Hoops

Hawks gone?

I love the fact that Lk can shut down on screen comments on refs but can’t shut down wild posts about anything truth or lies.
Welcome Matty Campbell to the role of GM at the Hawks. Above posts have indicated that those that matter have talked positively to back a continuing Illawarra Hawks

A long time ago both Tasmanian cities had NBL teams but both failed to encourage enough bums on seats so folded. Spruiking that this where an N BL team should come from is simply pie in the sky

Shame that Campbell wasn't there from the outset. So all that money wasted on an incompetent appointment.

KW is a perfect example of hiring someone because it looks like they achieved a lot but were really made to look good by previously working for the strongest NBL franchise.

That's good news. Next season will be 40th anniversary.

Hawks may be in trouble but it is business as usual. mat Campbell has taken over as Gm from Kim Welch (who was a bust) and is already working behind the scenes. I think the off season will be the usual struggle it always is in Wollongong but eventually they will line up for another season

But at least LK is spending his money, not someone else's.
Let's hope his building stuff keeps going gangbusters ;)

Exactly. What a deck of cards that has been built.

This is worse than when Eddy Groves owned the Bullets and Sixers.

Yes that's the whole point. Spencley get out of jail and sells to LK's mate. How the NBL can allow that to happen? Oh that's right LK owns the NBL and is seems rips his mate off. Adelaide the same. So LK really owns 4 teams.
Utd, Bullets, Hawks and Adel.

Yes they are mates.

As I understand it, there's Stratford and then a potential new local investor (previously a sponsor) independent of all the Hawthorn stuff. My read of the comments up-page were that the new local is the one disinterested in wearing past debt.

Cram,

Yep, I get that. Doesn't mean what I'm saying ain't true.

By new investor I meant the current "owner" the dude who took over from Spenceley for LK until they find someone new.

The new investor (LK puppet) wants to pass on the debt to the prospective new new owner.

If that make sense.

"The $300k debt that another poster mentioned on here was the sticking point for a local Wollongong investor."

I don't get it....if Spenceley has sold and this investor has bought, then the debt belongs to the new investor.

The Ill. Mercury reported the $350K which was denied and was a lesser amount according to the article.
Either way the Hawks are in trouble again. Sad news.

I have heard that decision day for the Hawks license was today. So far no news is good news for Hawks supporters.
The $300k debt that another poster mentioned on here was the sticking point for a local Wollongong investor. If the finance wasn't sorted by today, the NBL was going to step in a revoke the license.
As I said, as far I know that didn't happen today. So whoever was involved at the top end of the NBL, or the local investors have remained tight lipped at least for today.

Media rights in the NBL? Worth less than the catering budget for one night for AFL commentators

Yawn, no one here cares about you two pointless trolls. Go away.

Animals sounds way better.

Oh and kr thanks for being neurotic, I helped the guy out and he thanked me and then you just had to add your own two cents.

This is the correct rugby quote:

Rugby League is a gentleman's game played by thugs.
Rugby Union is a thug's game played by gentlemen.

<.blockquote>your text here<./blockquote>

remove the dots

My life is now complete

your text here

.blockquote>your text here<./blockquote>

remove the dots

The Bullets and Sydney drove this in the mid 2000's and the results were a disaster, the league nearly folding, playing one season with 7 teams

That rugby code quote was gold.

SA is an Australian Football state so it makes it hard for rugby to flourish. For those who don't understand it, just remember, rugby league is a game for animals, played by animals. Rugby union is a game for animals played by gentlemen

Mate, I’m still laughing at this, I quite like both rugby codes when played with attack minded players and coaches but that is a fantastic quote.

Exactly. Your revenue base should be from media rights and sponsors etc. Unfortunately the problem the NBL has is there are no media rights which means you need a variable such as ticket sales to scrape on by (in most cases). Not good.

They said to set your budget excluding gate receipts. Not to try and exist without selling tickets. e.g., bank first on the more predictable things.

Like I said, it's poorly argued, but if you can stabilise your club without assuming targets for ticket sales (say, with a great TV deal as your base), that's likely to be more reliable. You can be a pedant on the internet or you can be a bit forgiving with your interpretation and see what they were getting at. Suspect the former is better for my pageviews than your mental health arguing like that day in and out on Hoops.

This was one of the original comments:

"Great quote here." Stadium ticket sales should be a bonus for the clubs - not the bread and butter." 100% spot on."

That is one of the dumbest things I have ever seen here.

The Hawks can survive and flourish if managed correctly. It is nonsense to expect the NBL to have
only big city teams. There have been many examples of these teams failing. The most important thing is for teams to have the right model. Perth and Cairns have both been successful but have completely different models. Cairns regularly post a profit as does Perth. The same could not be said for Melbourne, Sydney or Perth. We are headed for disaster if we continue to push up the spend for teams. Over paid players in Melbourne or Sydney inflates the whole market and makes it unsustainable. The Bullets and Sydney drove this in the mid 2000's and the results were a disaster, the league nearly folding, playing one season with 7 teams. Hawks need to do a better job of marketing and engaging their fan base, it is there. More money on marketing the game and teams and less on overpaid players. The Hawks made the finals last year on the back of good coaching, solid Australians and only one high quality import. Don't be fooled by the propaganda the apple may be shiny on the outside but ???

