The Geelong United Basketball Association and a consortium of investors plan to enter teams in elite women’s competitions
The boss of the Geelong United Basketball Association has revealed its blueprint for entering teams in several elite women’s competitions, not just in basketball.
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A bid to move the Melbourne Boomers’ WNBL licence to Geelong just needs Basketball Australia’s approval to go ahead.
The Geelong United Basketball Association is anxiously awaiting BA’s decision on the proposed relocation, amid hopes the team will be ready to take the court as soon as next season.
The Boomers’ long term ownership group has, during the past 12 months, been exploring options to transfer its licence, amid heavy losses and a frustration with the stagnant league.
As revealed by this publication earlier this month, the GUB and a consortium of local private investors is behind the push to bring a national women’s team to the region.
The WNBL has a commission meeting on Thursday where it’s understood the transfer of licence will be discussed.
Basketball Australia has yet to make a decision on the proposal.
It’s understood a last-ditch bid to keep the Boomers in Melbourne has fallen short, removing a potential roadblock to the licence transfer.
In an exclusive interview with this masthead, GUB boss Mark Neeld said there was an urgency to square away the deal.
“We are working as hard as we possibly can to get something done as soon as we can,” Neeld said.
“There’s a lot of moving parts and lot of contributing people.
“It’s so difficult to put a timeline on it.
“We are giving this as much energy and time as we can to get it done as soon as we can.”
However, Neeld said GUB and the investors, including businesses and individual people, were thinking further afield, considering entering teams in several elite women’s competitions, not just in basketball.
“We’re going to start with basketball,” he said.
“We are very confident that into the near future Geelong will be entering teams in a number of different nationwide competitions.
“That’s certainly our vision.
“We need to start with one.
“In the first instance it will be women’s sport … we believe we can play a role in increasing female participation in sport, and in this case basketball.”
When asked if the group’s interest extended to an NBL licence, Neeld left the door wide open.
“We certainly won’t be putting any ceilings on where we can go and what competitions we can enter into,” he said.
“We’d love to have discussions … with many national competitions to just see what is actually possible.
“We’re out in the market place having a range of discussions.”
However, he said the Geelong Arena was not equipped to host NBL matches, highlighting a proposed 5000-seat showcourt at Armstrong Creek would be crucial if a potential bid was explored.
“We do not have a stadium ready to go to play in today,” he said.
“If you’re talking about the WNBL, we’re hopeful the Geelong Arena is capable of hosting WNBL seasons.
“I’m not sure for how long.”
He said Geelong had the population and the financial clout to make elite women’s teams, based in the region, a success.
“We believe that it’s an area that would welcome different sports playing at the highest level,” he said.
“We believe there’s ample support through local businesses, a growing population and just the size of the region to venture into other sports.”
Originally published as The Geelong United Basketball Association and a consortium of investors plan to enter teams in elite women’s competitions
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