Capital Gains? Canberra’s NBL case builds

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More than 16,000 tickets have been snapped up for the CODE Sports NBL Blitz as Canberra presses its case for an expansion franchise.

But the capital and fellow expansion hopeful Gold Coast risk being overlooked by the NBL if their respective government bodies don’t come to the table with meaningful guarantees on new stadiums, reports Michael Randall and Matt Logue from Code Sports.

Crosscourt can reveal an NBL team could have suited up on the Gold Coast as soon as this season, had City of Gold Coast council pushed ahead with a proposed $480 million, 12,000-seat arena at Southport.

And, while the ACT Labor government is saying all the right things, it is still yet to provide the guarantee on an 8000-seat stadium that would be a key pillar in the return of professional basketball to the capital for the first time since the Canberra Cannons went into administration in 2003.

Read the full story at Code Sports

Last year, in a media communique, ACT Labor said it supported the return of a Canberra franchise to the NBL and a new venue within the city’s convention and entertainment precinct.

NBL Group chief executive David Stevenson said Wednesday’s pre-season CODE Sports Blitz doubled as a test case for the capital.

“It’s no secret we’re exploring expansion (into Canberra),” Stevenson said.

“We’re absolutely thrilled that already three days of the Blitz – Friday, Saturday and Sunday – have sold out completely and that’s a huge vote of confidence in not only the new NBL season but also Canberra as a destination for people who love basketball.”

Stevenson confirmed the league was in discussions with half-a-dozen potential expansion bids from all over the country and said lack of a suitable venue remained the biggest barrier for both Canberra and the Gold Coast.

“AIS Arena is great and will work well with the Blitz, but it’s not big enough to house a permanent NBL team,” Stevenson said.

“The 8000-seat stadium plan the government is exploring is appealing for us. We want to make sure that we don’t have people locked out from day one of a potential new club.

“We’re encouraged by those conversations with the ACT government but there’s still a long way to go as they work through the potential of that venue and we want to make sure we go on the journey with them.

“Once we get certainty on those venues that allows us to be able to make a decision, and we’re very optimistic about the work that’s going on both in the ACT and on the Gold Coast.”

An ACT government spokesperson said it’s new facility was not anticipated to be open until after 2030. The spokesman said the refurbished AIS Arena would be suitable as a start up for an NBL team.

Crosscourt has been told the NBL is open to playing in the current facility but would only greenlight an expansion franchise if the new stadium was set in concrete.

Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate said expressions of interest for a private investor to partner with council and build and operate the new arena would open later this month, with construction aimed to begin in 2027 ahead of completion in 2030.