Titanic task looms for seasick league

 

 

Basketball in Australia appears to be a rudderless ship sailing though the most challenging waters it has seen. With an iceberg looming big enough to have Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet digesting bricks, the next few months will determine whether the ship hits or misses.

 

With 2009 now here, just ten months remain until the New NBL is meant to tip-off. Make that eight months if you include pre-season games. Yet, all we have on the radar is fog, rather than a clear vision. The fact that we still refer to the league as the “New NBL” is indicative of the slow going, with the interim board still procrastinating over whether there should be a name change, let alone what a new name may be.

 

There is also the small issue of who will be competing in the new league. When the Commercial Reform of Basketball in Australia: Statement of future directions was released last September, it concluded with the following timeline:

 

5. NEXT STEPS

 

September 12                  Interim Board Report circulated

September 17-30             Consultation with stakeholders

October 11                       Meetings of BA/NBL stakeholders to adopt recommendations for reform

November                        Business Plan and KPI’s agreed to

November                        Remaining Board positions filled

November/December     Expressions of Interest for teams in the New NBL

November                        Key management appointments process commences

 

 

It’s January 2009 and the important step of accepting expressions of interest from current and prospective team owners is yet to be taken. In fact, the most recent closing date given for applicants was January 16, which appears a pipedream considering the interim board hasn’t even finalised what the criteria for licenses will be. Say the board postpones that date until early February and then takes two weeks to mull over the applications, the composition of the league may not be known until just six months before pre-season games begin, making it extremely difficult for any new clubs hoping to enter the competition, such as a re-born Sydney Kings franchise, to get their houses in order.

 

Nor has the final step of key management appointments occurred. Rather, after the recent resignation of interim CEO Scott Derwin, the leadership waters have only become murkier. Perth forward-cum-managing director Andrew Vlahov had been linked to a role, but instead of hastening his appointment in the wake of Derwin’s departure, Basketball Australia has instead handed the responsibility of getting things moving to Perth CEO Nick Marvin and Townsville CEO Ian Smythe. So after proclaiming independence in November following the empowerment of a new board, Basketball Australia has taken a step backwards and essentially put the future of the game in the hands of a couple of clubs, meaning we are back to where we were prior to the landmark vote.

 

Also in the Statement of future directions was the recommendation to:

 

Reach agreement in the next 3 months with a media partner for broadcast rights

across the sport from mid 2009 onwards.

 

While a $35m deal from Fox Sports has been on the table and Ten’s One has also shown interest, no deal has been reached because of the board’s inability to decide what its product will be. If it waits too much longer the networks will lose patience and start filling their schedules, leaving sparse room for basketball – as was the case last off-season.

 

Not surprising, players are on tenterhooks, wondering out aloud whether they’ll have a league to play in next summer. Townsville’s John Rillie had made it the question of his blog’s online poll. Elsewhere in Far North Queensland, Taipans centre Ian Crosswhite voiced his concern to New Limited:

 

“I think in the back of everyone’s mind, they’re wondering what’s going to happen,” Crosswhite said.

 

Players Association president and Wollongong captain Mat Campbell was just as worried:

 

“At the moment everybody’s a little on edge as far as job security,” Campbell said.

 

“Deep down, with the financial situation of the world, it (the NBL next year) does look a bit shaky I guess, if you’re being realistic.”

 

The ship is shaking, glasses sliding off tables. The violinists continue to entertain, pretending all is well on board. But unless someone takes control, the iceberg is fast approaching.

 …………………………………………………………………………………………

 

Speaking of sea vessels, the New NBL should take some guidance from the Sydney-Hobart snore fest, er, yacht race when it considers the timing of future seasons. The predominant reason the NBL shifted from winter to summer in 1998 was less competition, as Australian Rules and the Rugby codes dominate from February-September. The Sydney-Hobart epitomises the ability for a niche sport to receive significant exposure when there is little else happening. Because after all, sailing is a niche sport. Surely there are only so many people who can be mesmerised by a fleet of floating billboards. Yet, the race receives mainstream media coverage, particularly on television. There were extensive, lengthy news packages on the race in the past week, not just during sport reports but even the leading segments. The only explanation for this was that it provided good filler at a time when little else – except the Boxing Day Test – was happening. Sure, there were a few NBL games, but we couldn’t dare give those a mention, could we?

 

Basketball Australia has publicly stated that after the 2009/10 summer season, the timing of future seasons is open for review. But summer should not be the scapegoat for the game’s downfall. If the league is well run and promoted, it can be successful at any time of the year. And if that time happens to be summer, there remains a great opportunity to carve out a larger slice of the sports media pie.

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