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 Is the NBL going to survive? 
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Postby therock » Wed Apr 04, 2007 10:28 pm


Thetigers are in financial shape ...NBL still need a FTA TV deal though ..


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Postby djmenow » Sun Dec 30, 2007 7:42 pm


Not according to Derek Rucker.

I disagree with most of what he is saying. Sour grapes maybe.

The only thing I agree with is reducing the amount of teams in the NBL.

Quote:
Rucker fears death of NBL

FORMER NBL star Derek Rucker has declared basketball "dead" in Sydney and says only a radical shake-up can revive the sport in Australia.

The retired 411-game veteran said he feared for the league's existence in Australia unless basketball faced its problems head-on.

Basketball Australia is in the middle of a structural review, but Rucker questioned whether "hard decisions'' would be made.

Two of Rucker's proposals for the NBL include: cutting back from 13 teams to 10, possibly axing his former club the West Sydney Razorbacks, and; trimming matches to 10-minute quarters.

Rucker and the Sydney Kings insist they split amicably last month when Rucker's one-year contract as executive director expired.

But he had been shocked to work at the NBL's coal-face and see how much basketball was struggling.The Kings, clear leaders in the NBL this season, are averaging crowds of less than 3500.

Despite having the best team in the league, Rucker said selling the Kings to sports fans sometimes felt like "banging your head against a wall''.

"No one cares here in Sydney, it's dead,'' Rucker said.

"You get 2500 people to a game, it's fairly sad.''

Rucker said the sport could not gloss over the problems.

"It's sad in a lot of ways because the product is decent. I'm not going to say it's better than ever because I think the lack of honesty and self-evaluation is part of the reason the sport's at this level now. The product's decent, but it's not as good as it was 10 years ago.''

Rucker said the NBL had to find ways to become more appealing to the average Australian sports fan.

He pushed for games to be trimmed to the international length of 40 minutes, adding more urgency.

He also said the NBL had become "too soft'' as a physical contest.

Rucker said the league should also be rationalised, with clubs cut.

"We need less teams, 13 is ridiculous. This competition can't withstand that. I don't think Singapore should be in the league. Wollongong's a question mark.

"There needs to be 10 teams and that would mean making a hard decision on a couple of teams.''

Rucker also questioned whether Sydney could sustain two teams, firing a shot at the Razorbacks.

"Two teams can only work if they're both good ... (West Sydney) have got to be a top-six team otherwise they've got to go, it's that simple.''

Kings chief executive Garry Hudson admitted crowds had been disappointing, despite the Kings meeting their budgeted 3100 fans per game. The Kings had a goal of 6000-per-game by 2009.

"Dead's probably an overstatement,'' Hudson said.

"We still get a very strong fanatical crowd although the numbers are down.

"The game's not dead in Sydney the game's alive in Sydney at the association (local club) level ... we haven't transcended that participation level into bums on seats.''


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Postby Rutzie » Sun Dec 30, 2007 11:16 pm


They should definitely cut the amount of teams in NSW to 1 or 2 and get rid of the New Zealand Breakers and Singapore. Perhaps even merge the Bullets and Blaze so they play half their home games in Brisbane and half on the Gold Coast.


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Postby bigdan » Mon Dec 31, 2007 8:50 pm


This is what I would do -

1 - Ditch Singapore and New Zealand.

2 - Merge the two North Queensland teams, or move a license elsewhere.

3 - One team per city - so either one of the Kings or Razorbacks and either one of the Dragons or Tigers to either merge with the other, move the franchise or delete a license.

4 - If licenses are to be relocated, priority should be given to Newcastle, Canberra, Darwin or Hobart, if they have potential teams that can prove that they will be sustainable in the long term. Otherwise, don't re-issue those licenses.

5 - Get every game broadcast. IIRC, Fox Sports doesn't air all the games, so offer those games to a FTA broadcaster or force Fox to air all the games. And make Channel Nine air a game not originally aired on Fox. Even if you have to offer games to SBS, every game should be aired.

6 - Try and reduce expenditure wherever possible and possibly reduce ticket prices, considering they are in competition with the A-League and cricket.

7 - Run the NBL as a business, not as an offshoot of Basketball Australia.


