Full steam ahead as Chargers’ push for NBL spot continues

THE Hobart Chargers are working on a business plan to take Tasmania back to the big league with the full consent of the NBL.

Hobart Chargers president David Bartlett. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNE

THE Hobart Chargers are working on a business plan to take Tasmania back to the big league with the full consent of the NBL.

On Monday a consortium headed by Chargers president David Bartlett met in Melbourne to workshop the plan.

The NBL has made no guarantees but it is no secret it is looking to expand in the near future and has provided information and advice to the Chargers.

“I do get the feeling expansion is on the horizon so therefore time is of the essence and we have to position ourselves well because there will be plenty of others who want to be part of it as well,” Bartlett said.

Bartlett said Hydraplay, a drinks bottle company owned by former Hobart Devils basketballer Justin Hickey, was willing to bankroll Tasmania’s NBL push.

Aside from the pure finances of the plan, the consortium will also look at:

LOCATION: Should the NBL push be Tasmanian or Hobart?

BRANDING: Should it be the Devils, the Chargers or a completely new brand?

TEAMS: Should it be an NBL and WNBL push or just one team?

“Whatever happens, the Chargers’ success is critical to an NBL outcome and what the branding of what this thing will be I can’t predict at the moment,” Bartlett said.

“When we started our workshop on Monday this is some of the big questions on our long list we need to answer, and that’s certainly one of them.”

He said the Chargers were already making inroads into the NBL’s checklist set by league boss Larry Kestleman.

The three main requirements were a rich backer, stadium and attendances.

“We are looking like we’ve ticked the box in terms of a deep pocketed owner, we are working really hard to get bums on seats,” he said.

“The best things Tasmanians can do if they want an NBL franchise is to buy a ticket to a Chargers game.

“The league are looking to see how many are turning up to SEABL in Tasmania.

“Obviously we are not going to get 4000 to a SEABL game unless we get a final, but we need to be consistently getting 2000 to a SEABL game to show we can get 4000 to an NBL game.

“The stadium is another one of those big questions we need resolved. The DEC is the stadium, no doubt about it, but is the stadium NBL ready?

“I don’t believe it is at the moment.”

Many believe on the back of Australia’s impact on the NBA, Andrew Bogut’s return to the NBL and a push to return the league to free-to-air TV, the NBL is about to boom again.