"Licenses for the Adelaide men's and women's national basketball league teams will be sold, along with their home venue at suburban Beverley. An administrator was appointed to the Basketball Association of South Australia earlier this year when the governing body's long-running financial difficulties came to a head. State cabinet has since approved a recommendation to sell the Adelaide 36ers and the Lightning and their stadium. Treasurer Kevin Foley says the BASA will continue to operate grass roots basketball in the state."

It's a radio transcript. I've just received a fax from 5AA and will try and get the press release info ASAP.

Update: The press release came from Kevin Foley, but there's nothing in the Latest News section on the www.ministers.sa.gov.au site. Basically it says that the government has approved putting the licenses up for sale, as well as the Dome. Says that the best way for BASA to proceed is to focus on grassroots basketball.

"The 36ers is the only non-privately owned club in the National Basketball League."

It's expected that the interim controller's tenure will be extended beyond April 30. Wayne Jackson, Bruce Carter (the IC) and so on will manage the sale process.

How can you sell the dome?
No other sport could afford it.
Paradise Community church..

...Westside!!

lets hope someone with basketball interest at heart gets the team and does something to make basketball what it should be in this state cos god knows BSA or BASA fail at it

So, if the Dome gets sold and BSA still run local comp etc where will their offices be?

Who will buy it? housing developers. The Dome will be knocked down and rumour is baskeball will be shifted to the ent cent. but god knows what will happen to the district teams that rely on it.

Lots of questions to be answered...

What happens with existing player contracts?
What happens to the existing staff, eg. Mike Daws & Co.?
What happens with sponsorship deals?
Will the new onwers inject more $$$$?
Will we now see concerts and other functions at the Dome?

It's all pretty exciting and I think great for basketball in this state!

Haven't heard any details yet. Staff wouldn't be guaranteed to retain their jobs but most would hope to be kept aboard where possible you'd assume. I think player contracts could be tied to the license(s)?

Other questions such as use of the Dome would come down to the wishes of the purchasing consortium. e.g., someone could buy all three elements and use the Dome for games and other events, or could resell or develop the Dome and play out of the Entertainment Centre. I guess we'll see.

Still think it would make a great indoor swimming centre- has plenty of space for cars and slides etc and would be possible to convert quite easily. Retain seating and canteens and just sink a pool! Saves carving up more of Marion.

BSA offices are the least of the worries of grassroots basketball, IMO. Rent somewhere, tack something on to a stadium somewhere, etc.

Plenty of office space is unused in the city, which would not be a problem for them to hire.

The problem I see is how much money is going from the sale of the Sixer (there biggest asset) will go back to BSA?

I highly doubt they will see any money from it unless they can get a very good deal on the sale of the dome.

All this and a 36er's and Fellas "Auction" announcement yesterday - funny ;0

Your point about city realty reminds me of a post in the past of this forum or the old Sixers forum where we talked about having a Sixers/BSA office in the city to give more street presence and a place to buy merchandise and tickets that was sometimes more convenient than the Dome alone.

Theres an article on fox sports about it for anyone thats interested.

http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,18881893-23210,00.html

What kind of money would the two teams be worth?
How much money is still owed on the dome?

More is owed on the Dome (AFAIK) than you could get for the Sixers, Lightning and probably the Dome itself all combined.

The Dome and Sixers have legitimate value but the concern has to be for the Lightning. They don't make money and it may not be easy to make a positive asset out of them. Realistically, their only hope might be some charitable gesture or perhaps a bit of goodwill from a district club or combination of them (and in that case, I don't know why they wouldn't be retained by BSA).

I wonder if tenders which bundle the Lightning with the Sixers shouldn't be made a priority as there are benefits in keeping them together and it would be good to see the Lightning kept alive?

How does it work with other WNBL clubs? Do they run at a profit?

The Adelaide 36ers would be anywhere between $1, 900,000 and $3, 200,000 million dollars. As a simple rough estimation

The Adelaide Lightning would be worth $450,000 - $700,000

DPP, what's your equation for a simple rough estimation???

How would the lightning be worth 450k DPP?

it has been stated hat they lose about 60k a yera so why would someone pay 450k to lose more on the investment?

IMO - short term great move - but what happens in a few years if/when the owners of the licence lose interest in pumping money into an Adelaide club that isnt the great money spinner they hoped it would be?

I'm kind of happy but also scared.

There will hopefully be better management and that will be good but wouldn't there be a high chance that the owners go broke of this like many other clubs have? This one is old, well supported and is up and running fairly well and it would make it easier for them and they should make a profit but what happens if they go broke or pull the plug? will BSA get the Sixers and Lightning?

