottomless pits, otherwise all teams could be like Perth.
Yes, AFL has started, but if outbreak becomes big again, wait for hubs to reemerge. And AFL with all their money from tv totally struggled.
It's great living in fantasy land with rainbows and lollipops. But hard facts are that NBL can't survive in economic and medical climate.

Oh please, the men's A league and W league have started and there hardly in a better position than the basketball. It’s about keeping the sport in people’s eyes or the young players and supporters look elsewhere.
I just hope the people running the nbl have more foresight than you and keep it going as it looks like.
All players have been receiving payment for this season contract, that’s was the agreement for player reductions, I’m certain they would rather play than just getting there money. There is no way all imports are going to just leave without payment, lots of money has been paid out already, let’s get on with it.

I ask again who will pay the the players in the NBL Cup.

It's part of there contract, part of the same money they have been getting since first July.

How can you keep it in supporters eyes if they're in different states and can't stream it?

A league going great guns in an outside venue.

After an increase in NSW coronavirus cases scuppered Western Sydney's plans for a bumper day of football, Western United's Monday night clash with Adelaide United has suddenly been bumped to the top of the run sheet.

The original plan was a much different one.

The A-League and W-League were scheduled to kick off in a double-header at Bankwest Stadium on Sunday with Western Sydney's A-League team to face newcomers Macarthur FC.


After coronavirus forced last season to be played in a hub, the new A-League season was due to become one of the biggest beneficiaries of NSW's plan to allow a return to full-capacity crowds.

Then the northern beaches cluster emerged.

First, the A-League announced any fixtures affected by border closures such as the grand final rematch between Sydney FC and Melbourne City would be postponed.

The league reshuffled fixtures, scheduling games between the six teams based in NSW and seemingly keeping the A-League opener on track while matching interstate teams against each other.

Then, on Wednesday, the double-header planned for December 27 was pushed back by three days, with permitted crowd capacity in NSW reduced to 50 per cent.

As a result, the season will open with 2019-20 semi-finalists Western United playing out of one of their temporary home grounds and hosting last season's seventh-placed finishers Adelaide in front of what is likely to be a small crowd.

Fuck Kobe... look at that https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/nbl-preseason-contest-canned-at-last-minute/news-story/cee5a8afacf40f6547a08f880db79511

Kobe said "I haven't seen anything saying it was canceled?"
You have now. Idiot.

So a sore loser too haha such a douche

And as usual you don't know everything

Why would they not stream it, it was all streamed previously. Some people just got to be miserable. Yes, there will probably have to be adjustments but it should go on.

^^^[ exactly.

First games next weekend, let's enjoy the ride.

"It's pay walled. And when I said I hadn't seen anything, I hadn't seen that.
"I haven't seen X" is not the same as "X does not exist."

Dead set wanker.

Hahaha, KR using the old Schrodinger's cat theory. Yes we've all seen tha Big Bang Theory episode. Strangely Sheldon isn't as annoying as that dickhead KR!

Apologise for being a dead set wanker is preferable.

Change of season schedule released tomorrow morning, yahoo sports saying.

Kings and hawks still in Albury, talk of Tasmania or Queensland on yahoo sports as well.

They only got to Albury on the 26th. Do the maths dude

NBL start is in big trouble for Corey Webster

"The way I usually cut it (the avocado) wasn't working so I got a little bit frustrated and I just tried to stick the knife straight through the pit of the avocado and the pit split open and it (the knife) just went all the way through the palm of my hand and then out the other side of my hand," Webster said.
“It was pretty crazy. I’ve never had an injury like this before.
“I had to have surgery to reconnect the nerve, I severed the nerve in my palm, one of my fingers is still numb and that feeling won’t come back for a little while.”

Yep. https://nbl.com.au/news/blockbuster-double-header-to-open-nbl21-season