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Post by spacejammer on Jun 19, 2024 21:20:25 GMT
The only lesson to be learnt is don't try to compete with an EIHL team for fans because you're not going to win that one. But as Sheffield Steelers and Sheffield Sharks were both founded in 1991 that lesson came a bit too late. Nevertheless to still be going after 33 years is an achievement in itself. It was the reverse in Newcastle, the BBL team outlasted (and then some), the EIHL team. When it comes to team sports outside of football I'd be curious to gather which teams and sports have the biggest following outside of footy. Some would say Basketball, some ice hockey, some Rugby and possibly Netball. In Newcastle I have only ever been to one Falcons Rugby match but the one game I went to which was for a family members birthday was a Saturday night European game afew years ago which had a small gathering of fans. So on that logic I would like to think Eagles and Basketball are the 2nd most popular outside footy. But I can't say for certain. |
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Post by dexter on Jun 19, 2024 22:09:39 GMT
It was the reverse in Newcastle, the BBL team outlasted (and then some), the EIHL team. When it comes to team sports outside of football I'd be curious to gather which teams and sports have the biggest following outside of footy. Some would say Basketball, some ice hockey, some Rugby and possibly Netball. In Newcastle I have only ever been to one Falcons Rugby match but the one game I went to which was for a family members birthday was a Saturday night European game afew years ago which had a small gathering of fans. So on that logic I would like to think Eagles and Basketball are the 2nd most popular outside footy. But I can't say for certain. It's very close. Falcons only had 9 home games in the Premiership and averaged 6186 attendance. Eagles had 18 BBL Championship regular season home games in their 2800 capacity arena. Both teams also played cup games and European games. Eagles had playoffs. If you added up all the seats sold they would be pretty close. Obviously Falcons get more per game but there are fewer games, and Eagles's capacity is more limited. |
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Post by rickdanger on Jun 19, 2024 22:16:37 GMT
Being an NBL supporter I appreciate the league being mentioned on this thread but I also appreciate it is far from perfect. I am gutted about the BBl situation as I attend the odd Riders game but their is life below the BBL. NBL 1 may not have the facilities of BBL sides but there is definitely ambition and the 23/24 season has been the most competitive yet. The top 7 all had hugely important wins against each other and the top 3 were separated by one win. Yes it is a league with Uni teams but Loughborough and Newcastle have amazing recruitment and players who can feed into BBL clubs. There is plenty of ambition at many clubs and some have larger budgets. These teams can compete against BBL teams in one-off games but they only have 2 imports maximum. Solent and Derby's recent BBL Trophy runs demonstrate this. With 3 or 4 imports teams such as Hemel, Reading, Worthing, Derby, Bradford, Essex, CoB and now MK could all be ambitious enough to progress. Venues are potentially an issue but having been to smaller BBL venues at Surrey, Bristol and Ponds Forge a number of NBL venues are not far off this. Loughborough had 800 for the Derby vs Bradford Trophy final, Essex holds 2,000 and had a 4-figure attendance this season. Hemel get 500-600. Reading and CoB sell out. Derby have used their Uni venue which holds 800 bleachers plus another 200+ temp seats. Worthing sell out 700 even in a poor season. Outside D1 Solent, Teesside and Worcester fill their venues. The NBL1 does have ambitious clubs, it does have decent (but not amazing) venues and it does have good support. We've also seen Rai become an all star after one NBL season and there are many great players in the league who could play BBL . . . Hopkins, Rooney, Hedley, Bailey, Whelan, Blain, Buchannan, Tordoff, Campbell, Guedemi, May-Thompson, Dieterich, Johnson, Malcolm Smith, Masten, OJ, Toluwase, TJ, DNH, Newman, Sylla, Chapman, Nelson, Busumbru, Olarerin, Hafeez, Champion, Jenkins, Maynard, Powell and many others. The league is scattered with great coaches too. I truly hope the new BBL gets sorted in a competent and strategic manner for the clubs, players and supporters, but if it is late starting or does not start at all - I recommend taking in a NBL game.
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Post by SamH on Jun 20, 2024 1:07:42 GMT
This is a good post Rick Danger, introducing some BBL people to the fact there is other basketball in the UK and its not at all bad. I'm just wondering why we've not seen you posting in the NBL thread all season long?!
