That's fanatstic news. Can't wait to see it on TV on Friday night.

Could we finally have a challenger for average crowd size?

When you think about it, it's a great idea to get as many people as possible out to your first game. Your surely going to attract people who haven't been to the basketball befor, will get a taste of what it's like (not really because your not going to get 10,000 at every game) and want to come back to at least one more if not two more games. Great marketing!

Skip, Friday night's game is Sydney @ Melbourne. This 7k is for Sydney's opener on Saturday against NZ I think.

Yes - 7k sold for Syd vs NZ on Sat.

Great news for the Kings and the league, hopefully Melbourne gets a sellout for the season opener although got to say havn't heard a whisper around Melbourne about the game?!

Thats great news. obviously they made it a bit of a bargain but you need to come up with ideas like this to get the crowd in the doors in the first place. You need to show people what they are missing before you can charge them the right price.

A lot of Kiwis live in Sydney

Hopefully they won't mind too much when Kirk Penny torches them.

^Oops, Penney

You'll never hear anything about basketball in Melbourne if its left up to Melbourne Tigers. They couldnt care less about promoting. That's where the dragons really helped the sports exposure. Tigers have no idea.

There has been no publicity about the NBL season starting this Friday in any of Melbourne's major print media such as the Herald-Sun and The Age newspapers.

The Melbourne Tigers are hopeless at promoting or marketing themselves in their own backyard.

Isaac - D'oh! So it is!

so is Kirk Penney back for the first round game is he??

Penney is apparently not suiting up on Saturday night for their first game of the season.

Check out the Sydney Kings new floor and state of the art video screens being put otgether at the SEC. It looks great! Link: http://linky.com.au/eqnp9

It very much has Lakers feel to it...

I think the Kings already had more than 5000 seats sold before the $10 promotion started, but I could be wrong.

I wanna stay upbeat but they'll end up with 3000 av for the season. Hope i'm wrong...

I think OneHD has been doing a great job of promoting the start of the league throughout the Commonwealth Games. Only protecting its own turf, but a whole lot of people would know the NBL is starting and is back on FTA as a result of that saturation marketing.

Newspaper and print media, less so, which is disappointing. But will hopefully improve when the Comm Games are over and there is less to report.

^ Anon, why would the Fox sports web page have any basketball on there when they have no rights to play the games. sure they could put the news up about it, but im pretty certain they only care about sport that they can get people to watch on their channel, otherwise it serves as no benefit to them. It's a shame thats how it is but we gotta grin and bare it.

The sales are good. Here's hoping the first home game results in a tight contest that will have people wanting to come back.

Fox sports still have a basketball page on their website - you just have to find it under other sports. Seriously, I would trade all the minimal support basketball got from News Ltd for the genuine investment Ten is making into the sport.

If things go well the mainstream media will come back to some extent.

Interesting that a couple of friends who never followed NBL have asked if I, and other people there at the time, want to come around and watch the game on ONE this Friday over a few beers. That is a good sign.

A bad sign is that some people in the discussion still feel the need to put the NBL down, but one step at a time I suppose and the fact a few people said yes is a great sign.

Paul, tell them to cancel the party and grab a ticket and drink at the dome!! thats the best way for them to get into it.

But as you said it is good that people are starting to talk like this. alot of people will be looking for something to follow in the summer season now that footy is over.

I seem to recall their last game there v Dragons and a few hundred turned up.
2,000% increase.

Great to see the kings selling so many tickets. You can bet people will be turned away @ the door for the 1st Wildcats home game. A sell out like most weeks.

First article in the print media this week in Melbourne regarding the NBL...from Grantley Bernard in today's Herald-Sun.

Link: http://linky.com.au/pvnko

The Age in Melbourne also has an article in today's paper...

Link: http://linky.com.au/cm62v

Anon, they were talking about Perth games, many of which sell out. Capacity at Challenge Stadium is 4,500.

Big double page article in the Advertiser Today, plus smaller Articles every couple of days the last few weeks. More than I expected!

Go BOTI Go :)

That was Ballinger on radio 5aa , just then.
Carfino and Ballinger sent them a DVD -
" Hey Cornesy and Rowie - the NBL is on OneHD , two games a week. The footy season is over, get to the Dome."

(Basketbrawl in China gotta lot on the TV news)

Rowe is often at the games, I think. Sits just in front of me. Hopefully they discuss it a bit more on radio though.

They were touched to get something like that sent to them and their producer - a personal invite from the 36ers Captain and Carfino - to watch the games on TV and go to the dome - which they played on air and got Adam on air tonite for the interview.
Should hear more now the season has started.
Good bitta marketing from Carfino and Ballinger.

Also, like the Kings win last nite and the sixers starting tomorrrow has been on radio all morning and TV newses tonite.
I seem to recall a season or so when started during AFL finals - no mention - no one knew.
I imagine this game is a sell out.