Also, although as it's far away, the Dome is a great place for the Sixers to play and has terrific atmosphere which i don't the the EC can beat. The wooden floors are great for it. But that doesn't matter much.

Lets just hope that a group of REALLY rich business men and has alot of interest in basketball and keeping it in Adelaide buy this franchise. Sounds ALOT like Gordon Pickard.

theres also nothing stopping this licence becoming the new gold coast franchise from what i understand,

DPP, I think the sixers would easily be worth more than $1.9 Millon, a brand new licence in the NBL is worth $2 millon. You would think an established club like the 36ers which get over 4000 people to a game would be worth more

Isn't a current NBL licence worth only $300,000 (as that what Singapore paid)

Basically that how I came up the $1.9 to $3.2 m, with 7800 potentially season ticket holders and almost 150,000 supporter Australia wide, large amounts of industrial and corporate support as well as the large amounts of goodwill the clubs brand will bring in and the clubs reputation it has built over the year would be a major factor in how much they can ask.

I guessed the Adelaide lightning would be worth something and $400,000 sounded about right. I guess that was way off the mark.

Why would anybody want to buy the Dome?
We've had the report a while again about how dirty it is, and you can't hold concerts there!
So what would somebody gain by purchasing it?

Gold Coast 'Sixers' playing four games a year in Adelaide. Hmm, on second thoughts, would have to change the name to the year the Gold Coast was built?

Welcome to the scary world of privatisation folks, where commercial interests will rule whether we get to see basketball, and at what price. There is a hell of a lot to like about government ownership, like the security that has kept the Sixers running to date when a private interest would have cut and run.

The positives of a private owner may not outweigh the risks. Not quite sure why anyone would be jumping up and down celebrating at this stage, unless you wanted to pick up a sporting team cheap at a forced fire-sale.

Even that though is not going to look to promising to a prospective buyer if it attaches the Dome as a condition of sale.

NNNNNNNOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!


Screw the goldcoast! I WANT ADELAIDE 36ERS TO STAY!!!!!!!

WAH, WAH!

crying...

I just can't see why someone would give up the chance, were they buying the license, to site it where there are 3000 or so people coughing up the cash each year to watch the team play. I'm yet to hear of a single interest that has expressed a desire (or would do so) to shift the license from Adelaide. We've had financial dramas these last few years, but Adelaide has had some of the hands-down best crowds in the NBL despite that. If someone wanted a license to locate according to their whim, they could do it a hell of a lot cheaper than competing with people who are legitimately looking to acquire the brand, the team identity, the fanbase, existing arrangements with sponsors and so on.

But the Goldcoast are relentless. Lets just hope they don't get the license and lets also hope that there will be an Adelaide team next year.

Now, back to the crying...

A very sad day indeed, most privately owned clubs are struggling to survive in the NBL. Increases the risk of Adelaide not having a team in the future once it splits from BASA. Basketball in Australia is not like NBA or Premier League (UK) or even the AFL, where clubs live and die on memberships . NBL just does not have the same pulling power / patronage and this alone increase the risk of failure to a purchaser within the NBL and what is a nice idea today......might not seem such a good idea in 3 years when the board changes hands and wants to divest non performing assets.

issac, it's a big ask but it may be worth it.

Do you think you can put something on this site that could help the Sixers to stay here? Maybe all users say something i don't know. This forum is very well known and could help the a business man buy the team. Possible? Ideas people?

PLEASE!!! I WANT to go to the b-ball next season.

From Channel 10 news tonight:

"Adelaide 36ers coach Phil Smyth says amalgamating with another code, such as football, might be possible, and amalgamations of this type common in European competitions."

And I am sure the state government would prefer to have the licence stay in SA to avoid political backlash suggesting that they are selling the SA public out.

I also do not think that it is a likely prospect, but the point I was making was that nothing can be certain, especially post privatisation.

Anon #78972, there is no doubt that BSA has had financial incapacity to service all of its component parts. There are however conflicting reports as to what the major cash drain is. Most suggest that the Sixers (minus the dome) was not the cash drain, and was one of few profitable components. It is only its linking to the dome that was a problem.

Now that the licences are offloaded as you say, the clubs will still not be able to make money from the licences - the money from the sales will go to the government. So there really is no win there. The axe is yet to fall on the club structures.

The best position (basketball wise) was of course having the government endlessly fund, prop-up and guarantee BSA, the Sixers and junior basketball forever, ensuring the security and funding of all of the entities into the future. The state treasury might not look as good, but basketball would have a rosy future! I know this is unrealistic, but to suggest that it is 'a great day for local basketball regardless of the price they go for' is overly optimistic.