The Rugby League competition was split between the traditional NSWRL/ARL and the Newscorp "Superleague" The split only last a little while before they formed the NRL which we see today. The Superleague only ran for one season (1997), then the Rams played one season in the NRL but dropped out.

SA is an Australian Football state so it makes it hard for rugby to flourish. For those who don't understand it, just remember, rugby league is a game for animals, played by animals. Rugby union is a game for animals played by gentlemen.

Perth Reds also failed in the 90s.

That's funny Duke Fan, I don't recall the NRL having teams in Adelaide or Perth? Calling that league a national competition is laughable.

"Great quote here." Stadium ticket sales should be a bonus for the clubs - not the bread and butter." 100% spot on."

That is one of the dumbest things I have ever seen here.

"the city has lost their last team competing in a national competition"

Pssst....heard of the Dragons? They may be a merged team but still playing games at WIN

Regional clubs only have a couple of things going in their favour - strong attendances that keep the league happy, and having somewhat of a monopoly for community engagement (eg they are the only thing in town for locals to support). See Cairns.

For Illawarra, they have failed for many years to draw good enough crowds despite making 2 grand finals in the last decade, and at worst, at least being an entertaining team. Its not like they are not worth watching.

By all accounts they have lost the community. They dont seem to engage as well anymore, and they have a rent agreement with their venue that is unviable and wont win their community over. See Townsville.

If a regional team cant get that support, it becomes very hard to keep them. A struggling big market team still offers more than a struggling regional team. See Brisbane.

LK has never said or implied he wants regional teams out. He's been trying to get a Tasmanian side in. He wants expansion. But if investors aren't lining up to start new clubs or take over struggling one's, then reaching out to parties like the AFL is obviously an option.

Yes the Hawks have a small population. But there was once a time when they were getting 4000 people regularly to their games. Even with less than 300,000 there shouldnt be an excuse to bring in at least 3000-3500 spectators, including free tickets.

Can we all agree that a professional national sporting club should not be drawing the same size crowds as any local WAFL team?

KR

The Gold Coast rules the roost in lawn bowls

Melb struggles to support 1 team. It’s capacity at Hisense is 3k more than Adel from a population 3 times larger. They are in the Grand Final but have still struggled to sell tickets.

We have seen many second Victorian teams in our lifetime.

Allowing for Gold Coast and second teams in particular cities, I don't think so.

Also, still on the same anon poster who said other clubs are struggling as bad or worse, the Hawks are by far the worst in the league. Aside from Brisbane (who still got bigger crowds even when playing in the much smaller BCC), the other 6 clubs get at least double the attendances that the Hawks do.

Even if the hawks sold the joint out every week no one cares or watches them!

So how is Kestleman's real estate going? Hope all the finance is locked in.

"Excuse me Sir/Ma'am, could I trouble you for $200k per season to be a major sponsor of our amazing local team?"

"Sounds great, but for that much outlay I need some real value for my sponsorship. How many people would see our logos and hear our name throughout the season"

"Well, we're budgeting on zero. Anything more is a bonus"

"Oh, ok, a practical joke. Haha. Good one.
Not."

We’re so lucky we dont have a points cap anymore. Whoever introduced that is an idiot.

As for the rest of your post, its just rambling nonsense. Go to drunk Bruce, you’re bed.

So you went from saying budget for no seats being sold, to budget for 50%? You are just making it up as you go along.

So go and get the Extra $1mill in sponsorship. No one turns up to the game who cares.
Oh did you read the bit I said about budget for 50% of the potential seats?
Equally if you can't find $5 mill+ to compete in the NBL then you are wasting your time. What's the Hawks budget BTW?
Simple really the budgets have gone out the door and we are now back where we were in the 90's. The rich survive and the semi poor go under. 4 imports laughable. How about 5 imports.? Where will it stop.
Why waste your money on 3 teams playing in the USA LK? That's wank.All it proves is how easily you can waste money that should be invested into the NBL.
How's the Brisbane experiment going? NO ONE wanted to buy into the Brisbane franchise over many years, but you decided to waste more millions on that underperforming expensive franchise. Get Spencely to sell to a mate? Wow. Lowballed there for sure.

Those payments should not be treated as expected revenue.

It was never even stipulated exactly how much of the luxury tax they would even get.

Hawks average crowd about 2.5k, let's say average of $30 per ticket, 14 reg season home games, so that is $1 mil
Take a mil away from the Hawks budget and see what product they are able to put on the floor. Not pretty.
Silly idea. Ridiculous actually, not silly. Same league, different reality.

“Set your budget with no seats sold.”

One of them dumbest things that has ever been said here.

Can you read at all? Comprehension? Clearly not. Zero paid players based on no budget at all? How is that even possible? Crack's working Eh.
How can anyone guess on any night / season bums on seats. That's a guesstimate which in many teams over the years we have seen not work.How can that be even logically factored into a budget.
Spirit 800 people to a game, the Ville no one, Hawks pathetic, Kings on Wed nights.

"Great quote here." Stadium ticket sales should be a bonus for the clubs - not the bread and butter." 100% spot on."


That is one of the dumbest things I have ever seen here.
Every club would instantly have to budget for zero paid players. What a wonderful league that would result in!
That would be what is known as a self-fulfilling prophecy. Sign volunteer players, no one wants to see them so no one turns up to games, and then you can be proud of how accurate you were for budgeting on zero stadium tickets sold. Genius.