I support this bid but wish they can do better than sign the peroxide hair ego coach heal

Sorry but I'm not a fan of the Brisbane Spartans name. The 6,500 seat stadium sounds good though. Who will fund it? Government probably won't. But good to see their is work being done.

Also personally I wouldn't like to see the team based in Logan or Ipswitch which has been discussed recently.

From an ABC article:

"I think Shane is a really good choice to have in basketball and to bring to Brisbane," Spartans chairman Jarrod Sierocki said.

"Obviosuly he's been very successful in Brisbane before, I think its very, very imperative that we get someone of the calibre of Shane Heal, being an ex-NBA star and Olympian."

Bullets name is obviously preferable, but in the end, if they can get a team, called the Spartans who are in a quality stadium with reasonable funds, can compete and establish themselves for a long time and can market and attract solid crowds, then it doesn't matter whether they're called the Brisbane Spartans or Bullets.

Although it'd be great if Heal wasn't coaching them. Was he a good player? Yes, he was a great player. Is he a good coach? South Dragons/Gold Coast/Sydney shows he's really not terrific, he's not Marty Clarke bad, but he's not all that good either.

@533, it could also show its a quiet news day.

Spartans currently play seabl so have an established club culture and member base. A good thing!

A quick Google search reveals the club's chairman, Jarrod Sierocki, last year sued said search engine for defamation involving various comments about his business conducts. He owns a company that offers insolvency services. I'd make a comment along the lines of where there's smoke there's fire but I'd probably get sued too.

That aside, I'd much rather see the return of the Bullets to the NBL. It's a historic brand that people identify with. Playing out of Carina seems reprehensible to me.

However, Brisbane needs a team. We all know that. If this is the only way we can get a credible club back playing in the third biggest market in the country than so be it.

I don't mind the name Spartans, not sure how they'd go filling a 6500 seat stadium regularly at Carina though.

Rather than Heal I think a better option would be to give someone like Mick Downer (current assistant with Cairns and local Brisbane product) a chance to build his own team and culture.

Either way, good to hear something positive about the Brisbane bid.

The Stadium at Carina will supposedly have a 4 story car park which makes it a much better option than the Tennis centre. Will the Spartans take any of the Bullets history?

Anyway I have leant not to get excited about these things because they hardly ever work out.

Why on earth would the Spartans want to be losing money in the NBL? Even if it is a separate entity than the Southern District Spartans, they have to be prepared to lose money. The CEO obviously knows nothing about basketball or due diligence in finding a coach - Heal? Seriously?

Well said, KET.

Exciting times for Brisbane. Hopefully they can secure the appropriate financial backing.

Haven't the Spartans been down this route before and it all turned to dust?

Just what Brisbane needs: another stadium in the sticks that will go unused 90% of the year...

Regarding the Bullets name and history - I guess people living in Brisbane would have a better idea of how important the Bullets name is, and it certainly was big in the 90's, however this city has struggled to get a team up and going for years now. Maybe this is a case of starting fresh with a new identity would be for the best as any new form of the Bullets just couldn't seem to get it going in the past.

Besides, the last few years of the Bullets existence was pretty much dead anyway with terrible crowds, even though they won a title in 2007. So the Bullets didn't appear to be relevant for years even before they folded.

I like the enthusiasm shown with this latest development, including talk of a new stadium. Hope its not pie in the sky dreaming and that something is actually going to happen. The NBL desperately needs more teams being successful, for the league to be successful - especially in bigger markets if they hope to get another TV deal, and return some sort of presence in mainstream media.

Eddy Groves still owns the IP attached to the Bullets

Does anyone see irony between said chairman and potential coach.

This CEO hasn't bothered calling the Kings, Dragons, Owen Tomlinson (Ex-Blaze)on Heal. He certainly doesn't know of Heal's history while with the Bullets. They have a kindred spirit with insolvency. If this guy is serious about attracting talent to this franchise and looking for someone who has served Brisbane proudly and accomplished far more than Heal, why not tap Leroy Loggins on the shoulder.

Upfront, you're 100% right about heal as a head coach. Nut it's commonly known around Brisbane that leeroy just doesn't have what it takes as a head coach. If they're going to be a community club they need a coach who will relate well to the grass roots & is willing to grind away for a few years, ala dennis in townsville. You're not going to attract talent to play in Brisbane with heal or loggins as head coach each for very different reasons! There really isn't anyone in Brisbane worthy of the position but someone like a muck downer or Ian stacker (strong links to lots of young Aussie talent) could be the answer....

This group tied to the Spartans has been trying to get this off the ground for a while & has failed numerous times already to come up with the business model to prove it is sustainable. Pretty sure they will try & play out of chandler until this pipe dream stadium is completed. Do they even own the land to build it on? Would be a couple of million worth of land in that part of town.

Time will tell.

It's hard to imagine them not being called the Bullets. Even though they've been out of the NBL a few years now most of us are familiar with their history.
I would like to think there are better coaching options than Shane Heal.

Originally I believe Joey Wright was the candidate for the Brisbane job and he was waiting for the team to get off the ground. He then grew inpatient and went to Adelaide. Possibly at the end of his contract he could return to Brisbane.

Spartans, Bullets - would just love to have a team in Brisbane.

What is the capacity of Chandler Arena? I think its only around 2,700 and the location isn't great. Not sure if it's sustainable.

I thought Logan Thunder handed back their WNBL license? Can't see them being a tenant of a new stadium after that.

Isnt the issue with Brisbane is that there just isnt any empty space in the Heart of Brisbane (Ie the CBD) to put such a Stadium. Its all been developed.

Id prefer to have a team in Brisbane than not at all. And there are far worse names than Spartans.

I certainly hope that if the team isn't called the Bullets, then so called fanatical supporters don't boycott or decide not to support the new team simply because the name isn't the Bullets. You would think Brisbane supporters would be glad just to have a team to support again.

To be honest, if the Wildcats folded and then came back 7 years later, it wouldn't bother me if they had a new name, though some acknowledgement to their past history would be appreciated.

Brisbane Bullets just aren't traditional enough in my opinion to care too much about the name. 25 years of history where the last decade of their history were not great isn't that much in the scheme of things.

We need more teams in NBL and wnbl to make it more competitive and give more opportunities to Aussie players so any team is a bonus no natter what they call themselves.

Go the Brisbane Tigers!

Aaaahhhh @maxymoo, that is kind of ironic, funny, but ironic!

The NBL say they've had no contact from any Brisbane Spartans group...

Neill said he found a recent television report and newspaper coverage of an NBL bid by Brisbane Spartans to be "bizarre".

“We have had no contact at all with any Brisbane Spartans group - none,” he said.

“It's quite bizarre.”

The team must be called Bullets. Why start from scratch? It will be hard enough to keep the team viable so why alienate long time Bullets fans? Speaking of alienation...whilst not as spiteful as the Tigers association accepting the Spartans will be doing the exact same thing. People who don't like the Spartans won't support them in the NBL.