If Matt Ryan bought the Lightning, it would be made up of only BLONDE girls who have some sort of affiliation with NORTH!

Good post XY.

Thoughtful and understanding of both the financial and social implications.

Not only is this not a good day for local basketball, this in no way has signalled the ongoing viability of any of the entities, i.e the 36'ers, the lightning, NOR junior basketball as we know it.

They won't get the $13+ mill required to repay the debt, so its either still going to be there (albeit at a lesser figure say $10 mill)or written off by the govt.

So how are we better off today as so many have posted?

i hope one of the football teams pick it up. At least you know it will stay afloat, i would prefer the crows as they have more $$$ and a better relationship with the 36ers.

If the value of the Dome is less than the debt, why not just abandon it altogether and let the Government sell it to try and get its money back. If the Dome was separated from the sale of the 2 teams, then it would be easier to sell them. As far as the value of the 2 teams go, it would be difficult to put a figure on it. The reason being is because as far as I know, BASA has never accurately separated the finances of the the Sixers and the Lightning. We have never been told anything like the Sixers have made $.... profit this year or they lost $..... When a purchaser looks at acquiring a new business venture, they study the books for the last few years to get an idea at how profitable that business has been. That is what determines its price. I doubt such books would exist for the Sixers. There are also many factors that would determine the level of profit. Being a spectator sport, there is the uncertainty of how much can be expected from sponsorship. I agree that the license would stay here in Adelaide because the value of purchasing a business is also the acquisition of its customers. Adelaide has a great "customer" base for basketball. I doubt you would consistently get 4000-6000 spectators on the Gold Coast. What's the point in buying a business and then not taking with it its customer base. This is where your money is going to come from.

After the sales go through and I am presuming the remaining debt is forgiven by the government, will it be fair if all clubs are put on an equal financial footing. That is to say clubs that are heavily in debt be forgiven that debt also while clubs that have worked hard to remain in the black be penalised?

My understanding of the situation is Sturt, Forestville and South are the only financial clubs in the league.

As we don't know exactly how the situation will pan out, this is only hypothetical.

They said Gordon Pickard, Port Power and Higgins are going to try and buy them. (Port looking first)

Lets hope they stay in SA.

Why can't people get their facts right on here, especially after listening to the horses mouth on the radio yesterday (Wayne Jackson).

1. The Sixers, Lightning and Dome can either be purchased SEPARATELY or together.
2. The Sixers are profitable, EXCEPT for the fact that BASA has been allocating Dome debt to them, therefore making them (look) unprofitable.
3. The Lightning's net loss is ONLY 60k, which means Dome debt has not been allocated to them which means for both them and the Sixers (as they won't have to carry Dome debt in the future) it will be a very good business opportunity, dependant on the sale price.
4. BSA will have to lift its game (as we all know), but should be easier once Carter and Jackson have finished with them and set structures in place to help them be viable long term - these fellas will do it right.

These men seem to be coming to these decisions after a lot of time, work and consideration and if the right businessmen (hopefully from SA) take the reigns of Sixers and Lightning, we hopefully should see some exciting changes.

Let's take the optimistic approach people and get info right before shooting off crap which only attracts more crap.

Only just skimmed through the above posts so if I have missed something I apologise ahead of time for it.
What I haven't seen and want to is the people who are responsible for this sad day in South Australian basketball be made accountable! Unfortunately they never will be which shits me to tears, hell some of the people most directly involved in the clubs downfall still have MAJOR roles in the club!
I know that none of my ranting does any good right now but lets hope that the new owner can make the correct (and possibility unpopular) decisions to ensure our club maintains its rightful place in the NBL.

knackers , i think some of these ppl will be made accountable have heard some rumblings out of the AGD suggesting that legal action towards several ppl who are not currently on the board will be taken.

Thomo, I am talking about people who ARE still involved!

And of course any potential buyers will look on basketball web sites in Adelaide, such as this one, to try and guage how much interest there would be in their potential investment.

Judging by the amount of hysterical, non fact based garbage that has been posted lately, they would be saying "see ya" to South Australia in a big way, and taking the license elsewhere.

How about we get some positive thinking happening, saying good things about the team and coaching staff (who DONT deserve the bagging they have been getting), and keep the team in SA?? Let's show any new potential owners we love our basketball, and we will be right behind the team, as we have been in the past.

we are jsut scared cause we want the team to stay in SA.

Expect BIG crowds next year because of what the fans will go through because of the possibility of there being no team next year. (If there will be)

It would be AWESOME if we get a SA investor.

Yogee, you are such a tool.

yogee does have a very valid point,

on the same token fans expressing either negative or positive comments also shows how much passion there is as well

If someone was smart, they'd buy the Dome first!

