NBL thinks Canberra is ready

Canberra becomes the Capital of Australian basketball this week, with the NBL Blitz and NBL1 National Finals spoiling hoops fans for choice. And the NBL is ready to come back to Canberra permanently.

NBL CEO David Stephenson looks out across the freshly re-laid court at the AIS Arena, all set for five nights of action with the NBL Blitz, and he lights up at the idea of a Canberra team retuning the League. 

“We always think about where are the most basketball lovers,” he told local media this week. 

“I think about the way that basketball has grown in the ACT – and full credit to Basketball ACT for participation growth – but the amount of fans we still have here in Canberra, we wanted to bring some games back here. 

“Clearly, we’re using the Blitz as an opportunity to test the market for possible expansion, like we did in Tasmania with the JackJumpers, but I think the way the people of Canberra have voted with their feet – three days sold out (before the event began) – I think it’s all going to come together really well. 

Stephenson says the NBL wouldn’t be bring the Blitz and the NBL1 National Finals to Canberra if they weren’t serious about returning the League’s presence to the Capital. He told local media that the rich history of the Cannons and the glory years of Phil Smyth and Herb Mceachin, and the history the UC Capitals are still making currently, has meant the idea of an NBL team in Canberra has long been front of mind. 

“The pure emotion we get from fans when they talk about the Cannons and those days, it makes our heart warm to think about what that might look like again in the future. 

“Everyone is keen for a team. We’d love to bring a team here.” 

Stephenson is encouraged by discussions with the ACT Government about a new premier convention centre and indoor arena, and reiterated that the AIS Arena could serve as an interim venue to start building the support base if a new, larger venue was confirmed for future delivery. 

But beyond the venue, and the demand this week for Blitz tickets, Stephenson made it clear that the League is excited about Canberra because the ACT remains such a strong basketball region. 

“It’s been incredible, the success that Basketball ACT have driven in participation, men and women, boys and girls, but it’s not just the numbers, it’s the quality of the talent that’s come out. 

“There’s no better example than Alex Toohey. A Canberra local, played so well and signed up as part of the Next Stars program, goes to the Sydney Kings, then gets drafted (by the Golden State Warriors) in the NBA.  

“They’re the kind of stories that inspire kids to pick up a ball and say ‘hey, I can play at my local club, and I can do my best and maybe there’s a pathway through to the NBA’.  

“It’s the same thing for the WNBA too, with the Capitals doing so well. It gives a local team playing at the elite level in Australia, and then to be able to go on into the WNBA, you know, I’m a big believer that you can’t be what you can’t see.  

“There’s lot of inspiring stories here.” 

Stephenson says a strong basketball community in the ACT gives the NBL plenty of confidence that when they do return to Canberra fulltime – and their ambition to do this couldn’t be clearer – that a support base that a new team would crave remains solid and sustainable in the future. 

“When you look at the numbers of what our participation rates were for basketball when we had the Cannons compared to what they are now, they’re just significantly bigger,” “That gives us a good foundation, because what we know is not only those players, but their families are also connected to the sport. And that really helps us a lot.  

“We’ve seen that growth happen across the country; basketball is now the second most-played sport in the country, and we think we’re playing a role to inspire those kids to play, but also, those kids are inspiring the NBL too. It’s a really strong ecosystem. 

“It does give us a good foundation to say that if we did put a team here in Canberra, that we’ve got thousands of kids that are playing, and we’ve got thousands of families connected to the sport, let alone the people who were connected to the sport over the last generation. 

“That’s a really important part of having an expansion team.”