DrB
Years ago
Gold Coast to get NBL team,
The Gold Coast will host a National Basketball League team in 2007, ending a 10-year battle for consortium chief Dave Claxton.
NBL commissioner Rick Burton and general manager Chuck Harmison will be at the Gold Coast Convention Centre on Tuesday to announce the decision to expand the competition to 13 teams from the 2007/08 season.
Claxton has been fighting for a Gold Coast NBL team since the demise of the Rollers in 1996.
He did not want to burst the NBL's bubble by commenting before Tuesday's official announcement.
Former Rollers player Larry Sengstock applauded the league for tapping into a high growth market in one Australia's major tourist centres.
"If you look at AFL they're moving into the Gold Coast area and it's certainly a growing market," said the NBL Hall of Famer, who lives in Melbourne.
"We were a little bit early last time and whether it's a better prospect I don't know.
"If the NBL has done its homework and they believe it's viable then it's a credit to them."
The Singapore Slingers were introduced to the NRL competition this year but have struggled to make an impact under coach Gordie McLeod.
They have a 3-8 record and sit above only McLeod's former club West Sydney on the NBL ladder.
In other sports, the Gold Coast Titans will compete in the NRL from 2007 while AFL club the Kangaroos will play 10 premiership matches at Carrara Stadium over the next three years.
