Hoops

Any support for a Fremantle NBL team?

I don't see it working here.

Firstly there are already a lot of home games in a fairly short space of time in a season, especially in Perth where the Arena is out of action for a weeks every mid-season. Double the amount of games and I very much doubt you'll double the amount of fans. The Cats finished the season with 6 home games in 6 rounds. I'm not sure how much hungrier the basketball fans of Perth really are.

Secondly, venue is a real issue here. Perth Arena is excellent of course, but it's expensive. 5,000 fans to a game is a good number by NBL standards at the moment, but I suspect that number showing up at Perth Arena would be a long way below the break-even point. I don't have figures to back that up though.

But more importantly, I just don't see where support for a new team would come from. I don't see that there's a big base of dormant potential fans just waiting to be given a basketball identity, who would jump onto a new team. Fremantle? I don't see it. South & East Freo were natural sources when it came to the Freo Dockers entering the AFL. Basketball in Perth doesn't have anything remotely comparable.

So I think it would be a big ask to get a new team established. They'd want to have a lot of money and a serious drawcard of a marquee player every season for a while to build support.

In the longer term ... I dunno. Maybe there is enough interest in basketball here to make it happen. But I think that first of all the league would have to establish itself. Once fans have a league that is worth following, maybe there's a chance they would stick with a new team. But I don't think this is the right time.

"The novelty of basketball in the city is already wearing off."..............

I just put my palm thru my face......

NOR/SOR = north of river/south of river

I would expect there to be a lot of resistance from the Wildcats, but if the proposal has wings, then let it fly.

The mining boom is over so that could be an issue, but Perth people do love that NOR/SOR rivalry. I would go fro Freo (SOR) only because I sold my summer retreat located in Peppermint Grove so I have no affiliation NOR anymore.

Uwe, the challenge ahead for the Cats is for them to be able to retain this level. Im not saying they can't, but it will be a hell of an effort to repeat this. And they need to recruit very well.

Im sure you don't need to be reminded about the late 90's when the bubble burst! The good thing is that Im sure the organisation is well aware of the potential to go backwards, and being complacent and won't let that happen.

What they have achieved is awesome and im sure it will continue, but like all other teams they start at zero members each off season and will need to build it up again. No guarantee that 9,600 members will again re-sign.

Anon: One game does not give enough evidence to support your argument. On that method, one could also take their biggest attendance of the year and make the assumption that the Cats are in the midst of a boom.

You could also counter your argument by saying that if the Cats sign a bigger star than Ennis and win their first 5 games that the Arena would sell out with everyone jumping on the bandwagon.

I'm curious, Is your glass half empty or half full ?

Im a bit confused - Why would you mention Fremantle in the topic heading, but then somewhat sway against it in your post? I agree with what you said about Fremantle, so therefore why mention it to begin with? Just because its different to Perth doesn't make it a reasonable argument. Joondalup, Mandurah or Eastern Suburbs (as an example) might have just as much traction as Fremantle, or even more.

A lot of the points you raised against the proposal (eg needing a suitable venue) would be enough of an argument not to persist with a 2nd team anyway.

Im not for it, but not against the idea in a few years time.

"The novelty of basketball in the city is already wearing off."

"Did you see how empty the place was for the semi final? "

Is this a really poor attempt at trolling? They had a record average attendance and record membership numbers this year. How does that in any shape or volume translate to a decline ?

The small crowd at the Arena for the semi final was due to a few factors, the main ones being that it was a long weekend here (where a lot of families go away) and it was also the weekend of the Future Music festival.

You cant base your assumption on one piece of data when the rest of the data points massively in the other direction.

As a hypothetical only - I can see a 2nd WA team way in the future. Not right now though. The Wildcats are still in their early days of getting great crowds at the Arena. For any confidence of a second team coming in, the Wildcats would need to at least have this current level of support sustainable for many more years to prove its worth it.

Its probably too risky for the NBL to bring a second team in and risk the Wildcats juggernaut by possibly taking fans away from them. Plus in WA, the Wildcats ARE basketball and are well liked - unlike Melbourne or Sydney where more than 1 team could represent their city.

I also wouldn't bother calling it Fremantle either. Fremantle is hardly a basketball heartland and is not the same as the football connection they have with the Dockers.

I do however see more fans supporting a 2nd WA team than there is currently for Wollongong or Townsville and possibly even Sydney after a few years. So its not without consideration down the track.

I think a Fremantle team would eat too much into the Wildcats Market. If anything maybe a team in Bunbury. I believe the SBL team Bunbury City Slammers has a decent following and its geographically far enough from Perth to not impact the Wildcats.