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Post by spacejammer on Dec 4, 2021 23:02:54 GMT
Agreed the Sky coverage is a huge bonus and for the cities and towns with BBL teams hopefully it does attract more fans to the current teams.
But to me the only way to get people from non BBL cities or towns excited would be for a franchise to actual exist in their area which is easier said then done.
However in my view while some franchises have fallen in the past some like Bristol and Manchester have came well since joining the BBl and other franchises have learnt and starting to follow the Eagles and Riders model of running things.
Hence the reason the league is starting to get more tougher.
Now that the fans are allowed back unfortunately sky can't be as playful as what they were last year with their double headers and may madness style playoffs which I doubt will be on this season.
It probably wouldn't have the same effect as the NBA global games but if they were to stage a few BBL matches in a neutral town or city I wonder if that would inspire new franchises?
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Post by drivethebody on Dec 5, 2021 7:25:06 GMT
Agreed the Sky coverage is a huge bonus and for the cities and towns with BBL teams hopefully it does attract more fans to the current teams. But to me the only way to get people from non BBL cities or towns excited would be for a franchise to actual exist in their area which is easier said then done. However in my view while some franchises have fallen in the past some like Bristol and Manchester have came well since joining the BBl and other franchises have learnt and starting to follow the Eagles and Riders model of running things. Hence the reason the league is starting to get more tougher. Now that the fans are allowed back unfortunately sky can't be as playful as what they were last year with their double headers and may madness style playoffs which I doubt will be on this season. It probably wouldn't have the same effect as the NBA global games but if they were to stage a few BBL matches in a neutral town or city I wonder if that would inspire new franchises? If I was fan of Newcastle or Plymouth and they decided to host a home game in a neutral venue like say Birmingham I’d not be happy |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2021 8:50:07 GMT
I think if a certain amount of games at the start the season were advertised as neutral venues, either part of a Sky double or in a non-BBL city, that wouldn't be an issue. They'd need more league games, though, if they got up to 12 teams they could 15 home, 15 away and three neutral. The NBA used to do it a lot.
But there's no point just dropping a single game into a venue and hoping it goes well. It would need a decent amount of marketing and it's questionable if that would be worthwhile for one game. The BBL should target three or four cities, play four games in each, provide the support to get bums on seats and see if it sparks enough interest to consider that city having a franchise - and that might take a couple of years. That's the kind of thing the 777 money should be used for rather than bringing the likes of Deandre Liggins into the league.
The mysteriously deleted BBC article mentioned a season opening event. I imagine it'll be something like rugby league "magic weekends" where they stage multiple games at one venue. If they stay at 27 games, that'll be the 27th game for some of the teams.
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Post by spacejammer on Dec 5, 2021 9:10:23 GMT
I think if a certain amount of games at the start the season were advertised as neutral venues, either part of a Sky double or in a non-BBL city, that wouldn't be an issue. They'd need more league games, though, if they got up to 12 teams they could 15 home, 15 away and three neutral. The NBA used to do it a lot. But there's no point just dropping a single game into a venue and hoping it goes well. It would need a decent amount of marketing and it's questionable if that would be worthwhile for one game. The BBL should target three or four cities, play four games in each, provide the support to get bums on seats and see if it sparks enough interest to consider that city having a franchise - and that might take a couple of years. That's the kind of thing the 777 money should be used for rather than bringing the likes of Deandre Liggins into the league. The mysteriously deleted BBC article mentioned a season opening event. I imagine it'll be something like rugby league "magic weekends" where they stage multiple games at one venue. If they stay at 27 games, that'll be the 27th game for some of the teams. Even if not a game they could do something maybe even in the off season where they try to promote the league in non BBL towns and cities. Like a roadshow of something. When a team has their home matches of Sky they could even do more promoting within say Newcastle vs Manchester for example. You could have more advertisement within those cities to make people aware the BBL exists and the teams. If someone new from Newcastle had have just randomly decided to watched this week match against London. Hopefully they might be inspired to want to come to our next home match against Bristol. |
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Post by spacejammer on Dec 5, 2021 9:20:48 GMT
Agreed the Sky coverage is a huge bonus and for the cities and towns with BBL teams hopefully it does attract more fans to the current teams. But to me the only way to get people from non BBL cities or towns excited would be for a franchise to actual exist in their area which is easier said then done. However in my view while some franchises have fallen in the past some like Bristol and Manchester have came well since joining the BBl and other franchises have learnt and starting to follow the Eagles and Riders model of running things. Hence the reason the league is starting to get more tougher. Now that the fans are allowed back unfortunately sky can't be as playful as what they were last year with their double headers and may madness style playoffs which I doubt will be on this season. It probably wouldn't have the same effect as the NBA global games but if they were to stage a few BBL matches in a neutral town or city I wonder if that would inspire new franchises? If I was fan of Newcastle or Plymouth and they decided to host a home game in a neutral venue like say Birmingham I’d not be happy They host the finals in a neutral venue unless your Glasgow and make the trophy final. Although I understand your point if it was one of the biggest games of the season like Riders v Eagles I would maybe want it at home. I suppose with 82 games the NBA can get away with it. Although with the changes to the BBL Cup how people say it is like a pre season tournament and games don't always count. That sort of is how I feel sometimes watching the NBA in the regular season. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2021 9:49:24 GMT
Alll they need to do to the bbl cup is eliminate the fourth placed team and give the group winner a bye to the semi and a guaranteed home game
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Post by spacejammer on Dec 5, 2021 12:17:43 GMT
Alll they need to do to the bbl cup is eliminate the fourth placed team and give the group winner a bye to the semi and a guaranteed home game I agree you could do that and have winners of each group get a bye to Semis and then the 2 V 3 face each other in the quarters. I read that is how the egyptian playoffs worked in Alex Owumis Gaddafi's Point Guard book. Or you could have it simply as top 2 go through to the Semis. It certainly would make the Cup more of a competitive contest rather then just not wanting to be the basement finisher. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2021 19:49:49 GMT
The problem with playing each team home & away and only two sides going through is that it leads to loads of dead games at the bottom end of the table. It'd be okay if they only played each other once.
