Hoops

NBL venues and how they look on TV

NZ seems dark and squishy from what I perceive on TV.

CT, I can respect that. However for me the venue plays a big part in the overall presentation of watching a game on TV. If the stadium is crappy and there's not much of a crowd there - or you cant see the crowd at all because they are blacked out by the lighting, it takes away from the overall viewing enjoyment.

Personally I love watching games from Perth Cairns and Melbourne specifically. And Sometimes Sydney and NZ (when at Spark Arena). Those places the arena is usually full (or decent sized) or the atmosphere is really good. Comes across well on TV, and thats important for creating an attractive league for new fans to get into.

I can say hand on heart that in several decades of watching Australian basketball I've never once turned on an nbl game and thought that the stadium detracted in any way from the game I was watching. I'm just glad all the venues don't all look the same, that'd be dull.

What's wrong with Cairns?

NSEC and SNAHC (if that still counts) are easily the worst.

I don't mind referring to 13,000 as 15,000 depending on context. Sometimes it just sounds better to round up and the actual number isn't particularly relevant.

12/13,000 can be explained by one person rounding, say, 12,600 up (correctly) and another just ignoring the last three digits.

Russell advertising upcoming games as 'sold out' when there are hundreds of tickets available is peak stupid though.

I'll be the contrarian then and say I really like the dark lighting, although I never watch the home games on TV. Today was a pretty good crowd and I don't think they have been that bad on average throughout the year.

Yep I hate that too (commentators inflaating crowds). I remember one time the attendance at a Perth game went from 12,000 to 13,000 to 15,000 according to the commentators. Place doesnt even hold 15000.

Dwayne Russel particularly guilty of that.

There might've been but wouldn't have been the first time this season commentators have exaggerated the size of crowds. Dwayne Russell does it nearly every time in Melb and some like Rosen & Heal usually add an extra thousand or two to the Hawks home crowds. They work for the NBL so to be expected.

Wasnt there around 6000 today? Basing that off what John Casey said in the broadcast. Apart from that, with the lighting making it impossible to see the crowd, and tbe Sixers not publishing crowds you'd never know what it was like there!

I too other than North Shore & Wollongong really enjoy seeing games in all the other venues. My favourites would be Brisbane & Spark Arena in NZ.

They've made it way too dark. Can hardly see the crowd at all!

Look I understand the finances of running a WNBL would be horrible but there is a lot of reasons I think this could work.

If a Sturt or Forestville wanted to position themselves above the pack this would certainly be one way. Also a development pathway to the elite level.

Back in the day, not that long ago, Adelaide fielded three WNBL teams. Looking around the league right now there's a lot more SA WNBL players then NBL players.

There's also the issues with the current club.

I'm assuming it hasn't happened because no one has the funds or interest but I think there would be enough interest and local talent to make it work.

Thoughts?