The 12 days of hoops Xmas: The 15 NBL games in 12 days turbocharging basketball
All the NBL wants for Christmas is record crowds, record ratings, and all eyes on Aussie hoops. Wishful thinking? Maybe not. The league is going nuclear with 15 games in 12 days, headlined by clear air on Christmas night.
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The NBL says it’s giving fans what they want with a yuletide feast of 15 games in 12 days throughout the festive period as it continues to build momentum for the pioneering Christmas Day slate to become entrenched in the nation’s sporting psyche.
The packed upcoming NBL schedule features games all over the country — and across the ditch — beginning this Friday, December 20-31, as the league turns up the summer heat.
“We always start our plans thinking through the lens of the fan first, with a focus on families,” NBL CEO Dave Stevenson said.
“Over this period, kids have finished school, adults are taking time off work and they’re looking for entertainment opportunities where they can be together.
“That’s why this is our sweet spot for basketball, for NBL, because those families want to be together, they want to be entertained.
“One of the great aspects of our game is, regardless of whether you’re a hardcore basketball fan or not, it’s an amazing two hours of entertainment.
“The 12 days of Christmas gives those opportunities for families to be busy during the day and then sit down in front of the TV or go along to the game that night with a guaranteed two hours of great entertainment.”
In the NBL’s groundbreaking Christmas Day debut two years ago, the clash between Sydney Kings and Melbourne United was the most-watched game of that season, delivering a viewership of more than 300,000 people on Christmas night.
Last year, over 375,000 people watched the Christmas double-header — Tasmania v South East Melbourne and Sydney v Illawarra.
The bitter rivalry between the state rival Kings and Hawks could be a top-of-the-table clash by Christmas night, adding even more spark to what is one of the league’s must-watch fixtures for hoops — and sport — fans of all cultures.
“I was at the Sydney-Illawarra game last year and to be able to see so many families — and families from many different ethnicities — just shows that, with the high broadcast and attendance numbers, I think we’re becoming that destination for entertainment on Christmas Day,” Stevenson said.
“For those who celebrate Christmas, often they’re busy during the day with their families, having lunches, and then they want to sit down on the couch and relax at night with a bit of sport.
“But there are also many who don’t have things to do and then there are others who don’t celebrate, so we want to be a companion for everyone on Christmas Day.”
While Stevenson reiterates a fans-first ethos, there are other factors at play that make a crammed end-of-year schedule advantageous.
Chiefly, the impending tennis season has a huge impact on venue availability, particularly in Melbourne and Perth, where the Wildcats’ RAC Arena is locked into the United Cup from December 27-January 5 and both United and the Phoenix are kicked off John Cain Arena for the first month of the year as the Australian Open takes hold.
“Those are the sometimes unique challenges that we face, given there are lots of concerts and other entertainment opportunities in our venues — in Auckland we have a similar challenge with venue availability,” Stevenson said.
“But being able to be flexible, to get away a lot of games in places like Melbourne, takes the pressure off, while not having to frontload too much.
“December’s an important period for Melbourne basketball fans, given we can’t play in John Cain Arena through all of January.”
United ploughs through 12 of its 14 JCA games before January 1. Its next home game will be played with the roof open v Tasmania on December 23, then the club doesn’t return home until February 1 and 8 — the last two rounds of the regular season.
The Phoenix, who share JCA as a home, shift three games to the State Basketball Centre in Wantirna and play one regional contest in the country Victorian town of Traralgon.
Both United and the Phoenix, ideally, would prefer to play all their home games at JCA — and spread them out more over the full season.
It’s a problem that, for now, is under control, but a problem, nonetheless, Stevenson is well aware of.
“We have a lot of conversations with both the Victorian Government and Melbourne and Olympic Parks Trust about that because it is a challenge we have to work through,” he said.
“They’re understanding of the challenges that we face and we’re certainly trying to find solutions but it is a challenge and that’s what we’ve got to work through, season-by-season, because school holidays are such an important period for families and we want to be able to have top NBL games in that period in Melbourne.”
The NBL has worked hard to make inroads into a summer period traditionally dominated by cricket and, in recent years, the Big Bash, but Stevenson is adamant it’s more admiration than competition when it comes to the bat and ball.
“We never really focus in on cricket as competitors, we listen to our fans and the fans are the ones that are saying ‘this is the time of year I’ve got an appetite to watch games every night’ and so that’s really what we’re tailoring to,” he said.
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Originally published as The 12 days of hoops Xmas: The 15 NBL games in 12 days turbocharging basketball
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