Then, the new owners of the 6ers would have to negotiate with Dome owners, thus getting whatever price they want!

Also, with the city of Adelaide having a population of just over 1 million, why doesn't somebody just add an extra couple of dollars to tax and say that this is the Basketball Tax. Therefore, the govt could own the 36ers, Lightning and the Dome!

I have just had a brainstorm. When you think about how the new owner should be passionate about Basketball to make it a success in Adelaide, you have to think about who these people are. Well I suggest that this forum is full of passionate basketball people. How about a whole lot of us form a consortium, put in our few dollars and buy the team. We have people like Isaac who has good organisational skills to run the team, we have lawyers like Stephon to make sure everything is done above board. I'm sure we must have some accountants, administration people, banking people and sales people to complete the everyday running of the team. One thing we could all be certain off, would be that all decisions made would be with the intention of preserving a great team in Adelaide for many years to come.

Don't worry EC. If I was involved nothing would be above board.

With me as GM the team would be so far over the cap it wouldn't be funny and the team wouldn't survive financially for longer than a couple of years...but oh what a couple of years they would be for the fans!!! LOL

stephon, that's a little un realistic. ONLY a little though.

graham hayes, the sixers would then play at the entertainment centre.

EC, you're talking about thousands of people contributing at least a thousand dollars each. Then there's the issue of fairly rewarding those contributing professional services in place of, or in addition to, their financial contribution. Not to mention issues that would arise with decision making, etc.

Could well be a way to look after the Lightning where the cost is far lower. But then I suspect that a solid bid for the Sixers would include the Lightning as well.

Thomo

I dont dispute negative comments could help show how passionate we are about our basketball.

But I think most reasonable people would agree there has been a lot of emotive non-factually based posts lately about the team, and the future, which COULD adversely affect a potential buyers decisions.

"a lot of emotive non-factually based posts lately".

You got that right Yogee ;)

It will be very intresting to see what happens to the dome.Playing from the Ent Cent would be a refreshing change,with many positives but I think the best option is to keep the dome home of the 36ers.It has already been posted that the land may be no good for residential use and is not exactly a huge area.Suppose it could be turned into a huge factory? If the new owners could buy the dome for say 5 million,it would be a bargin.Try building a entertainment venue of equal size for that kind of money.You would hope the government would also let the new owners use the dome for concerts and the like.

Would the new owners be able to use the car park land still? If the council owns the car park,did they ever get any money from the 36ers for using it?

Im not trying to sabotage the sale of the dome, just a few thoughts and questions!

agree totaly yogee and i feel those posters who are doing it are purely doing it to further there own personal agendas or the agendas of ppl they want to see become the new owners,

Firstly yogee,

I completely agree that the negative comments on here could deter possible buyers, however, the fact that even in this time of uncertainty, we still have 100's of people posting on this site should suggest to any possible buyers that basketball is still alive in this state.

As far as i know, the dome is built on land fill. To sell the dome as housing area, it would be very expensive for the buyer to then excavate the land and have it ready to build houses or apartments on. This would suggest that the dome would remain, even if it wasn't used for bball.

Thirdly, and most importantly, the Government paid for the massive redevelopment of Hindmarsh Stadium because it meant that we would get Olympic games here. If Soccer in SA had to pay for Hindmarsh they would still be in massive debt, just as BSA are with the dome. How can Foley say that he is sick of the taxpayers propping up basketball in SA. If they had paid for the Dome, BSA wouldn't be in anywhere near as much debt, as the Sixers would be the one team in the NBL that would have to be profitable if any of them are.

Also the Govt paid BSA a set amount for the first 10 years of the dome so that it couldn't be used for other events or concerts, to ensure that the Ent Cent would remain financially viable. This 10 years is up and BSA AFAIK are no longer receiving cash for this, but are still unable to hold concerts etc there.

The Govt need to wipe the Dome debt to allow SA bball to move forward.

also sixers fan it was a previous gov that made the deal so current governmant doesnt have to honor that but they did until now when they realised that basa where not making the steps needed to get out of debt,

I read back through this thread and gave Cavolo a basketball icon for getting some facts into the discussion. The Sixers were only "losing money" because they had $1m/year in Dome debt allocated to them. No other NBL team would be facing that situation. Bundle the Sixers and Lightning and you have a unit with potential.

yogee, potential buyers are reading this forum, yes, but if any of them are making purchasing decisions based on forum posts then I don't know that you'd want them buying the team anyway.

well i hope that there will be the Sixers next year. No change of name or anything. I don't mind the change to EC but rather the Dome. Sixers always get the BEST support in Australia and that is the reason why you adelaide buyers should purchase the 36ers and keep them here.