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Post by casualhook on Dec 20, 2021 10:12:05 GMT
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Post by notoriousbigz on Dec 20, 2021 10:35:45 GMT
Where are we saying the new franchises are going to be planned for then?
Birmingham seems obvious. A second London team maybe? Another Scottish side would be good - Edinburgh based maybe? Id be looking somewhere east too - purely on a geographical basis as theres nothing out that way save for up north but Id have no idea of the passion for it.
Keeping Plymouth and getting Worcester back would be really good - surely Worcester don't want to waste their decent infrastructure on an NBL team long term?
I know first hand Liverpool isnt going to happen barring a miracle but I guess stranger things have happened. City seems a bit once bitten twice shy about professional basketball to tell the truth.
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Post by PointlessMonkey on Dec 20, 2021 10:37:03 GMT
Where are we saying the new franchises are going to be planned for then? Birmingham seems obvious. A second London team maybe? Another Scottish side would be good - Edinburgh based maybe? Id be looking somewhere east too - purely on a geographical basis as theres nothing out that way save for up north but Id have no idea of the passion for it. Keeping Plymouth and getting Worcester back would be really good - surely Worcester don't want to waste their decent infrastructure on an NBL team long term? I know first hand Liverpool isnt going to happen barring a miracle but I guess stranger things have happened. City seems a bit once bitten twice shy about professional basketball to tell the truth. Cardiff, Gloucester ?? |
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Post by notoriousbigz on Dec 20, 2021 10:43:06 GMT
Where are we saying the new franchises are going to be planned for then? Birmingham seems obvious. A second London team maybe? Another Scottish side would be good - Edinburgh based maybe? Id be looking somewhere east too - purely on a geographical basis as theres nothing out that way save for up north but Id have no idea of the passion for it. Keeping Plymouth and getting Worcester back would be really good - surely Worcester don't want to waste their decent infrastructure on an NBL team long term? I know first hand Liverpool isnt going to happen barring a miracle but I guess stranger things have happened. City seems a bit once bitten twice shy about professional basketball to tell the truth. Cardiff, Gloucester ?? Completely forgot about Gloucester - good shout! Whats the score in Cardiff these days? Am I right in thinking they have a team in the newly formed Welsh National League? Seems logical we should be looking to get a Welsh franchise in. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2021 10:47:55 GMT
The Queens are on the brink of closure apparently. That doesn’t bode well considering just how much more money is needed in the men’s game
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Post by bullets92 on Dec 20, 2021 10:53:40 GMT
Considering these new franchises would need significant investment with their arenas (possibly even new ones….certainly talking from a Birmingham perspective) not sure how far the 7 million would stretch for that).
Don’t want to be a party pooper. On paper everything they say they plan to do is practically what everyone complains is wrong with the league atm. Player welfare, facilities, marketing, fan engagement etc.
Hope the new CEO they mention is a proper basketball person
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Post by skeg on Dec 20, 2021 12:03:14 GMT
4 new teams seems a bit of a stretch to me.
As has been mentioned before 7 million is a lot of money but how far will it actually go?
The phrase “initial investment” has popped up. Is that initial investment part of the 7 million or is the 7 million the initial investment and there will be more to come in a phase 2 scenario?
Looking forward to seeing what the investment does though.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2021 13:54:40 GMT
I imagine the plan is to use the cash to get more television exposure and generally improve the league so that it's more attractive to prospective club owners. Maybe the league or 777 directly will take a small stake in the new franchise, but I don't think the existing clubs would have agreed to a situation where one entity owns six clubs. There was a lot of disquiet when Sharks and the original Giants were being managed by the same company.
