NBL Gold Coast team: League celebrates success after pre-season Blitz tournament

City leaders are confident the Gold Coast has done enough to build the case for securing its own NBL franchise, with new data revealing the success of a pre-season extravaganza.

City leaders are confident the Gold Coast has done enough to build the case for securing its own NBL franchise, with new data revealing the success of a pre-season extravaganza.

More than 20,000 attended the six-day NBL Blitz pre-season tournament at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre in mid-September. The 15-game showcase saw the sport’s stars and young guns dazzle audiences and scouts.

National Basketball League bosses were looking to the tournament as a testing ground for whether there was enough support for the city to have its own franchise again.

The 2023 NBL Blitz was held on the Gold Coast in September and drew in big crowds. (Photo by Russell Freeman/Getty Images for NBL)

The data reveals it was a success, with the 20,000-strong crowd twice the event’s previous record, while the NBL App and website traffic increased by around 90 per cent compared to last year when held in Hobart.

The event secured more than seven million impressions on social media.

NBL CEO David Stevenson said the organisation would review the success while looking to the future.

“This year’s NBL Blitz was undoubtedly the biggest and best we have ever staged,” he said.

“The engagement, interest and genuine excitement on the Gold Coast was palpable and evident through fantastic crowds and energy inside the Convention Centre every night.

“It’s no secret Gold Coast is a city of interest in our expansion conversations and the Blitz has done no harm to the city’s hopes of re-entering the NBL.”

David Stevenson, NBL CEO. (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images for NBL)

It comes months after Mayor Tom Tate held a courtside meeting at the NBL finals in Sydney with billionaire NBL boss Larry Kestelman about relaunching a Gold Coast basketball franchise.

Mr Kestelman also visited the Gold Coast and met a consortium led by entertainment boss Billy Cross about the proposal at a Broadbeach cafe.

The NBL is looking at locations for expansion teams after expressions of interest for new franchise licences.

Canberra, another city to have previously held an NBL licence, and the Gold Coast are leading the field of prospective new teams.

Donna Gates. Picture: Celeste Humphrey

Acting Mayor Donna Gates said the pre-season results spoke for themselves.

“It was a blitz all right - a record crowd blitz and amazing success from everyone involved.

“This has set the stage for a cracking NBL season and underscores how the Coast is rapidly becoming a premier sporting city in Australia.

“The online and fan content alone is worth millions to the Gold Coast. Let’s hope we can slam dunk another Blitz in 2024.”

At least two franchises are expected to enter the competition between 2024 and 2025.

Mr Cross said there was a clear mood for basketball on the Gold Coast.

Local promoter Billy Cross and No Limit Boxing CEO George Rose. Picture Glenn Hampson

“It was a telltale sign of how good the NBL would be with an expansion team here,” he said.

“This was the most successful Blitz ever and the crowd numbers and ticket sales were massive.

“It shows the support for basketball, the NBL and for the Gold Coast to be in that expansion is strong and we could not be in a better position now.”

The Gold Coast has previously been home to two failed NBL franchises.

The Gold Coast Cougars, later renamed the Gold Coast Rollers, entered the competition in 1990 but financially struggled through its six years and never placed higher than eighth.

The Rollers, with the Hobart Devils and Geelong Supercats, had licences pulled in 1996.

A new team, the Gold Coast Blaze, bankrolled by a consortium that included Mr Tate, played in the NBL between 2007 and 2012, making three finals appearances.