Lots more in there. Recommends two teams in each of Melbourne in Sydney, but maybe no team in WA due to past struggles.

Isn't confident of a TV deal, saying online streams are the way to go.

Talks about a $200k salary cap plus a marquee player. Opals players should be signed by the league, and spread amongst the clubs.

Report recommends NZers be classed as imports.

Main recommendation appears to be a 16-game season played from April to July with a three-game finals series. Last season's WNBL season was 22 games.

Roy Ward has more here

Unless the weaker clubs would be paying less, I'm not sure a 16-game season is better. Fewer chances to make money from the players? Or do they lose money hosting games?

If Seven and Nine didn't want ANZ Championship, then why would they want WNBL? Ten seems best fit alongside FOX Sports. Maybe WNBL could have the start of the season at the conclusion of the A League Grand Final with A League season starting just after WNBL Grand Final.

Wildcats taking over the Waves would surely help on the off-court side of things (as well as access, presumably, to better training and development resources).

The winter season may not help though, removes curtain-raiser opportunities.

i wouldnt want the season changed it would affect players in WNBA & also how many wnbl players go back and play in the SEABL as well

this live streaming it would have to be better than what the nbl has had for last few seasons that has been poor picture quility

Also noted this:

There is a 2013/2014 WNBL Marketing Plan and WNBL Media and Communications Plan based around the 'Step into the Spotlight' theme from the previous season. Although these plans are solid, they do not seem to have been implemented. There is no direct responsibility or accountability for the implementation, measurement or success of the marketing plans.

And just ICYMI:

"There is no direct responsibility or accountability for the implementation, measurement or success of the marketing plans."

Wow.

I think a good portion of those recommendations could also just as easily be applied to the NBL.

What's the primary reason for moving the WNBL to a winter season format?

I agree with '206 regarding our WNBA-calibre Opals and imports: we would retain a small fraction of those currently playing in the WNBL.

Good to hear about the Wildcats-Waves takeover. I'm sure if the WNBL team didn't have potential viability the Wildcats wouldn't go ahead with the deal, but nonetheless it's fantastic community support.

As for the reference to the WNBA and the season to potentially move, the report states that the WNBL is not competing with the WNBA, and hence would expect the players good enough should be playing in that league when at their peak (or words to that effect).

Although admittedly in most of the rest of the report it does make reference a lot to retaining the best Opals players to play in the WNBL wherever possible.

No surprise on the fact the marketing suffered with no dedicated media person, but the fact nobody was held accountable for it...that to me is a surprise.

Given that the WNBA minimum is ~ $38,000 (max $107,000), most players would ideally supplement this income by playing during the off-season. They have short careers and earning potential, after all.

The WNBL and WNBA certainly aren't in direct competition with each other, by virtue of the disparity in player standards. I don't know what Pondexter, Taylor, Griffin etc earn in the WNBL, but I'd imagine that it's a fraction of their WNBA salary. With an overlap in scheduling the WNBL would, however, have to compete for these players.

Are most WNBL teams presently spending $200k+ on salaries and wages? That seems like a lot to me, and I seriously wonder where the the capital injection will come from without a TV deal (which is likely).

On face value I'm just not seeing the logic behind some of the report's findings.

shorter season = yes - will reduce costs

winter = hell no ! - will dwindle crowds even more

To be honest, it's the clash with the SEABL and other state leagues that concerns me more about a potential move to winter. That's the conflict that would impact the majority of players in the league.

To me the Europe/WNBA conflict is a bit of a wash. Look across the last decade or so and there have been a lot of Opals and fringe Opals level talent that was not good enough for the WNBA but played in Europe. Names like Hodges, Bishop, O'Hea, Hurst, Tolo, etc. In the 2 years the trend probably favours the WNBA, but prior to that it was in the other direction.
Is the trend of the last 2 years sustainable? The financial situations of Logan, Bendigo & Adelaide might suggest otherwise. Will Dandenong still be able to throw huge sums to attract WNBA-level talent?

I reckon it's pretty hard to make long-term decisions while the state of women's basketball here is in such a state of flux.

"To be honest, it's the clash with the SEABL and other state leagues that concerns me more about a potential move to winter. That's the conflict that would impact the majority of players in the league."

Agreed Dan, this would be one of the main problems I could see coming from this.

What's that got to do with it?

Winter vs Summer, there has been many a past topic on this, yes NBL and WNBL were played in winter. The main 2 reason I recall this being changed, was to try and avoid competition for media coverage with the AFL, but mainly was to stop clashes every other year with Olympics and World Championships. A shorter April to July may avoid this and possibly encourage some players to play in WNBL as lead up to these events.

Paul it has a lot to do with it, these women need to earn a living just like their make counterparts, don't be a chauvanist

That doesn't make money magically appear out of thin air.

If the clubs can't find financial stability, the athletes aren't going to make a living solely from the league.

Some NBL teams are in a similar position whereby the earnings of the club aren't enough to consistently justify player salaries. Male vs female isn't the issue, it's a financial reality.

But allocating just $200,000 per team in today's world is totally unrealistic male or female.