BBL Big Bash League Expansion Thread

[Marklar_33]

According to the ABS SLA figure, but that doesn't include about a third of the town along the West Tamar as it goes from the Launceston City Council boundaries.
Last time ABS did a Greater Launceston figure it was around 95k. Maybe 110-115k within an hour's drive by the time Legana, George Town, Scottsdale and even smaller places are added..

You want an hours drive you annex Devonport, Latrobe, Port Sorell and the entire Meander Valley and you start pushing 150k

 

[nobbyiscool]

According to the ABS SLA figure, but that doesn't include about a third of the town along the West Tamar as it goes from the Launceston City Council boundaries.
Last time ABS did a Greater Launceston figure it was around 95k. Maybe 110-115k within an hour's drive by the time Legana, George Town, Scottsdale and even smaller places are added..

You want an hours drive you annex Devonport, Latrobe, Port Sorell and the entire Meander Valley and you start pushing 150k

It doesn't really count though - if you start factoring in what's within an hour, then Gold Coast wouldn't be far short of a million, and Canberra goes over 500k.

I think there are arguments in favor of a second Tasmanian team, such as that Ricky Ponting testimonial that topped 22k. But they're not strong enough arguments to make it realistic. Love Launceston, I grew up there - but it wouldn't (and shouldn't) be in the top 10 markets for consideration.

 

[Marklar_33]

It doesn't really count though - if you start factoring in what's within an hour, then Gold Coast wouldn't be far short of a million, and Canberra goes over 500k.

I think there are arguments in favor of a second Tasmanian team, such as that Ricky Ponting testimonial that topped 22k. But they're not strong enough arguments to make it realistic. Love Launceston, I grew up there - but it wouldn't (and shouldn't) be in the top 10 markets for consideration.

Of course not. My initial post was tongue in cheek to a Hobartian! I'd simply be happy to get 1 (maybe 2) Hobart games up here in the event the league expands to a full double round robin

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

It doesn't really count though - if you start factoring in what's within an hour, then Gold Coast wouldn't be far short of a million, and Canberra goes over 500k.

I think there are arguments in favor of a second Tasmanian team, such as that Ricky Ponting testimonial that topped 22k. But they're not strong enough arguments to make it realistic. Love Launceston, I grew up there - but it wouldn't (and shouldn't) be in the top 10 markets for consideration.

True enough, and I don't think northern Tas is a chance at all. (I just want Shield games back at the NTCA Ground, where FC cricket in this country began.) Hobart only got a gig because every state association had to get one. But 70k was a drastic under-sell.

Canberra doesn't go over 500k within an hour. Queanbeyan and Yass don't add 120k, and Goulburn is a bit over an hour. Its certainly more than northern (or southern Tas) and with higher incomes.
With Newcastle not having a venue, Gold Coast and Canberra would probably be next up. Canberra also has empty hotels in January - surely the only city in Australia that has accommodation all year except weekends and the summer break.

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

Of course not. My initial post was tongue in cheek to a Hobartian! I'd simply be happy to get 1 (maybe 2) Hobart games up here in the event the league expands to a full double round robin

As a Launcestonian, may I just say "**** Hobart". I could not give a shit about the Hurricanes even if I gave a shit about T20. There's a reason none of the northerners play for the Hurricanes, and that is **** Hobart.

 

[nobbyiscool]

True enough, and I don't think northern Tas is a chance at all. (I just want Shield games back at the NTCA Ground, where FC cricket in this country began.) Hobart only got a gig because every state association had to get one. But 70k was a drastic under-sell.

Canberra doesn't go over 500k within an hour. Queanbeyan and Yass don't add 120k, and Goulburn is a bit over an hour. Its certainly more than northern (or southern Tas) and with higher incomes.
With Newcastle not having a venue, Gold Coast and Canberra would probably be next up. Canberra also has empty hotels in January - surely the only city in Australia that has accommodation all year except weekends and the summer break.

You must be one of those annoying people who drives at speed limits if you can't get to Goulburn in an hour

 

[Marklar_33]

As a Launcestonian, may I just say "**** Hobart". I could not give a shit about the Hurricanes even if I gave a shit about T20. There's a reason none of the northerners play for the Hurricanes, and that is **** Hobart.

Yeah, I don't share that view (neither do George or X!)

I'm happy to go down there once or twice a year to watch games, as are most people I speak to in our cricket league up here. Numerous bus trips, and the kids get into it

It'd sell out easily if there were a game a year at Aurora

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

You must be one of those annoying people who drives at speed limits if you can't get to Goulburn in an hour

Actaually, I don't drive at all - blind in the right eye - but its generally a little over an hour if sticking to the limit. (As, for that matter, is Launceston-Devonport which, yes, has been done well inside an hour).

