Australian basketball needs to do what it should have done at the start of the NBL reform process – look very closely at soccer’s A-League for inspiration.
Soccer’s NSL was a barely cared-about mess when a federal government report into the sport in 2003 recommended widespread changes, including a new national league.
After an 18-month hiatus, soccer emerged with the A-League.
It slashed and burned most of its existing clubs – just two from the NSL surviving the cull.
The rest were replaced by shiny new, slickly-marketed franchises.
One team per town, eight teams, a clean slate for competition and sport.
The tough decisions proved the right ones.
Four years on, the A-League works a lot better than what preceded it – and importantly has become a part of mainstream Australian sport.
It has a lucrative television deal with Fox Sports, every match is shown live, and clubs attract decent crowds, or at least their city or region’s attention.
Basketball chose to work with what they had to reform the NBL, and race against time to do so.
The Melbourne Tigers and South Dragons pulling out of any competition planned for 2009-10 is a damning indictment the reform process hasn’t worked.
Expressions of interest for the new league came from existing clubs, including those who would appear not to have the funding to back up the ambition.
Unlike soccer – which has two of Australia’s richest men in Frank Lowy and Clive Palmer involved – basketball has failed to perk the interest of genuine financial heavy-hitters.
For basketball, failed entrepreneurs like ex-Sydney Kings owner Tim Johnston and Brisbane’s Eddy Groves, the perceptions they bring and failed clubs they leave behind are like `old’ soccer’s ethnic baggage.
Those saying the Dragons and Tigers’ decision will kill Australian basketball could be right.
The Australian Baseball League never recovered from its “hiatus” in the late 1990s.
But the Dragons and Tigers have now bought basketball time, if those in charge choose to use it.
There’s no reason basketball can’t come up with a fresh, well thought-out new league, with a presence in all Australia’s key markets and New Zealand, backed by a decent TV deal.
As the NBL was starting its reform, netball – which already had a national league performing acceptably – chose a far-sighted approach.
It linked up with New Zealand to form a trans-tasman league, which has outstripped its predecessor in popularity and interest.
That’s called looking at the big picture.
Exactly what Australian basketball should take the time to do.
Working Class Rugger
Guest
The re-launch of the League seems a little rushed. Instead of taking the time to do it properly. Get it right ensure that you have all the stakeholders are involved. For this comp to be viable it needs a presence in the three financial centres in Aus. Being Syd,Melb and Bris. History tends to repeat itself. Because of the haste I suspect that lesson will have a second act relatively soon.
Timmuh
Guest
It amazes me that basketball can't get enough money for its clubs to survive. How much does t cost to run an NBL club? Basketball Australia need to look at the expenses, if that means running a low salary cap and limiting support staff, etc, to allow a competition to continue then they just have to go with that. Losing clubs, and the league, should not be an option. Perhaps being franchises with owners rather than clubs with members is hurting. Taking the American model for the American sport into the Australian market seems to have failed dramatically. The opportunity is there though, if they can get a deal with One and Fox there is enough latent interest in the game to survive with a national league. But they will have to be smarter than they seem to have been so far.
sheek
Guest
How did the NBL expect to survive & thrive with two North Qld teams in Cairns & Townsville? They're hardly mega-markets. And the Singapore Slingers? Give me a break. Talk about ludicrous. And you can't have a national comp without teams from Melbourne, Sydney & Brisbane. Back to the drawing board, & you can do a lot worse than use the A-League as your starting template.
Lazza
Guest
The problems are with the former owner of Adelaide Utd not the club itself. His business is struggling and he can't afford it anymore? The debts are pretty minor and a new owner will be found. The FFA have done this before and are cashed up enough to protect the players interests and get the club moving forward again. Basketball's governing body just doesn't have the money and clubs are dying? Basketball is probably the 2nd biggest team sport in the world so it would be sad if the league dies and we no longer produce quality players to compete on the world stage.
Mushi
Guest
The A-league gets Lowy , NBL gets Groves. The NBL is as viable a commercial enterprise as firepower.