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Post by irf on Jun 20, 2024 8:09:27 GMT
Sports other than football in the UK bigger than basketball in terms of TV coverage and spectator support
For sure rugby, cricket, tennis, darts, horse racing, Formula One, athletics, boxing, MMA, UFC. Netball certainly in a much better place than basketball as mentioned
I've no doubt missed some
But in every case with these sports above you get the chance to see the very best players in the world perform over here meaning these sports also get broadcast worldwide
Ice hockey the only example of a sport I can think of over here that does better than basketball for spectators that doesn't also get good TV exposure.
But that's because the level is low compared to what you can find in USA, Canada and some other parts of Europe. Very similar to basketball in that respect
Big commercial cash sponsors won't get involved there either as a result. It's a niche sport in that respect. Like basketball
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Post by jasong on Jun 20, 2024 9:51:32 GMT
Ice hockey the only example of a sport I can think of over here that does better than basketball for spectators that doesn't also get good TV exposure. But that's because the level is low compared to what you can find in USA, Canada and some other parts of Europe. Very similar to basketball in that respect Big commercial cash sponsors won't get involved there either as a result. It's a niche sport in that respect. Like basketball I think the EIHL has far more ex-NHL players than the BBL has ex NBA players. |
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Post by silverbirch on Jun 20, 2024 10:58:45 GMT
Sports other than football in the UK bigger than basketball in terms of TV coverage and spectator support For sure rugby, cricket, tennis, darts, horse racing, Formula One, athletics, boxing, MMA, UFC. Netball certainly in a much better place than basketball as mentioned I've no doubt missed some But in every case with these sports above you get the chance to see the very best players in the world perform over here meaning these sports also get broadcast worldwide Ice hockey the only example of a sport I can think of over here that does better than basketball for spectators that doesn't also get good TV exposure. But that's because the level is low compared to what you can find in USA, Canada and some other parts of Europe. Very similar to basketball in that respect Big commercial cash sponsors won't get involved there either as a result. It's a niche sport in that respect. Like basketball I think Ice Hockey is actually a good sport to compare basketball too in the UK in terms of professional sport and commercialisation (ignore participation in this post). Both are bigger and more established in the US and main land Europe, indoor spectator sports, similar seasons with a large number of fixtures, and very little media exposure. There are some, on the surface, very successful ice hockey club selling out their venues but i believe an match those if there was the available larger arenas (2.5 - 5k seats) and in basketballs case the % of clubs owning their venues, therefore developing secondary spend income, is far greater than ice hockey. So its easily conceivable that basketball could eclipse Ice Hockey quite quickly. Netball is on a better standing for its sky deal and supported by a successful national governing body, but it is semi-professional (soon to change) with average attendance across the league at around 1 - 1.2k and only 9 home games a season, therefore limited commerciality...and no one owns their own arena / venue now (a couple did previously but have been bumped out for next season as part of their NSL2.0 relaunch). Ultimately i'm still on the "basketball in the UK has so much potential" bandwagon, even after this current situation - hopefully its a bump in the road or even a reset rather than a death call for the sport. |
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Post by irf on Jun 20, 2024 11:02:25 GMT
Ice hockey the only example of a sport I can think of over here that does better than basketball for spectators that doesn't also get good TV exposure. But that's because the level is low compared to what you can find in USA, Canada and some other parts of Europe. Very similar to basketball in that respect Big commercial cash sponsors won't get involved there either as a result. It's a niche sport in that respect. Like basketball I think the EIHL has far more ex-NHL players than the BBL has ex NBA players. Still low level and no interest to the TV or sky or wider audience though |
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Post by irf on Jun 20, 2024 11:06:56 GMT
Sports other than football in the UK bigger than basketball in terms of TV coverage and spectator support For sure rugby, cricket, tennis, darts, horse racing, Formula One, athletics, boxing, MMA, UFC. Netball certainly in a much better place than basketball as mentioned I've no doubt missed some But in every case with these sports above you get the chance to see the very best players in the world perform over here meaning these sports also get broadcast worldwide Ice hockey the only example of a sport I can think of over here that does better than basketball for spectators that doesn't also get good TV exposure. But that's because the level is low compared to what you can find in USA, Canada and some other parts of Europe. Very similar to basketball in that respect Big commercial cash sponsors won't get involved there either as a result. It's a niche sport in that respect. Like basketball I think Ice Hockey is actually a good sport to compare basketball too in the UK in terms of professional sport and commercialisation (ignore participation in this post). Both are bigger and more established in the US and main land Europe, indoor spectator sports, similar seasons with a large number of fixtures, and very little media exposure. There are some, on the surface, very successful ice hockey club selling out their venues but i believe an match those if there was the available larger arenas (2.5 - 5k seats) and in basketballs case the % of clubs owning their venues, therefore developing secondary spend income, is far greater than ice hockey. So its easily conceivable that basketball could eclipse Ice Hockey quite quickly. Netball is on a better standing for its sky deal and supported by a successful national governing body, but it is semi-professional (soon to change) with average attendance across the league at around 1 - 1.2k and only 9 home games a season, therefore limited commerciality...and no one owns their own arena / venue now (a couple did previously but have been bumped out for next season as part of their NSL2.0 relaunch). Ultimately i'm still on the "basketball in the UK has so much potential" bandwagon, even after this current situation - hopefully its a bump in the road or even a reset rather than a death call for the sport. Uk netball will get an Australian and New Zealand and commonwealth TV and streaming interest as the best players from these countries where netball is a mainstream sport will be playing in it There's no interest in uk basketball overseas other than betting sites and small scale potential betting scams I suggest |
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Post by dexter on Jun 20, 2024 11:37:42 GMT
Netball Superleague 2.0 will have very limited interest from Australia and New Zealand because they have their own professional leagues running at the same time and because of the timezone difference. However, there potentially will be a lot of interest from South Africa because they don't have a proper national league, netball is the most popular women's sport in Southern Africa and a lot of the best players in the league are South Africans and Africans.