 

[madmug]

Of course not. My initial post was tongue in cheek to a Hobartian! I'd simply be happy to get 1 (maybe 2) Hobart games up here in the event the league expands to a full double round robin

And I'm sure that would happen. York Park would be excellent for games.

Also some games maybe in Geelong & Ballarat, maybe FNQ, maybe Wagga . I guess in any places with the right facilities.

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

Yeah, I don't share that view (neither do George or X!)

I'm happy to go down there once or twice a year to watch games, as are most people I speak to in our cricket league up here. Numerous bus trips, and the kids get into it

It'd sell out easily if there were a game a year at Aurora

Don't get me wrong. I just mean **** Hobart in terms of sportoing teams, etc. Going down to watch cricket, footy, etc was fine; but I can never get behind a team labelled Hobart as being a team for all of Tasmania.

 

[madmug]

Don't get me wrong. I just mean **** Hobart in terms of sportoing teams, etc. Going down to watch cricket, footy, etc was fine; but I can never get behind a team labelled Hobart as being a team for all of Tasmania.

Your AFL club represents a Melbourne suburb. You chose to follow it in a national club competition for whatever reason.

Hobart Hurricanes likewise plays in a national club competition. It doesnt 'represent' a state. Its a club based in Hobart. If they called it Tassie Hurricanes it wouldnt have bothered me. But CA chose to make it a city based competition.

Take it or leave it, thats that.

 

[Matchu]

Cricket Australia's CEO James Sutherland says an expanded Big Bash League is a 'mere formality'

"We like the fact that people are very keen to have their own team and we've got interest from all different parts of the country; Gold Coast, Canberra, Geelong, Fremantle.

Gold Coast is the first city he mentions when talking about expansion. If those four cities are the only competition for expansion, Gold Coast would be a good chance to be granted a licence.

"I think our inclination is first we'll probably expand the number of games before we expand the number of teams. But at the same time we do think it's a mere formality at this stage that we will expand the competition."

Something we already know. "Regional" games involving existing franchises will be played in new markets as a way of soft expansion before later granting regional cities their own franchises.


Canberra fits the bill for Big Bash League licence but expansion a while off

Obviously a fairly biased title written for the Canberra Times but some very interesting quotes from the Head of the Big Bash League (Anthony Everard) in regards to key criteria for expansion.

"We're looking at areas of the country that perhaps aren't serviced as well with elite cricket as the major metropolitan capital cities," Everard said.

Pretty obvious to anyone who is aware of the Gold Coast cricket scene that the city has NEVER hosted elite cricket, so it would have to be a front runner in that regard. Canberra is seemingly the biggest rival to the Gold Coast in regards to a BBL licence but it's obvious which city this criteria fancies. Canberra hosted the BBL final in 2015 and an ODI against New Zealand earlier this month so it would be hard to argue that elite cricket isn't already being played in the ACT.

"We'd want to make sure that any new team wasn't a drain on a state association's finances, and in fact had the opportunity to make a positive contribution financially to Australian cricket."

This is an interesting comment and I think it's more a reflection on their belief that a Canberra team may be a drain on Cricket ACT finances. Cricket Queensland is presumably better off financially and is already investing money into the upgrade of Metricon so they must have faith that a Gold Coast franchise will work and be profitable.

"Then there would be discussions around opportunities to grow participation, attract new fans, etcetera."

There's no doubting cricket has room for enormous growth on the Gold Coast. It's a virtually untapped market for any form of cricket and is the sixth largest city in the country. It's also growing at a fast rate.

 

[Carbine Chaos]

I hope an expanded competition also sees the International limit extended to, I don't know, around 4 per team.

We might not be able to get the top current International players (which will continue to hold the quality back) but good players will be around for teams to find.

 

[Marklar_33]

I hope an expanded competition also sees the International limit extended to, I don't know, around 4 per team.

We might not be able to get the top current International players (which will continue to hold the quality back) but good players will be around for teams to find.

I'd like to see it expanded to 3 internationals. I still like the idea of giving more Australian cricketers exposure at national level

 

[madmug]

I wouldn't be concerned about populations as most of these cities are within close commuting distance of other significant population centres and there is a strong interest in T20 cricket in these places. That said, Townsville, Ballarat, and Bendigo would be unsuitable because their stadiums/venues have inadequate lighting. Townsville's Tony Ireland Stadium has 200 lux lights, Ballarat's Eureka has 300 lux (capable of being upgraded to 600 lux) and Bendigo's QEO has 500 lux. These are all perfectly good for AFL non-televised games, but for digital television broadcast grounds must be illuminated to at least 1000 lux. Funding to upgrade these grounds would need to be sourced from government (which is very unlikely (short of an election)). Townsville has already just received a $150 million pledge from the federal government which came to nothing for them (the government) at the last election as the Coalition still didn't get the seat, so it's unlikely that Townsville would receive another $6 million that they are seeking for a lighting upgrade for yet another one of its stadiums (as a vote buying attempt by the LNP). Ballarat on the other hand has no plans for night televised AFL games and only needs Eureka Stadium illuminated for its VFL games. Bendigo has no VFL team and there is no talk there of using its QEO for anything beyond what it is presently used for as much debate is already going on in Bendigo that the QEO is already being significantly overused and ruined.

