Hobart Chargers and Basketball Tasmania bury the hatchet in bid to revive a southern side in NBL1

An official announcement of the rebirth of the Hobart Chargers could be just around the corner after it appears the club and Basketball Tasmania have settled their dispute.

Chargers president David Bartlett and Basketball Tasmania chief executive Chris McCoy. Picture: ZAK SIMMONDS

THE Hobart Chargers and Basketball Tasmania are on the road to reconciliation as the 2018 men’s SEABL champions edge closer to a return to the court.

Last December the two parties had one of the ugliest scraps in sporting history in the state, with Chargers president David Bartlett and BTas chief Chris McCoy hurtling public insults at each other in the bitter feud.

However they now appear aligned following several recent meetings, and an official announcement on the resurrection of the Chargers is expected in the coming weeks.

Hobart is currently without an official presence in the NBL1 following the Huskies’ decision to withdraw from both the Australian second tier competition and the NZNBL.

It leaves the Chargers as the logical choice to step back into the fold.

“BTas and the Chargers are working really constructively together to make the very best future for basketball, particularly in the south,” Chargers president David Bartlett told the Mercury.

“We have set ourselves a four-week window to try and get the work done, and there is a lot of work to get there.

“But I would say the Chargers board is very optimistic about the model BTas is proposing, which we think has great potential to strengthen basketball in the south for the future, but also make the Chargers sustainable for the long term as well.

“The Chargers had a three-year plan, and a big part of that plan was making Tasmania NBL ready.

“Obviously we achieved part of the plan because here is the NBL looking very seriously [for the 10th licence].

“The role of the Chargers also needs to change and in changing that role, I think we have some really shared goals with Basketball Tasmania.

“It has become clearer over the last year, and it wasn’t clear at all a year ago, that the aspirations of the two organisations are really aligned now.”

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Bartlett and McCoy, who are both on the NBL Tasmania Advisory Board announced last week, held a whiteboard session to discuss the blueprint of basketball in the state.

The NBL1 is a vital cog in the process, which will provide a pathway for emerging Tasmanians in the eventual goal to underpin an NBL team.

“It was good we got a chance to meet a couple of weeks ago, that was important to move past any previous disagreements, really for the betterment of the sport,” McCoy said.

“It is important that we keep two men’s and two women’s teams in the state in the NBL1.

“With the Chargers being such a strong brand in our southern Tasmanian basketball market, it makes sense to explore that opportunity as an initial step.

“What we will do now is sit down and use this four-week window to do a lot of the planning on how it might work.”