Newcastle Herald: Where are the NBL and Basketball Australia up to regarding the review into the future and format of a new elite men's national league?
Chuck Harmison: Stage Two of the review was delivered recently and outlined a comprehensive vision for the commercial restructure of Australian basketball. It is currently with the stakeholders (NBL teams and state bodies) for consideration and comment. It will be sent to a vote on November 8, when we believe the recommendations contained in the independent report will be embraced.
Herald: Are there any specific recommendations for an NBL competition reduced to eight teams, following the successful model of soccer's A-League?
Harmison: The report doesn't set a specific number of teams for the future but does recommend a minimum of eight teams in 2009-10. That means there could be more if there are potential licence holders that can satisfy the criteria to obtain a licence.
Herald: What are the specific criteria for potential franchise holders? There has been speculation potential licence or franchise holders will require a minimum of $1 million.
Harmison: There are some draft criteria being circulated with the teams currently, but these are still being discussed. Certainly there will be a requirement for any teams that will take part in the New NBL (that's not what it will actually be called) to show that they are financially sound and bank guarantees is obviously one way to do this. New teams will also need to pay a substantial licence fee.
Herald: Will preference be given to capital cities or existing NBL teams?
Harmison: Clearly, having a presence in Australia's largest markets is attractive, but ultimately the success or otherwise of licence applications for the New NBL will be judged against the final criteria established and as to whether the inclusion of a team from that city or region is in the best interests of the sport.
Herald: What are Newcastle's chances of inclusion in a new-look men's national league?
Harmison: At this stage it is impossible to say, however, there will be a level playing field and all licence applications will be judged on their own merits and against the published criteria.
Herald: Given Newcastle's historical links with the NBL, would the NBL or BA or the game's new governing body especially want a Newcastle team included in the new league?
Harmison: What the NBL and BA want is a league that has clubs who are financially stable to allow us to ensure that the showcase for domestic basketball in Australia can focus on achieving long-term strategic goals, rather than the current uncertainty that has surrounded us for the past few years.
Herald: Has there been any formal or informal contact from Newcastle or a Newcastle-based consortium inquiring about entry criteria for the new competition?
Harmison: None that I am aware of, but we won't be calling for licence application expressions of interest in joining the New NBL until later in the year.
Herald: The NBL has been through some well documented tough times, culminating in the demise of long-serving clubs such as the Sydney Kings, Brisbane Bullets and the near demise of the Wollongong Hawks; loss of free-to-air and a reduction of pay-TV coverage; drop in profile etc. Through all of that, the standard is as high as it has ever been, the NBL continues to produce emerging talent (eg: Brad Newley, Nathan Jawai), and the Boomers recorded some of their best-ever wins at the recent Beijing Olympic Games despite a poor start to the tournament. Do you think the new competition structure will give Australia's one-time "boom" sport the shot in the arm it needs?
Harmison: We believe it will remove some of the structural hindrances our current competition operates under and allow us to be far more competitive with the other major sporting codes. Basketball has participation numbers that are the envy of most other sports, so we hope to be able to finally leverage that potential fan base by reconnecting with the grass roots whilst also adopting a commercial model that will allow us to aggressively market ourselves, which is another area where we have not done so well over the past few years.
Australia continues to be ranked No.2 in the world by FIBA which is a great reflection on the level of basketball in Australia.
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