ANON12
Years ago
WNBL - LOGAN THUNDER MAKES 11 TEAMS
The new WNBL season hasn't started yet and already they announce a new team for 2008.
South East Queensland is set to make a return to the Australian Defence Force National Women's basketball league after a break of 10 years.
Southern Brisbane-based basketball association Logan Thunder has won the new license and subject to certain sponsorship assurances and achieving certain financial milestones required by Basketball Australia they will be suiting up to play in September 2008.
Basketball Australia Chief Executive, Scott Derwin, said the new franchise would play a key part in making the Australian Defence Force WNBL a truly national championship.
"As Australia's third largest city and the country's fastest growing region it was essential that Brisbane and South East Queensland were once again represented in the national competition," Mr Derwin said.
"We have been in talks with Logan Basketball for the past 18 months and have been impressed with their enthusiasm and professional efforts to get a team up and running.
"At this point we have granted them a conditional license only and their entry into the competition will be dependent on them reaching certain financial milestones.
"We understand it has been difficult for them to sign sponsors when they didn't even have a license to play.
"Now they have an official letter to say they are in the competition if sponsorship backing is forthcoming."
Former National Basketball League star and Australian Boomer, Mark Dalton, has been the prime mover and shaker behind the bid. Dalton, a 432 game NBL veteran, with 92 games for the National Team, has been appointed general manager of the team to be known as Logan Thunder.
"It has been a goal of mine for the past seven years to see a new women's team playing out of Brisbane," Dalton said. "I have been involved with junior basketball here in Brisbane for a number of years and the female talent that is coming through is truly exciting. "Unfortunately since 1998 they have had to leave town to play on a WNBL team.
"We are the world champions in women's basketball, Lauren Jackson is the best player in the world and basketball is booming, yet one of the largest cities in the country wasn't represented in the national competition."
The new Logan Thunder side will play their inaugural season at the Insport Stadium, Cornubia in Brisbane's south before moving to a new $17million Logan Metro Indoor Sports Centre at Browns Plains for the start of the 2009 season. Mayor of Logan, Graham Able, said the new national team was one of the biggest sporting announcements ever to be made in the city. "We have backed the Thunder consortium in their bid from day one and the new Metro Stadium's design had already been upgraded to handle Thunder's expected entry into the WNBL," Cr Able said. "It's wonderful for the city of Logan to have a national sporting team identity and I am sure we will draw capacity crowds to the Metro Centre to support them in 2009."
Logan Thunder WNBL is a not for profit community based organisation.
A naming rights sponsor, coaches, team logo and colours will be unveiled in the near future.
