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Post by tony on Sept 26, 2022 13:21:13 GMT
Does Leeds not have the First Direct arena? Wouldn't that be suitable and quite a good venue? 20 teams would be interesting but the standard would definitely suffer then I think. You'd almost want to combine it with NBL1 then and operate a promotions/relegations system where perhaps the BBL is 16 teams. I would love to a BBL premier league and a BBL/NBL division one with promotion and relegation 😀🏀 |
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Post by dexter on Sept 26, 2022 13:26:17 GMT
Does Leeds not have the First Direct arena? Wouldn't that be suitable and quite a good venue? 20 teams would be interesting but the standard would definitely suffer then I think. You'd almost want to combine it with NBL1 then and operate a promotions/relegations system where perhaps the BBL is 16 teams. First Direct Arena would be good for big games, but very expensive so not suitable to play in every week. Doing a bit of research it seems that Leeds Beckett and University of Leeds are in the same BUCS league as University of Chester (Northern 1A), so a good level but not the Premier League level. |
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Post by dexter on Sept 26, 2022 13:31:46 GMT
Does Leeds not have the First Direct arena? Wouldn't that be suitable and quite a good venue? 20 teams would be interesting but the standard would definitely suffer then I think. You'd almost want to combine it with NBL1 then and operate a promotions/relegations system where perhaps the BBL is 16 teams. I would love to a BBL premier league and a BBL/NBL division one with promotion and relegation 😀🏀 I don't think the league would suffer. Sky Sports would still televise the selected games at the best 5 venues (from a broadcaster's perspective). You could also have a mid season cut. With the best teams competing for a playoff spot and the other half competing for another trophy and trying to avoid relegation. |
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Post by SamH on Sept 26, 2022 14:53:17 GMT
I mean if you had 20 teams you could go to a 16 team playoffs, or possibly 12 with the top 4 getting a bye out of round 1. I don't like the idea of a trophy for the bottom half of the league to fight over, you shouldn't be getting any silverware for being mediocre! Avoiding relegation though, definitely. But we have talked about that to death over the years and know it's not viable as most NBL teams can't afford/don't have a suitable venue to move up. So even if you added some 'BBL ready' teams you'd still need to upgrade the NBL somehow too.
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Post by dexter on Sept 26, 2022 15:31:56 GMT
I mean if you had 20 teams you could go to a 16 team playoffs, or possibly 12 with the top 4 getting a bye out of round 1. I don't like the idea of a trophy for the bottom half of the league to fight over, you shouldn't be getting any silverware for being mediocre! Avoiding relegation though, definitely. But we have talked about that to death over the years and know it's not viable as most NBL teams can't afford/don't have a suitable venue to move up. So even if you added some 'BBL ready' teams you'd still need to upgrade the NBL somehow too. Some of the NBL venues are pretty good. Unfortunately those with the nice venues are not the best teams, Solent aside. |
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Post by dexter on Sept 26, 2022 19:06:24 GMT
Even Durham managed a few seasons, wildcats?? Durham could be a potential location for a BBL team. It is, I believe, the biggest city in Britain that doesn't have a professional team in any sport. It is a similar size to Ellesmere Port (Cheshire Phoenix). It could support a professional basketball team and be a natural rival to Newcastle Eagles. |
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Post by tony on Sept 26, 2022 19:16:38 GMT
Even Durham managed a few seasons, wildcats?? Durham could be a potential location for a BBL team. It is, I believe, the biggest city in Britain that doesn't have a professional team in any sport. It is a similar size to Ellesmere Port (Cheshire Phoenix). It could support a professional basketball team and be a natural rival to Newcastle Eagles. Cricket? |
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Post by dexter on Sept 26, 2022 19:44:29 GMT
Durham could be a potential location for a BBL team. It is, I believe, the biggest city in Britain that doesn't have a professional team in any sport. It is a similar size to Ellesmere Port (Cheshire Phoenix). It could support a professional basketball team and be a natural rival to Newcastle Eagles. Cricket? The county cricket ground is actually at Chester-le-Street which is 6 miles north of Durham. Also cricket is a summer sport so throughout the winter the people of Durham don’t have a sports team to support within their county. |
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Post by LTfan on Sept 27, 2022 11:32:13 GMT
Probably not a common opinion but I’d rather see a weaker 20 team league than a stronger 10 team league I suppose it's a question of whether you want a better league to watch domestically (i.e. more teams, talent consistency - but at a lower level, etc.) or a league with a better reputation internationally. |
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Post by LTfan on Sept 27, 2022 11:37:00 GMT
Desperately need new teams, obviously they need to be stable long term so can’t just let anyone in, but 9 just isn’t enough Good job we have 10 then! The Australian NBL, which has done nothing but gone from strength to strength in recent years, and is a league I think the BBL should be looking to imitate in a lot of ways, has done so with only 10 teams. So whilst I'd love to see more teams in the BBL, there's nothing stopping a 10 team league growing into an internationally respected league. |
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Post by SamH on Sept 27, 2022 11:44:01 GMT
When you think about it, 10 teams in the UK is actually far superior to the NBA which has 29 teams across the entire states and one in Canada. They say the UK is about the size of Florida, which has just 2 teams. So in that respect coverage around the country is better than the big boys!
Of course there is also the G league over there in other states but it's not nearly as popular.
