And the money comes from where exactly? Is there a Mr Money to bankroll this until TV rights come or do we just think the crowds will line up... A vision without resources is a dream.

Here's an idea, get 2 guys who are decent basketballers that are also either studying or working in marketing and get each club to employ 2 of these guys per team and work part-time in club marketing and exposure.

New broadcast deal starts in 2015/16 and the way they are strategical moving forward I'm sure it's worth something.

Have been advised the expense line for an NBL team is ~$3-4 mil pa. Don't know the revenue line however would guess most are not getting a rate of return needed to attract investment. So until Mr Money or Mrs media empire gets behind it the NBL and WNBL fans will continue to dream and not much more will change.

Great work NBL.

And i mean that seriously.

Everyone criticises them when they do nothing and when they do something. They cant win really.

Credit where credit is due.

They are being active and i think we all have to understand the difficulty they are going through (so many factors they have to consider)

The A-league made some serious mistakes with hasty expansion into Gold Coast and Townsville. You want to hope this current plan is not similar.

will need to be one seriously big media deal to support 16 teams

Great idea Curtley. If there aren't suitable candidates then clubs could 'encourage' players to help out in part-time roles/study such as marketing.

15-16 lines up well with the new broadcast deal.

So this pretty much confirms 14-15 will be another year of 8 teams, but perhaps some other changes to be trailed in a non expansion year? points cap, 12 minute quarters etc?

if you build it , they will come

Personally think it's too many too quick. Just get what we have working and strong. The last thing we need is another story of a team folding.

Providing all 4 of these new teams have proven to the NBL that they have a solid financial plan including committed sponsors as well as a plan of grassroots engagement then I have no problem with bringing in all 4 at once. The #1 thing I want for the NBL is a stable environment, not having to worry about which team will be on the brink of collapse every off-season

Is that part of the reason Shane Heal is being hired by Wellington Saints?

Anon 712

I actually think it's a good thing to go with an EOI and I truly hope there are consortiums who put in a bid. The critical factor still comes to the media coverage, marketing and money. South Dragons had media and marketing but still couldn't make it work from the financial point. The key will come down to sponsor dollars. Currently the biggest dollar sponsor in sports is still alcohol, auto and fast food. Unfortunately due to current government funding alcohol is blocked out and there are moves to block fast food sponsorship. only leaves automotive and that is not exactly in the best shape right now. So until a real deal is made for TV rights and league level sponsor signed we are trapped in the status quo. Or the league takes a gamble, stepping away from government sponsored deals blocking alcohol and gaming sponsorship and engage sponsorship the same way as AFL NRL etc.

Everyone's talking about how these teams mightn't survive but even in the event that they do how is the standard of basketball going to possibly improve and therefore get new fans?

Anon 736

thanks for the clarification of the model. Is there an example of were this new model is working anywhere in say the NBL or WNBL yet? Now I like the whole community grassroots approach and think it's what is needed. Would love to see coordination and cooperation between associations, state governing bodies and NBL WNBL clubs. But a the moment they can't even get the fixtures to not clash so some of the biggest fans can get to games.

dumbest thing ever fixture games on same night as Jr championship / league games. Kills the gate and the community base models need a good gate. By the way what $2.5 mil grants are you referring to?

A-League made some bloopers with the rapid expansion to Gold Coast and Townsville, but West Sydney was no less rapid an expansion and it is working with flying colours.

Have to learn from both lessons.

Finally they arent rushing expansion. A full 12 months at the very least is required to get a franchise up and running AFTER the news has gone public.

This will give the league another year to fix the mess in townsville and wollongong.

Nathan of Perth.

Core difference being that the West Sydney franchise was considered strategically important for A-league almost from the day the league opened its doors.

In much the same way that basketball's heartland is the east of Melbourne, football's is definitely West Sydney. There was agitation for years for the league to open the doors in West Sydney, and when they prioritized North Qld over WS people were blown away.

Strategic imperative. What is the strategic imperative for Canberra? For Wellington? For Hobart? Melbourne and Brisbane absolutely...

Sorry NOP.

One more thing. Its not about rapid expansion. Its about right expansion. WS was always going to be a good market for A-league - people knew that for ages. In that context, even though the cub was set up quickly, it was not rapid expansion at all. WS was hurried (very hurried) but its P's - place, people, etc. were all good for it.

It was also established with a bucket of government money, which is not going to happen in the NBL.

Well done NBL. Set the bar high and if you miss, the comp will still be bigger than it is now. But they seem to have some checks and balances in place to make sure they won't take any con man with a big smile and a flash suit but who couldn't manage a kick in a street fight.