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Postby djmenow » Tue Jan 01, 2008 11:40 am


bigdan wrote:
This is what I would do -

1 - Ditch Singapore and New Zealand.


I agree with this one. Singapore is never going to be successful while 99% of their team is not from Singapore or asain. NZ is just plain annoying, they are getting a few more people to their games but not enough to waraant the costs of having this team in the league.

bigdan wrote:
2 - Merge the two North Queensland teams, or move a license elsewhere.


Townsville is one of only a few teams that sell out their stadiums year after year. In fact all the QLD teams dont do too bad with the support. It helps when the Bullets are winning and are owned by the owner of the ABC learning centres. Gone are the days of Boondall though. Gold Coast seems to be fdoing all right to. Hard to say on this point.

bigdan wrote:
3 - One team per city - so either one of the Kings or Razorbacks and either one of the Dragons or Tigers to either merge with the other, move the franchise or delete a license.


The Razorbacks will be gone in a few years time if that. They have never had the support they need to survive. The Kings dont do much better wither but at least they are successful on court. I agree with the merge of the Vic teams though.

bigdan wrote:
4 - If licenses are to be relocated, priority should be given to Newcastle, Canberra, Darwin or Hobart, if they have potential teams that can prove that they will be sustainable in the long term. Otherwise, don't re-issue those licenses.


Considering Illawarra and Newcastle merged all those seasons ago and now there is talk of Wolloongong folding due to no money it will be hard to set another team up successfully in that region. Canberra has been tried a few times to no success. Hobart would be my pick instead of NZ. Yes they were dropped from the NBL in the Mid 90s due to financial problems but I feel it is time for them to reenter the comp.

bigdan wrote:
5 - Get every game broadcast. IIRC, Fox Sports doesn't air all the games, so offer those games to a FTA broadcaster or force Fox to air all the games. And make Channel Nine air a game not originally aired on Fox. Even if you have to offer games to SBS, every game should be aired.


Thats the problem though. Fox Sports own the rights to the NBL so it would be up to them to onsell any games but no FTA is interested in the costs involved showing the games due to the problems with ratings. Foxtel wont do all games also due to the costs. We need some sort of broardcast and it is sad we have to accept what we currently get but if they forced more onto these deals then it would be unlikely that any network would take it and want the deal.

bigdan wrote:
6 - Try and reduce expenditure wherever possible and possibly reduce ticket prices, considering they are in competition with the A-League and cricket.


I would say most teams have reduced expenditure as much as they can. Most teams are still losing money. It is good that some of the teams have rich backers, Cowan - Dragons, Bendat - Wildcats that would be able to accept some of the losses for the short term but the league needs to address the lack of exposure to the NBL. Most teams cant afford to drop ticket prices that much otherwise they will lose too much money. When you look at the ticket prices against some of the other sports the NBL temas are quite good/competetive. It is just getting the new fan to the game and to continue to go. The old skool fan will always turn up.

bigdan wrote:
7 - Run the NBL as a business, not as an offshoot of Basketball Australia.


I think we do run it as a business but not very well unfortunately. It has got better over the past few seasons but we just need more exposure media wise to promote this great game.


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Postby bigdan » Tue Jan 01, 2008 12:31 pm


djmenow wrote:
I agree with this one. Singapore is never going to be successful while 99% of their team is not from Singapore or asain. NZ is just plain annoying, they are getting a few more people to their games but not enough to waraant the costs of having this team in the league.


Exactly.

djmenow wrote:
Townsville is one of only a few teams that sell out their stadiums year after year. In fact all the QLD teams dont do too bad with the support. It helps when the Bullets are winning and are owned by the owner of the ABC learning centres. Gone are the days of Boondall though. Gold Coast seems to be fdoing all right to. Hard to say on this point.


Townsville I'd keep for that reason. I remember back in the 1990s reading in One on One (remember that magazine?) about their streak of consecutive home games. How are Cairns are doing money and crowds wise?

My suggestion was more along the lines of the "one city/region, one team" policy.

djmenow wrote:
The Razorbacks will be gone in a few years time if that. They have never had the support they need to survive. The Kings dont do much better wither but at least they are successful on court. I agree with the merge of the Vic teams though.


