Tasmania JackJumpers’ WNBL pitch revealed, CEO on thriving membership, MyState Bank Arena upgrade, AFL’s incursion
Tasmania boss Christine Finnegan has revealed how close the JackJumpers are to a WNBL team, how it’s preparing for the AFL’s arrival and the desperate need for a bigger stadium as its membership waiting list tops 5000.
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A new WNBL franchise in Tasmania is a near certainty — and could even tip off as soon as next season.
In a wide-ranging interview on the state of the wildly successful expansion club, chief executive Christine Finnegan told Code Sports the JackJumpers, on Friday, submitted a pitch to the State Government asking for its support in applying for a WNBL licence in the Apple Isle.
“The reason the JackJumpers have had the success they’ve had has been unprecedented support from the government in terms of both the team and infrastructure,” Finnegan said.
“So in order for that to be equally successful on the female side, we need to be able to show support in equal measures from the government.”
While she’d ideally like the new team to tip-off in the 2026-27 season, Finnegan said the JackJumpers had done enough work and would be prepared to play next season, if required.
“I’d like a longer runway so I would prefer us to come in the season after but, if that wasn’t an option and we were asked to come in earlier, we’ve got the right infrastructure in place to make that happen.”
The WNBL team has the backing of team owner and NBL head Larry Kestelman, as the struggling women’s league transitions to a new ownership consortium of the NBL, Wollemi Capital and Basketball Australia.
Finnegan said a JackJumpers WNBL team would likely play at least half its games in the state’s north and north west.
Launceston’s revamped Silverdome is in the midst of a $12 million upgrade and could become the women’s high performance home, while Devonport City Council has State and Federal funding for a multipurpose centre that would cater to a basketball crowd of 3000.
“I’m hoping, with the Federal election coming up, that the councils in both Devonport and Launceston will be leaning on the Federal Government to make sure that basketball’s given priority in funding,” she said.
“Obviously the Devils are coming in 2028 so we want to build on the momentum we’ve got to make sure basketball’s firmly established by that time.”
A FOOTHOLD AND FINDING BALANCE WITH THE AFL
With community anticipation building ahead of the AFL’s arrival, Finnegan is conscious the JackJumpers must capitalise on the hard work and momentum the club has built over the past four years to ensure basketball is firmly established.
The push for a WNBL club is part of that and, on the Jackies side, are stunning figures that show basketball has become the dominant team sport in the state.
Aus Play statistics from July 2023-June 2024 reveal 16,488 people played basketball in Tasmania, ahead of soccer (14,594). Australian rules is third at 13,927 but it’s a number expected to spike as the AFL closes in.
The JackJumpers want to work with the Devils, not just to co-exist, but to help each other thrive.
“The AFL is a juggernaut and it’s our national sport. But, at some stage, you’ve got to accept that competition is going to come your way,” she said.
“It’s not just words when I say we do work really closely with (Devils executive) Kath McCann and (ambassador) Jack Riewoldt on exactly what are the economies at scale?
“We’re servicing 500,000 people. What are those things that we could work together on, whether that’s in community, whether eventually that’ll be at the back end of membership and ticketing.
“There’s got to be opportunities there for us to both become winners out of that.”
The Tigers’ legend happens to be a big Jackies fan — as are daughters Poppy and Hazel.
“I’ve got to know Jack really well over the period that I’ve been here and I feel nothing but authenticity and a genuine love for Tasmania from him and, as part of that, he and his daughters have grown a love for the JackJumpers,” Finnegan said.
“So they do tend to come to games whenever they can and we exchange ideas and we recently ran a leader’s locker room here, which is high performance for corporate businesses and Jack ran that on our behalf.
“We share ideas, share IP and he’s been great in that space.”
SALE TAKING SHAPE
Kestelman told Code Sports this week he was edging closer to a sale of the expansion club he started up in 2021.
Finnegan has been working with potential owners, giving them insight into the day-to-day operation of the club.
“I’ve been in the thick of it in terms of those conversations, but in terms of where it’s actually at right now … I think we’re getting close,” she said.
“There’s a great sense of pride for myself and the board in that the club is at a point where people are very interested in purchasing it.”
BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME
Basketball’s big push in Tassie involves the aforementioned infrastructure projects, a long-delayed high performance centre in Kingston and, most importantly, a desperately needed upgrade at MyState Bank Arena to cater for massive demand.
The Ants are the hottest ticket in town — the 4340-seat stadium has sold out every game the JackJumpers have ever played and, with a membership of about 15,000 (most just as supporters), about 6500 attendance members (some full, some specific games) and another 5000 on the waiting list, it’s already out of hand.
“I live this every day, so I’m really mindful of the fact that the government’s got lots of competing funding priorities,” Finnegan said of an upgrade that would deliver at least 2000 more seats and cost an estimated $30-35 million.
“I get texts every day (from) someone trying to bribe me to get up further on the list, it breaks my heart.
“On average we put about 300 tickets on sale (general public) per game and if someone we know is not using their ticket, we’re saying, ‘can you please give it back to us so we can put it on sale’.
“Generally, those seats have gone within five minutes of putting them on sale and there’s lots of stories of people that say to me they literally sit there and just wait for a ticket to come up and then they pounce.
“What (the government would) do for the people of Tasmania is give them a bigger opportunity to be part of something that’s incredibly special to this state by expanding the arena.”
SEIZING AN OPPORTUNITY PAYS OFF
Finnegan shed light on the long-awaited high performance centre at Kingston, a new $20 million home for the club, the first sod to be turned in March after four years of waiting.
Held up numerous times by political red tape, the centre was initially slated for land near MyState Bank Arena, before Finnegan seized on an opportunity when the AFL left the door open for a move to Kingston.
“When the AFL initially announced they were going out to Rosny and I knew Kingston was ready to take a high performance environment, I reached out to the council and said ‘would you consider taking us?’,” she said.
“That turned into, ‘yes, we can make this work’, and then, while all of that was going on, the AFL ended up coming back.
“Kingston is going to be the real powerhouse home of sport in Tasmania.”
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