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Post by johnjack on Jun 22, 2024 19:54:23 GMT
I don’t think you can deny the potential of basketball in the UK. In fact the UK is a bit of an oddity. Basketball is big in the rest of Europe even countries like France where Football, Rugby, Tennis all dominate. I thin the problem is, is it will take 10-20 years to realise that (777 have proven that it’s not just about money). First port of call would be a more contiguous junior framework and get basketball being played more in highschools.
From a league perspective, there needs to be more teams! The sphere of influence of each team is quite small overall. What’s the furthest would someone regularly travel to watch a BBL game, or their team play (I am a little blessed as I can almost walk, it’s literally one long road). 1hr, 30mins etc etc. if you draw a 30min circle around all of the teams there are huge amounts of area in covered. So we need to see why NBL1 teams, who are getting decent crowds Breakers, Hoods, Kestrals, Bullets etc etc. a minimum would be something around 16 teams. I wish I had the resources of of Bezos or Musk. It wouldn’t take long to sort this mess out
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Post by dexter on Jun 25, 2024 0:10:44 GMT
I don’t think you can deny the potential of basketball in the UK. In fact the UK is a bit of an oddity. Basketball is big in the rest of Europe even countries like France where Football, Rugby, Tennis all dominate. I thin the problem is, is it will take 10-20 years to realise that (777 have proven that it’s not just about money). First port of call would be a more contiguous junior framework and get basketball being played more in highschools. From a league perspective, there needs to be more teams! The sphere of influence of each team is quite small overall. What’s the furthest would someone regularly travel to watch a BBL game, or their team play (I am a little blessed as I can almost walk, it’s literally one long road). 1hr, 30mins etc etc. if you draw a 30min circle around all of the teams there are huge amounts of area in covered. So we need to see why NBL1 teams, who are getting decent crowds Breakers, Hoods, Kestrals, Bullets etc etc. a minimum would be something around 16 teams. I wish I had the resources of of Bezos or Musk. It wouldn’t take long to sort this mess out I would say the potential for basketball in the UK is unproven. We are a good country to support professional sports leagues being a fairly small country with lots of large towns and cities. There aren't really any barriers other than a lack of suitable arenas, but that is a pretty big barrier. |
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Post by jbcalifornia on Jun 28, 2024 8:25:40 GMT
Not sure if you’ve watched or attended any Sheffield games this season but it was at least 3 quarters full at every game I attended and watched on YouTube but you keep spinning your doom. I went to 2 Sharks games and 6 Steelers games. Steelers games had MUCH bigger crowds. Perhaps basketball can learn a few things! I went to one Steelers game last year, as a panthers fan and was amazed by the sheer size of the crowd and the atmosphere, lighting and visual effects. I flew to Belfast again to watch the giants vs panthers and again the sheet quality of venue, lighting is just such quality!! The bbl is no where near even the EIHL!! I was a huge uk basketball fan, even had the chance to work with the Plymouth Raiders when Gavin Love was manager, but the BBL is just not attractive at any stand point, I hope all sports fans of non media hyped sports, go watch an ice hockey game, as at least that league has forward moving management |
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Post by tallerman on Jun 28, 2024 11:15:19 GMT
You the guy who owned the gym mate? Jesse California? I heard good things is all
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