Jackies confident Silverdome upgrades are on track

The Silverdome’s long term capability of hosting NBL games has been put under the microscope. But the JackJumpers are confident ‘super positive’ discussions will ensure they only increase their footprint up north.

Jordon Crawford of the Jackjumpers in action during an NBL match at the Silverdome last season. (Photo by Simon Sturzaker/Getty Images)

JackJumpers CEO Christine Finnegan is confident upgrades to the Silverdome will ensure games will be played in Launceston long term as the NBL champions continue their tour of the state’s north and north-west.

The JackJumpers were due to play practice games against Adelaide at Ulverstone last Sunday and at Launceston on Tuesday night, but weather issues prompted the 36ers to pull out.

They have been replaced with intra-squad scrimmage games as the Jackies prepare for the NBL Blitz on the Gold Coast next month, followed by the FIBA International Cup in Singapore.

Finnegan confirmed last week the two NBL games scheduled for the Silverdome will process this season, with courts and rings from MyState Bank Arena to be installed at the venue, while lighting has been improved to meet the league’s minimum requirements.

Chantal Innes, Elsie Innes (4), and Maya Innes (12) during the JackJumpers’ NBL trophy tour last year. Picture: Stephanie Dalton

She said that’s just scratching the surface of upgrades needed to improve the facility, but described talks with Stadiums Tasmania and the state government as “super positive.”

“There’s a long list (of upgrades needed). I’ve been meeting with Stadiums Tas in recent weeks and we’re having ongoing discussions on what those improvements look like,” Finnegan said in Launceston on Tuesday.

“But for us it’s the spectator experience, first and foremost. We want people in the north to have a similar experience those in the south get.

“Making sure we’re thinking about the customer all the time, increasing seat capacity, increasing the opportunity for northern-based businesses to do some corporate (functions), all of that is coming into play in the new Silverdome drawings we’re working on.”

While the practice games have been scrapped, the JackJumpers have still held clinics and community events in the north and north-west.

Finnegan said they’re keen to increase their presence in those regions even more.

“We’re not in the business of wanting to take games away from the north, but we’ve certainly got to work on the product we’re delivering in the north and how that works for both parties,” she said.

“Those discussions have been super positive, the government is so behind us and I’m so excited about what this venue will look like in the years to come.

Tasmania JackJumpers CEO Christine Finnegan and Head Coach, Scott Roth with the NBL trophy. Picture: Linda Higginson/Tasmania JackJumpers

“We only want to increase our footprint (in the state’s north), we don’t want to decrease our footprint and having the proper facilities will help us do that.”

Jackies coach Scott Roth said the practice game situation was “uncontrollable”, and was confident a busier pre-season schedule than normal would be more than enough to prepare for their title defence.

“We just pivot. They’re the uncontrollables for us and it’s not a big deal,” he said.

“We move on, we had a great three days at Ulverstone and had a tremendous turn out there with a very competitive game, and we expect the same here (Launceston on Tuesday night). “We’ll sign as many autographs as needed and be everywhere we need to be.

“We were going to pace ourselves anyway because we have a lot of travel in September. Once we get to the Gold Coast we’ll work on our combinations on the floor, and our goal is to get to Singapore as healthily as we can.”