By Ian McCullough
November 4th 2009 @ 2:21am
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Gaze warns A-League to avoid NBL’s pitfalls
Basketball great Andrew Gaze has urged A-League clubs to take heed of the tough lessons learned by the NBL to ensure the football competition’s survival.
The NBL’s seven-time MVP and all-time record points scorer, Gaze sees many similarities between the two competitions, which both enjoyed a surge in popularity before being beset by financial difficulties and dwindling attendances for some clubs.
And although none of the A-League’s clubs have yet gone out of business, Gaze said the demise of NBL outfits such as the Sydney Kings, Brisbane Bullets and Canberra Cannons should serve as a warning.
“What is happening to the A-League is almost like a replica of what basketball went through after our halcyon days in the 1990s and I don’t think it is unfair to say there is not too much difference between the two,” Gaze told AAP.
“I just hope soccer can look at some of the issues that basketball had to address and try and avoid some of the problems that we faced.
“We have seen what is happening in Adelaide and many of the other A-League clubs where they are facing some significant financial difficulties.
“The basketball experience has shown just because you have some very significant and influential and wealthy people involved doesn’t mean you can rely on their benevolence for the survival of the clubs.”
On Monday, Gold Coast United became the latest club to require assistance from Football Federation Australia after owner Clive Palmer backtracked on his decision to cap the club’s crowd at 5,000 to save on hiring fees for Skilled Park.
Despite the club not being helped financially by the FFA, the sport’s governing body is providing developmental support and taking over United’s matchday operations in a bid to assist their growth.
This move followed the decision to step in and financially prop up Brisbane Roar and Adelaide United earlier this year.
And although Palmer, Queensland’s richest man, is unlikely to suffer the financial woes that beset former Kings owner Tim Johnston and Bullets benefactor Eddy Groves, Gaze said the A-League cannot rely on the likes of Palmer and FFA handouts to keep clubs afloat.
“With the loss of the Brisbane Bullets and Sydney Kings, basketball has taken the hit and there is a perception that basketball is the cause of that,” he said.
“But the Bullets’ demise was more to do with Eddy’s personal circumstances and not a flaw with the team.
“A lot of the time when you are dealing with the entrepreneurial types it may not be a product of the club, (it’s) more the individuals.
“My view of it is that teams cannot live beyond their means no matter how wealthy an individual is.
“They haven’t got to where they are by being benevolent.
“But the NBL is slowly getting its house back in order and we are making good progress. Soccer will probably have to experience peaks and valleys like basketball did, but I think it will work itself out.”
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Dean said | November 4th 2009 @ 6:58am | Report comment
“And although none of the A-League’s clubs have yet gone out of business” – we aren’t counting the New Zealand Knights why?
Aljay said | November 4th 2009 @ 9:08am | Report comment
Andrew Gaze makes a very valid point. There seems to be a number of soccer followers who think the A-league is immune to what happened to the NBL or even the NSL, and they must rank as some of the most deluded sports fans in Australia. Their argument centers around the size and popularity of soccer globally; while ignoring basketballs’ global growth during the NBLs period of demise, and also ignoring that soccer was still the world’s most popular sport for the 50+ years that mainstream Australia didn’t care about the professional game.
All it could take is a poor or unentertaining showing in South Africa (a strong possibility with Pim’s team), or the continued antics of A-league owners like Palmer and Constantine, or the removal of the salary cap to halt Australia’s current interest in the sport. Already this year we have seen diminished crowds for the Socceroos home games.
These issues combined with the “us-or-them” agenda of some soccer journalists against traditional codes means the game needs to be careful how it positions itself in the next crucial years.
Gweeds said | November 4th 2009 @ 9:12am | Report comment
I am a bit wary about this basketball – football analogy.
I know that lots of people that don’t like football succeeding in this country point to the rapid rise and fall of basketball popularity as an example of what will happen to the A-League, but I don’t think this may be the case.
Basketball seemed to me to rise a lot on the wave of a surge in popularity of American sports and personalities (especially Micheal Jordan). Of course there are committed basketball fans in Australia. But I still think that the tradition of football is stronger, mainly through Australians of Non-English speaking backgrounds that have created a base of football support, albeit not huge, but significant (of course some have rejected the A-League, but that’s another story – the football culture is there).
The AFL and the NRL have had their share of teams that were not going well and had to be rescued/restructured for them to survive, especially in markets where they were not playing the main sport. Take the Sydney Swans. By the mid 80’s the Sydney Swans were going badly. Losing money and low attendances. So in came medical entrepreneur Dr. Geoffrey Edelsten in 1985. Edelstein instigated a marketing campaign based on razzmatazz, excitement and a carnival atmosphere. The doctor flew a pink helicopter and cheer girls waved their goodies at the crowd. Of course, once the razzmatazz became old hat, the support dwindled and the club once more tittered on the edge of extinction. By 1988 the licence was sold back to the VFL for ten dollars. Losses were in the millions. A group of financial backers including Mike Willessee, Basil Sellers, Peter Weinert and Craig Kimberley purchased the licence and bankrolled the club until 1993, when the AFL stepped with substantial monetary and management support, draft and salary cap concessions.