If I had the money, I'd have a crack of moving them to Newcastle (yes, I'm from the Hunter, so I'm pretty biased in that regard), but try and build their own stadium. I've been to the Entertainment Centre...not the best place for Basketball.

djmenow wrote:
Considering Illawarra and Newcastle merged all those seasons ago and now there is talk of Wolloongong folding due to no money it will be hard to set another team up successfully in that region. Canberra has been tried a few times to no success. Hobart would be my pick instead of NZ. Yes they were dropped from the NBL in the Mid 90s due to financial problems but I feel it is time for them to reenter the comp.


When did the Hawks and Falcons merge? :shock:

I'd be more prepared to try and get games across the length and breadth of the country. The AFL won't, NRL won't, A-League are dilly-dallying about it. Which is why I'd give priority to those four places, as at least three of them have hosted NBL before and have NBL standard arenas.

As for the Hawks - I'd try and get Bruce Gordon (WIN TV owner) on board, and offer him TV rights to the Hawks as part of the deal.

djmenow wrote:
Thats the problem though. Fox Sports own the rights to the NBL so it would be up to them to onsell any games but no FTA is interested in the costs involved showing the games due to the problems with ratings. Foxtel wont do all games also due to the costs. We need some sort of broardcast and it is sad we have to accept what we currently get but if they forced more onto these deals then it would be unlikely that any network would take it and want the deal.


Again, if it were up to me, I'd be putting a LOT of pressure on Fox Sports to pick up their act. I would be more than prepared to offload games that Fox don't air to regional stations (they need local content points, and I'd reckon they'd count) OR to ABC or SBS free of charge, just for the fact that it's getting the product out there.

djmenow wrote:
I would say most teams have reduced expenditure as much as they can. Most teams are still losing money. It is good that some of the teams have rich backers, Cowan - Dragons, Bendat - Wildcats that would be able to accept some of the losses for the short term but the league needs to address the lack of exposure to the NBL. Most teams cant afford to drop ticket prices that much otherwise they will lose too much money. When you look at the ticket prices against some of the other sports the NBL temas are quite good/competetive. It is just getting the new fan to the game and to continue to go. The old skool fan will always turn up.


True. Supposedly participation levels are decent, so you need a way of getting the kids to drag their parents along to games. Try offering them bus trips to games at a discount, along with discounted tickets and the like.

Also, try and make owning an NBL franchise a attractive proposition to those with the dough. Even if it's allowing the team to control their own TV and media rights, like they do in the NBA.

djmenow wrote:
I think we do run it as a business but not very well unfortunately. It has got better over the past few seasons but we just need more exposure media wise to promote this great game.


Agreed. They've gotta get out there and promote. More coverage across every media outlet you can find. Simple.


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Postby djmenow » Mon Mar 03, 2008 6:03 pm


Quote:
Bullets silent over NBL team ownership

Brisbane's rich history and successful brand will ensure it survives the NBL's latest challenges, Bullets general manager Jeff Van Groningen says.

Rumours have circulated the NBL's foundation club was up for sale with long-time owner and Brisbane millionaire Eddy Groves fighting to save his ABC Learning Centres empire.

Growing concerns over the future of the Sydney Kings, West Sydney, Wollongong, expansion club Singapore and Groves' role with Brisbane sparked a weekend call from four-time championship winning coach Brian Kerle for the NBL to make changes.

Van Groningen was not prepared to comment on whether a "for sale" sign was out or being prepared for the Bullets.

"A national basketball league without Brisbane would not be good for anybody - I don't think that would ever happen," he said.

"As long as there's a national basketball competition, I think there will always be a Brisbane team.

"It's one of two surviving foundation clubs with a very strong brand and in NBL basketball terms we're very strong.

"We're strong and successful and I have no doubts there would always be interest in the Bullets from an owner's point of view, from sponsorship and from players and fans.

"I think because Eddy is in the news people assume he is looking to offload everything but that's not always the way he works.

"I'm not out there hocking the Bullets on his behalf.

"Eddie has some pretty big things on his business plate right now and I don't think he's too concerned about the Bullets, I think he's pretty happy with them and enjoyed the time he's had."