Five new franchises is a convenient number because it takes it to a nice round 16, whether it's achievable is open to question. I hope they don't start teams just to get to that magic number. Certainly, if they were to go back to Worcester it would need to be a separate club, renting the arena. The uni have shown how little they care about basketball.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2021 14:18:34 GMT
dunkster in ruins
Good stuff, I'd love another Scottish team, plus a Welsh and Irish team
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Post by spacejammer on Dec 20, 2021 22:14:16 GMT
From reading this I like to think it sounds promising and not just a bunch of big words put together.
And at least it shows 777 are taking an intrest in the league which if your a Lions fan is also a good sign.
Shows they are likely to stick around for the next 5 years at least.
Although with the potential new franchises I suppose it is again another question as to where they expand.
As we have seen with the failed Birmingham Knights and London City Royals.
The strategy of "we build it and they will come" wont be a success without hardworking going into it.
That us how the Eagles and Riders as well as other long term franchises have withstood.
I also hope while franchises are added non of the current ones fall.
Having said that as Bigz mentioned with the Wolves an easy way of getting one new franchise would be to spare money to resurrect the Worcester Wolves.
Their are plenty of area pockets in the UK where you could place new franchises it's a case of finding a place that it would be successful.
I agree a Welsh team and another Scottish team would be a plus as well as an Northern Ireland team if it was possible.
But we'll have to see over time how this pans out.
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Post by saintpat on Dec 20, 2021 23:00:59 GMT
Their words are excellent, it's saying all the right things. Now they have to deliver them. Lions have failed spectacularly with all media since 777 took over, so they have a lot to prove.
7 million is a lot, but it's not nearly enough to complete their plans, but if they get it right then perhaps proper sponsorship & real media interest will follow & create the finances necessary.
It certainly seems it's probably the best option we've ever had for British basketball if it's handled correctly. 777 & the BBL simply have to make this work & everyone in British basketball needs to get behind them.
I've already seen players coming on social media complaining about wages, this isn't a golden egg guys,it's probably the last opportunity for decent players in this country to eventually make a proper living but it's not going to happen overnight, this investment should help clubs get to the point of treating all players correctly but it's not going to be an overnight fix. Please don't shoot 777 down before they've had a chance to make improvements at all levels.
Will it work? I really hope so but it relies on all parts of British basketball pulling in the same direction, something they have failed to do in the whole time I've been watching the BBL.
My one positive is that I believe 777 have come into this with their eyes wide open, their time with Lions will already have been a steep learning curve with how British basketball works & they have still moved forward.
They clearly think they can make it work & more importantly for them, eventually turn a profit!
As for people mentioning Worcester, I can't see it, I get the impression one of the reasons they left was because of this possible investment, so I can't see them coming back.
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Post by spacejammer on Dec 20, 2021 23:47:25 GMT
Interesting, to me it seems like to everyone this investment could either make the league or possibly break the league is what I'm under the impression of.
But I agree it's better then playing safe with it.
Afterall during the lockdown season last year it was fun seeing how much the BBL got to play around with the ideas such as the May madness.
Whilst I understand the copa del rey 2 leg playoffs won't happen again.
I wonder if they would ever consider going back to the playoff plan before Covid-19 and seeing if they can make a best of 3 series work.
I would certainly prefer that to the 2 leg system and feel more like a proper playoff basketball style of contest.
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Post by leamrider2 on Dec 21, 2021 8:55:01 GMT
To create a stable, financially sustainable professional sports club of any kind needs more than just money. To create several of them creates a need for management, coaching staff, medical staff, arena staff, match officials, and so on and so on, quite apart from players themselves. Where are these people?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2021 12:06:06 GMT
Haven't we done this?
Edit. I note the post I replied to has gone
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Post by number23 on Dec 24, 2021 0:07:52 GMT
I think the investment is great news for the league - and it should finally force the league to build a new narrative/identity for itself, rather than eternally being the sport with great participation and no money. £7m isn't going to turn the BBL into the NBA, or even the ACB, but there should be no hiding place if an investment like this doesn't lead to some real, tangible progress for the professional game.
Initially, I'm most intrigued by the plan to appoint a new CEO to give the league an independent leader to drive things forward, and I look forward to seeing who they appoint to this position. I'm also keen to see the impact of investments in data and digital, and raising the standards of marketing and officiating. I'm not sure this £7m will be used to drive the 'four new high-quality franchises' the league are looking for, though. I feel like that's more of a call to other investors that franchises are available for anyone who wants to get onboard. The money is described as an 'initial phase' of investment, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're looking for 777 to put up future tranches.
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