Isaac
Years ago
New Year's Eve crowds in the NBL
Boti Nagy has already covered some of the great crowds achieved by NBL teams in NYE games this season and the NBL has smartly put out a press release noting the same.
Four teams hosted NBL games on NYE with a combined attendance figure of over 17,000 fans.
The Hawks hosted the 36ers and the 4,088 fans in attendance topped their previous NYE record (NYE 2006) by over 400 fans.
The Taipans (playing Melbourne) had 4,369 which was a season high and easily beat last year's NYE game (3,853).
The Crocs also had a season high, getting 4,684 to The Swamp as they played Perth. Last year's NYE crowd was 4,644.
The Blaze played the Breakers and had a season-best of 3,872, a significant increase over last year's 2,233.
While the NYE games aren't convenient for all, they likely serve as a solid option for families.
Basketball Australia Chief Executive Larry Sengstock said the strong attendance figures for all four games clearly showed the NBL had established New Year's Eve games as a popular part of the league’s calendar.
"New Year’s Eve NBL games were introduced as a ground-breaking part of the Australian sporting calendar over a decade ago and their growing popularity with our fans has established them as a firm part of our plans for the future," said Sengstock. “The crowds that packed our arenas to see our teams in action on December 31 this season were fantastic and all of our teams were thrilled with the response they received from the public.
“It’s vital to the healthy of any major league to establish traditional fixtures around major in-season holidays. Cricket has the Boxing Day test, football has the ANZAC Day clash, and basketball has firmly established New Year’s Eve as a date for NBL fans to circle on their calendars. December 31 games will continue to be an important part of the NBL in the future.”