Should Groves off-load Brisbane, there'd be sufficient investors interested in picking up the NBL licence.

"This club has benefited enormously from a strong passionate owner for the past 11 years, of which I've been here for the last six," said Van Groningen.

Kerle, the face of the Bullets during the club's glory days of sellout crowds in the 1980s, has put together a three-page plan to help basketball fight back.

Top of his list is a return to a winter season - "going to a summer league was the worst call of all time," he said.

Securing free-to-air TV coverage was also a must.

"I'm concerned and I think everybody should be concerned," fired Kerle.

"This is a real big worry."

Van Groningen welcomed Kerle's crusade.

"I respect Brian's comments because he's a guy that is speaking with a genuine love of the game," he said.

"He's genuinely concerned about the game and I agree with him the sport is facing a lot of challenges right now.

"We need people like Brian involved and we need people with Brian's knowledge and opinions."


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Postby djmenow » Thu Apr 17, 2008 10:24 pm


The Bullets have a new owner, Former championship winning Bullets coach Brian Kerle is the new GM and Joey Wright has apparently signed a 5 season coaching deal to lead the new team.

So they are secured short term anyway.


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Postby therock » Thu Apr 17, 2008 10:51 pm


Brian Kerle ???...the coach who used to sack his players ..to cover himself ...he is an notorious coach


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Postby djmenow » Tue May 27, 2008 8:57 pm


Quote:
NBL boss says clubs struggling
AAP - May 27, 2008, 6:35 pm

National Basketball League boss Chuck Harmison admits the competition is in an "embarrassing" state with power clubs Sydney and Brisbane battling for survival.

Foundation club Brisbane - a championship winner two seasons ago - faces a massive task to find an owner after a consortium headed by millionaire businessman David Kemp on Tuesday pulled out of deal to take over the club's licence from nine-year owner Eddy Groves.

And the cash-strapped Kings could still have their NBL licence terminated if they fail to meet player payment deadlines, including $10,000 owed to star Boomers shooter Jason Smith.

An embattled Harmison conceded the NBL was perhaps at its lowest ebb in the league's 30-year history.

"It's very embarrassing ... but it is what it is," said Harmison after the Kings bought more time on Tuesday by convincing the NBL it had reimbursed Smith his outstanding money.

A number of players, including championship-winning Bullets guard Mick Hill expressed fears for the League with Brisbane and Sydney on the brink.

"Without those type of teams the League could fall over," said Hill, who after staying loyal to Brisbane could be out of a job.

Harmison countered saying the NBL would survive even if the Kings and Brisbane did not.

"The league is stronger than any one or two teams," he told reporters.

"We are still strong in a lot of areas," he said, nominating Townsville, the Melbourne Tigers, Perth and Adelaide as among the most viable markets.

"We don't want to lose Brisbane and Sydney and we're doing everything we can to keep those teams in the league."

Brisbane owner Eddy Groves lashed out at the David Kemp-led consortium on Tuesday after it backed out of its licence bid citing a sponsorship breakdown for its decision.

However Harmison ridiculed suggestions the NBL's major sponsor, Virgin Blue, had any involvement in the consortium's decision.

The NBL has battled against other sporting codes, even changing season a few years ago to avoid clashing with the football codes.

While netballs' new Trans Tasman league has taken off with television coverage during football season, the NBL is floundering.

It struggles without free-to-air television coverage and crowds have been on the decline in Sydney and Brisbane, who've won four of the last six championships between them.

Harmison said the NBL's current problems highlighted that success on the court was no guarantee of financial security.

"It's not the be all and end all. Sports administrators think it is, but it's not," said the American born former Wollongong import."

He used the Townsville Crocodiles, who've been profitable for every one of their 15 years in the league, but have never won a championship, as an example.

"It's a matter of getting out and selling the product ... it's entertainment and people can come along, pay their money and enjoy a good night out," he said.

The NBL boss stopped short of predicting an NBL with fewer teams next season.

"The league will keep going," he said.

"It may not keep going in its current state.

"Hopefully we'll come out stronger, but it may take sacrifices from everybody, including players," he said


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