Redb
Roar Guru
it is interesting how important inspirational players like Jordan in the US and Gaze in Australia are in creating public interest. Michael Jordan was one of the world's biggest sports superstars for a decade, he retired we then had Kobe Bryant and a few others for awhile but progressively the lack of superstars cost basketball some prominence in the Australian sporting psyche (general). The loss of Gaze another hit to the NBL's status. Redb
Pippinu
Roar Guru
In Australia, basketball is about as important a team sport as hockey, water polo and lacrosse (none of which are capable of supporting major professional leagues in Australia). Apparently, walking is the greatest participation sport in Australia, but I'm not sure if there are all that many professional walkers in Australia. At the end of the day, basketball is just another activity and past time, of relatively minor importance - it's neither here or there whether a professional league is possible in Australia - the Austalian sporting public has voted.
mahony
Guest
Comparing football in Australia to basketball is akin to comparing the AFL with NFL football in this country. I think the A-league reforms can give some broad directions, but the capital and participation bases are very different and the opportunities to derive revenue are also. One final point, despite the claims of some on The Roar, football is as 'Australian' as cricket, rugby(s), swimming, tennis etc... (i.e. English sports that have been here for, in football's case, at least 129 years in an organised way and longer in an informal way). Australian basketball is a much younger, neiche sport with perception issues at the elite level around foreignness....
Albert Ross
Guest
Redb The demise of the Kings and Spirit are object lessons for the other codes - you cannot have people with less than pristine backgrounds involved in the ownership or administration of franchises. At the end of the day basketball in Australia cannot attract enough bums on seats - at least not enough to cover the costs of having a full time professional teams and retinues traveling around a huge country. I once stayed at the same hotel as the Townsville Crocs and I was astounded at the size of the party (and not just their height) that they had dancing attendance on a small playing group.
Midfielder
Guest
Guy Be careful in saying the A-League model... professional football clubs had been in Australia for over fifty years and there was widespread acceptance of football by the greater population. The Socceroos in there once every four years WC game had built over 32 years a complying case for watching football... The idea of a complete rebuild makes sense .. but thats all I would take from football... what they do should be based on research and logic thats suits Basketball ... as I said in another article I don't think the A-League will ever bemore than the number 3 domestic code in Australia .. but in Footballs model that is OK... we need a strong domestic compettition but thats all... Whereas Basketball needs IMO a very stronmg domestic competition..
Redb
Roar Guru
AR, Some excellent and well balanced comments from Andrew Gaze this morning on radio SEN about basketball's plight. Basketball Australia are now in charge of creating a national comp and need time to get it up and running again, they have only been responsbile since Jan 09. The NBL was run by its own body before that and surprise suprise was torn apart by owners of team with different agendas. Still a long way to go according to Gaze to ge the remaining owners and interest groups on the same page. Gaze felt that both Sydney (Firepower) and Brisbane (Groves) failed for internal financial reasons as much as basketball reasons which if similar to the internal problems of say Adelaide United. They will be seeking Government money in the future to assist with rebuilding perhaps in line with the A League model. Redb
True Tah
Guest
Guy basketball will always exist as a participant sport in Australia, people love playing it, myself included. However comparing it to the FFA and HAL is a stretch too far. HAL is only one aspect of Australian futbol, the Socceroos playing at the world cup, HAL teams playing in Asia and the English Premier League. Whilst basketball is huge globally, it has nothing to compare to the FIFA WC. At one stage the NBA would have been bigger in Australia in terms of following than the EPL, this is no longer the case. The other thing is basketball probably loses out athletes to other sports, and Im thinking more along the lines of AFL and potentially rugby union, as they target a similar sort of athlete. In many other countries such as Greece where basketball is very popular, there is no competition for guys with these sort of physiques.
Albert Ross
Guest
The woes of the NBL are straws in the wind. There are issues with the HA-L. Two clubs BR and AU are now under the custody and control of the FFA. There a dogs barking about NJ. I think that at the end of the current season there will be somehting of a shakeout in all codes.