Re the comment above about quality of the basketball, that's secondary. If you want crowds and TV ratings, follow the BBL model. Massive crowds and TV ratings and all because it's fast, exciting and anything can happen. Some of the teams are filled out with grade cricketers who'll never play for Australia and probably not even for their state in longer forms of the game. But they can bowl a bit and can belt the ball around and get 30 runs in 15 balls before they get out.

In NBL, the equivalent guys are those who can score but can't even spell D let alone play it. So every team is a bit weaker on defence and a bit stronger on offence and you get high scoring, fast games that entertain (anyone remember the 80's and 90's?). The crowds will love it and the owners will make money and basketball will get a TV deal that involves the TV network promoting the product instead of burying it. Like BBL.

Like MACDUB, I applaud the NBL having a plan that might actually work and for putting it out there.

Our league is far from irrelevant. Very good standard, good entertainment. People love to talk things down. The sporting landscape is a tough place. Perth great, some others need help and work.
Same as most pro sports competitions in the world outside the very best.

Anon - while irrelevant is a really unfair word, it is certainly not publicly perceived to be important.

BBL is, AFL is, NRL is, A-league is.

Its relevance cannot be questioned, because there is a large community, even if they never attend, that deem it relevant. Its prominence can be.

It is barely prominent.

Everyone's talking about how these teams mightn't survive but even in the event that they do how is the standard of basketball going to possibly improve and therefore get new fans?

the prospect of Ben Allen playing 32 minutes a game in the new NEABL is simply mouthwatering...

I am optimistically buoyed by the news that the NBL will soon be increasing the number of teams!

Canberra will be back - they have already launched their new Twitter account and been tweeting that they will be back in 2015!

Looking forward to more games, more teams, more players, and hopefully if done right, more exposure for the NBL and the great game of basketball.

However the teams must not leave behind grassroots associations this time around...stay in touch with the juniors and watch the league prosper.

How good would it be if by 2016 the NBL is structured like this:

North East Conference

Cairns
Townsville
Brisbane
Sydney
Canberra
Woolongong
Newcastle
Gold Coast


South West Conference

Perth
Adelaide
Melbourne
Victoria
Geelong
Tassie
Breakers
Wellington

Good post MB, play inter conference opponents 4 times (28games) and play other conference twice (16games) a 44 game season.

I think if you don't manage to make it in the 16 team competition if say South East Melbourne Magic come back in and say North (west) Melbourne Giants or West Sydney Razorbacks don't make it back in then their chances of making it will be significantly lessened. If you add Rockhampton or a 3rd NZ (NZ development team like the AIS Cannons should be) bid then you have 4 teams from both conferences that are making enough noise to keep those teams you mentioned honest and on their toes and that is always a good thing.

Great ideas everyone and glad to see lots of positivity on here, no point in being pessimistic as we currently have a league in which every team this year has been 'the form side' and why would that change ?

If you can't find somewhere to park within 10 mins walk of the Townsville Entertainment Centre every single game without fail I am honestly surprised you know how to use a computer.

Townsville people who whinge about parking, parking, parking need to get their head out of their arses and go live in a bigger city for a while. Then you'll be able to complain about parking...

They want to be able to park their car directly out front of whatever event, shop, or place they are going to and have an uninterrupted 15 metre walk to the front door AT MOST, or they start complaining.

Im sure the locals in Townsville are used to the weather to walk 10 minutes. It was 40 degrees in Melbourne two weeks ago and over 6000 turned up and most of them would have walked more than 10 minutes.

FWIW, the Crocs have buses running from the city and from a nearby car park.

Expansion is great for the NBL...... But we seriously need a better TV deal!!! Seriously, the current coverage by Channel 10 is a JOKE!!! and the NBL tv idea is good, but quality is crap........ I cant wait for this deal to end this season...... FOXTEL PLEASE TAKE BACK THE NBL...... OR. NBL...... Talk with SBS.... The coverage they give NETBALL has made the ANZ Netball comp very popular!!!

PLEASE!!!!! ALL GAMES LIVE'!!!!!!!!!

Me thinks that the money behind this might be coming from Secaucus, New Jersey.

It's great to see the NBL finally taking a new approach and being aggressive with its plans. It's already shown its new attitude is creating a new media response, and more of it (yes it isn't a great amount or headline news but it's improved significantly). Aiming for 4 teams is fine, may not happen, and only get 2, but shit that's more than 0.
Screw government money honestly. Big beer companies = marketing, media and money, plus funny enough a higher level of respect it would seem from tv networks (more advertising dollars pumped into the commercial breaks), and will create more opportunities to get other big name brands behind the league. Plus, who's against funny basketball focused commercials like there is for the AFL, Cricket, etc.
Anyone having bitch fits over this plan is beyond me. Seems these are the same people who complain about everything the NBL does or doesn't do.