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Post by dexter on Sept 27, 2022 11:46:42 GMT
Probably not a common opinion but I’d rather see a weaker 20 team league than a stronger 10 team league I suppose it's a question of whether you want a better league to watch domestically (i.e. more teams, talent consistency - but at a lower level, etc.) or a league with a better reputation internationally. It’s not just about reputation internationally. I know plenty of basketball fans who won’t watch the BBL because they think it’s too low quality. If we a had a few more teams like London Lions there would be more British fans. |
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Post by reallyoldfeenixfan2 on Sept 27, 2022 13:06:45 GMT
I suppose it's a question of whether you want a better league to watch domestically (i.e. more teams, talent consistency - but at a lower level, etc.) or a league with a better reputation internationally. It’s not just about reputation internationally. I know plenty of basketball fans who won’t watch the BBL because they think it’s too low quality. If we a had a few more teams like London Lions there would be more British fans. Agreed but there are far far more people in Britain who don't know there is basketball in Britain compared to those who look down on it. On the subject of more teams like Lions if you or anyone has a few hundred thousand pounds available to pass onto the Phoenix then I'm sure they would try very hard to match Lions ( but for how long)? |
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Post by LTfan on Sept 27, 2022 14:57:07 GMT
I suppose it's a question of whether you want a better league to watch domestically (i.e. more teams, talent consistency - but at a lower level, etc.) or a league with a better reputation internationally. It’s not just about reputation internationally. I know plenty of basketball fans who won’t watch the BBL because they think it’s too low quality. If we a had a few more teams like London Lions there would be more British fans. My point was that if we lowered expectations we could increase the number of teams in the BBL now. But if we have aspirations to have 'a league of London Lions' then it's hard to see the league expanding any time soon. |
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Post by tallerman on Sept 27, 2022 15:36:59 GMT
To be fair if you want to improve the bbl you need to improve the nbl. Without other pro leavues where players can develop we wont improve
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Post by SamH on Sept 27, 2022 15:51:40 GMT
I find that odd how some people think the standard is poor so won't watch. At the end of the day you can (and I often do!) watch really poor NBA games. It's all relative - they might be the best players but sometimes two teams can just have a stinker, or one team blows the other out and it's really dull. Their overall ability doesn't matter at that point, the fact is its not a good game. Same with the BBL or any level really - you get an exciting game where plays are being made on both ends, you'll enjoy it. They still play to a much better standard than anyone watching can, but its about the game itself being engaging more than the overall ability.
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Post by ScottishBasketballFan on Sept 27, 2022 16:30:49 GMT
If you want to expand then start by avoiding places where it has failed like Birmingham. Try to tap into places that have never had a BBL team.
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Post by spacejammer on Sept 27, 2022 17:17:52 GMT
I find that odd how some people think the standard is poor so won't watch. At the end of the day you can (and I often do!) watch really poor NBA games. It's all relative - they might be the best players but sometimes two teams can just have a stinker, or one team blows the other out and it's really dull. Their overall ability doesn't matter at that point, the fact is its not a good game. Same with the BBL or any level really - you get an exciting game where plays are being made on both ends, you'll enjoy it. They still play to a much better standard than anyone watching can, but its about the game itself being engaging more than the overall ability. I sometimes struggle to understand people who dislike the BBL just because it ain't the NBA. I think if your not from a BBL city/town its more understandable as you would be less likely to have a connection to a team. For me I like both but only tend to follow the NBA mostly when then it is Post season as that's when games matter alot more. Especially since some games end up turning into meaningless blow out games where the star players take a night off or are injured. If it weren't for being an Eagles fans and growing up in Newcastle or anywhere with a franchise would I or anyone on this board be a fan of the league? |
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Post by dexter on Sept 27, 2022 18:20:03 GMT
If you want to expand then start by avoiding places where it has failed like Birmingham. Try to tap into places that have never had a BBL team. This is an interesting take I haven't heard before. I do think it is worth looking at why did basketball succeed in one city and fail in another. Don't do the same thing and expect different results. |
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Post by dexter on Sept 27, 2022 18:24:33 GMT
I find that odd how some people think the standard is poor so won't watch. At the end of the day you can (and I often do!) watch really poor NBA games. It's all relative - they might be the best players but sometimes two teams can just have a stinker, or one team blows the other out and it's really dull. Their overall ability doesn't matter at that point, the fact is its not a good game. Same with the BBL or any level really - you get an exciting game where plays are being made on both ends, you'll enjoy it. They still play to a much better standard than anyone watching can, but its about the game itself being engaging more than the overall ability. I sometimes struggle to understand people who dislike the BBL just because it ain't the NBA. I think if your not from a BBL city/town its more understandable as you would be less likely to have a connection to a team. For me I like both but only tend to follow the NBA mostly when then it is Post season as that's when games matter alot more. Especially since some games end up turning into meaningless blow out games where the star players take a night off or are injured. If it weren't for being an Eagles fans and growing up in Newcastle or anywhere with a franchise would I or anyone on this board be a fan of the league? I don't live in a city with a BBL team and I've never been to a game but I do enjoy watching it on TV, especially on Sky Sports, and I do hope to go to the Copper Box Arena to watch London Lions in EuroCup this season. I probably wouldn't go to watch another BBL team unless it was a finals. |
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