I don’t follow the NRL but I believe that there was quite a restructure when news limited came to the rescue. And I believe that traditional teams such as South Sydney were touch and go whether they survived (I am happy to be corrected on these facts).
So the A-League is establlishing not a new team here and there, but a whole competition – in markets where other codes are dominant. It is not surprising that in some instances difficulties arise.
agga78 said | November 4th 2009 @ 10:00am | Report comment
Basketball has never had a popular national team, Football now has the most marketable brand in Australian sport the socceroos. Basketball enjoyed FTA coverage on channel 10, which promoted the game as they had no other sport at the time, football’s A league has never had any FTA coverage and the mainstream media have barely given the league the time of day. It’s true Adelaide, NQ Fury and Brisbane have had some financial problems, but FFA have money in the bank (thanks to the socceroos and World Cup qualification) to help out clubs in trouble something the NBL never had. Adelaide United are about to sold to new investers, with an average 13k a week at Hindmarsh they have a solid fan base. NBL doesn’t have Asian Champions league which the A league clubs have where they can potentialy make $2 million from with an increase in prize money in that competition. Some clubs in the A league have lost some support, but others such as Adelaide, Perth, and NQF have shown really promising crowd figures.
San Jorge said | November 4th 2009 @ 10:01am | Report comment
Gweeds if you think that “News Ltd came to the rescue” of rugby league then you really need to read this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_League_war
and this:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/League/How-the-war-unfolded/2005/03/25/1111692633683.html
Mate, it was a hostile takeover pure and simple, the only reason that Souths were touch and go (in fact they were expelled) was because News wanted them to go
Pippinu said | November 4th 2009 @ 10:13am | Report comment
Gweeds’ recollection of the Swans’ situation in the 80s to early 90s is close to the mark, although I think San Jorge is right that the News involvement was more or less a hostile takeover (with the complicity of a few clubs it must be said).
Soccer does have a longer history in Australia than basketball, but people should try and remember just how big basketball became at one point (pretty much over the same period that the AFL were trying to save the Swans).
Basketball was viewed as a major threat to the AFL at one point – the Melbourne press was full of articles about how big the NBL now was, the size of crowds, the participation rates, etc etc
Looking back – it all looks so silly now.
Whether direct comparisons can be made, I don’t know, but one thing is for sure – don’t measure any new comp from the first year, or the first 5 years, or even the first 25 years – you really need to be looking at it 50 years hence to know whether it has succeeded or failed.
Redb said | November 4th 2009 @ 10:17am | Report comment
Gaze is one of the few sports people in the media who you can rely on to do his best to offer an impartial view. Yes he has basketball running through his veins but he would have no particular axe to grind with soccer.
Remember he is paralleling the A League and the NBL competitions not basketball and soccer.
The Soccerros are irrelevant.
Gweeds, soccer would indeed have a far bigger catchment than basketball but the A League suffers from its poorer quality comp comparison to overseas versions (EPL, etc) This is similiar to basketball in that the standard is not as good and they both in terms of spectatorship are 2nd tier sports domestic comps struggling to find air in competition with the AFL and NRL. They also both moved to summer to avoid the clash.
I’d listen rather than knock his opinion given the whole NBL competition almost completely failed.
Redb
Midfielder said | November 4th 2009 @ 9:19pm | Report comment
Some good points made by Gaze..
I always said the years 5 to 8 would be the hardest .. Just happens that when JON signed the 7 year deal it worked with my analysis…
We still have 5 years of huge slog to get tho… so many issues … so many problems… so little money …
It’s strange in a way but the limited (to date) success of the New Football launch has not affected the main stream codes .. but IMO has had a huge impact on the smaller codes all trying to get themselves noticed…
However the one big difference is Asia and the smh had a great article on it .. towards the end it shows how the Perth Glory owner used football and compared it to Clive (the Belly) Palmer …good read .. bias of course as it is a football writer … but the Asian connections do kinda get a lot of support… http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/football/a-league/times-tough-but-club-ownership-is-good-business/2009/11/03/1257010201092.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
Pippinu said | November 4th 2009 @ 10:01pm | Report comment
Mid
Asia remains the great unknown.
I too read the article – I saw the pluses for the magnates – but not many people want to lose a few mill per annum for years on end.
Midfielder said | November 5th 2009 @ 10:43pm | Report comment
Pip
You make a good point
I will not be easy and I often say to football folk … look we are going to have enough trouble keeping our head above water to worry about anyone else… just hold and grow a little and be ready for 2014 when the new media deal kicks in….