curtley
Two years ago
Anyone know what this could be about? Media release says itll happen 930 central time and involve a few nbl players, loelinger and some NT government folks including the chief minister.
ME
(he/kangaroo)
Two years ago
Id say Blitz in Darwin with a view to see if an eventual team is viable. But follow the real estate with LK. He made a real estate investment with Tasmania and the team, so if theres a similar opportunity in the NT a team could be fast-tracked.
proud
Two years ago
I'm all for LK building the infrastructure around a team up there... let’s make it viable
Frogmanbaby
Two years ago
Have the NT ever had a team in a national sporting code? Would be awesome to see if sustainable.
ME
(he/kangaroo)
Two years ago
Australia is a funny country in that we have entire states we pretend don't exist - Tasmania and NT among them. We dont even get news about things that happen in the Northern Territory. It's like one of those weird old unofficial Soviet states that you cant find on a map but exist only to the people that live there. I dont see why a state of 250'000 people couldn't support an NBL team with an arena fit for 5000. Of course there wouldnt be a huge commercial base in the Northern Territory for business enterprises - and therefore sponsorships - but if the NT government got behind it (and maybe they are?) there could be some traction. Call them Darwin Salties and make it an extension of the NBL1 team
Perthworld
Two years ago
Have the NT ever had a team in a national sporting code? Would be awesome to see if sustainable.
NBLTigers
Two years ago
Not sure if the league is considering a team in Darwin. NBL definitely needs more teams.
League needs at least 14/15 teams to make the league more viable to international viewers.
NBL should expand to Darwin, Geelong, Gold Coast/Canberra. Possibly Asian team in the long run.
Anon
Two years ago
Anyone know the crowd at Salties games? No point having a NBL team if people aren't packing it out. Hobart always had decent crowds to SEABL games
Kev
Two years ago
Salties are at capacity. Can't attract more people to games as there aren’t enough seats. The hype is there listening to school yard parent pick up banter, however hard to attract fans when you can’t get a seat.
ME
(he/kangaroo)
Two years ago
Salties are apparently by far the most watched NBL1 team online as well. I think they've gone there to genuinely canvas the idea of a team.
Dave Marshall
Two years ago
This will be a case of seeing if the NT Government has the appetite to underwrite an NBL team. The chief problem that Darwin has that Hobart didn't (and that Canberra doesn't have either) is the lack of an NBL-size (if not NBL-quality) stadium. Marrara only holds 1500, and the Convention Centre apparently doesn't have a basketball configuration.
Darwin's population is only a few thousand smaller than Cairns, so while it would be the smallest market in the NBL, it wouldn't be outrageously small.
Perthworld
Two years ago
If Darwin were awarded a team in future imagine the enthusiasm - it would be on par with the 90s Suns hype in Townsville.
ME
(he/kangaroo)
Two years ago
This is right in LK's wheelhouse. Buy the land, have a stadium built, watch land property and team increase and then sell the team.
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An Australian basketball forum covering NBL, WNBL, ABL, Juniors plus NBA, WNBA, NZ, Europe, etc | Forum time is: 12:10 am, Fri 19 Apr 2024 | Posts: 968,026 | Last 7 days: 754