Cairns would have to be suitable as the Cazaly stadium has had AFL under lights for Tv. Holds 10-12k. Maybe it comes into contention for a game?

 

[Roogal]

Cairns would have to be suitable as the Cazaly stadium has had AFL under lights for Tv. Holds 10-12k. Maybe it comes into contention for a game?

I personally can't see why Cairns couldn't or shouldn't become the home for a 'Greater North Queensland' based team. Cazalys Stadium is well suited and night TV broadcast capable. After all Townsville already has a national rugby league team and Cairns hosts a national basketball team. That said, it makes no economic sense to me to install TV broadcast capable lighting at Tony Ireland Stadium in Townsville (a ground that only holds 10000 and has seating for 1200) for a city that rarely hosts national or international cricket games and the local AFL competition in Townsville is not as strong or as competitive as it is in Cairns. Cazalys Stadium on the other hand already has all of the infrastructure in place to host these games and is presently being better used by a stronger AFL competition during the cooler months. I agree that we should share the love and make Cairns the home of NQ day/night cricket.

 

[Colonial]

After all Townsville already has a national basketball team.

No they dont. Cairns do.


Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk

 

[Roogal]

And I'm sure that would happen. York Park would be excellent for games.

Also some games maybe in Geelong & Ballarat, maybe FNQ, maybe Wagga . I guess in any places with the right facilities.

I wouldn't include Ballarat or Wagga Wagga: Pictures speak a thousand words ...

Ballarat's Eureka Stadium below is presently getting new grand stands built and a new video scoreboard for AFL games but as the image illustrates, lighting is too dull for TV and there are no plans or identified need to upgrade the lighting beyond it's present capability:

Wagga Wagga's Robertson Oval has an excellent surface and lighting but lacks for spectator amenities. It's a great ground for hosting one-off AFL pre-season games and local/regional footy and cricket:

Of course there is Bendigo (which has a better climate than Ballarat) but it's premier oval (The Queen Elizabeth Oval) has it's limitations:

Below: Bendigo's QEO is an excellent ground but lacks some spectator amenities, lighting is a little dull, and issues remain with significant overuse.

Below: Bendigo's QEO before being resurfaced and shaped into an oval

 

[Roogal]

No they dont. Cairns do.


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Forgive my confusion, shall adjust my previous post.

 

[The_Reaper]

I personally can't see why Cairns couldn't or shouldn't become the home for a 'Greater North Queensland' based team. Cazalys Stadium is well suited and night TV broadcast capable. After all Townsville already has a national rugby league team and Cairns hosts a national basketball team. That said, it makes no economic sense to me to install TV broadcast capable lighting at Tony Ireland Stadium in Townsville (a ground that only holds 10000 and has seating for 1200) for a city that rarely hosts national or international cricket games and the local AFL competition in Townsville is not as strong or as competitive as it is in Cairns. Cazalys Stadium on the other hand already has all of the infrastructure in place to host these games and is presently being better used by a stronger AFL competition during the cooler months. I agree that we should share the love and make Cairns the home of NQ day/night cricket.

Weather is not suitable for any northern australian team.

 

[Roogal]

Weather is not suitable for any northern australian team.

Are you saying that the northern wet season would be a factor? It might well be indeed, to be honest that is something which I never really took into account. It does seem to rain a heck of a lot in Cairns (wet or dry season). On the other hand Townsville's weather can be a bit hit and miss. I lived there for nine years and some years Townsville could get through a December/January with not a drop of rain (but the humidity was diabolical), and on some years it rained every day throughout the summer months.

The NQ weather would need to be a strong consideration before any consideration is given to it hosting scheduled cricket games.

 

[The_Reaper]

Are you saying that the northern wet season would be a factor? It might well be indeed, to be honest that is something which I never really took into account. It does seem to rain a heck of a lot in Cairns (wet or dry season). On the other hand Townsville's weather can be a bit hit and miss. I lived there for nine years and some years Townsville could get through a December/January with not a drop of rain (but the humidity was diabolical), and on some years it rained every day throughout the summer months.

The NQ weather would need to be a strong consideration before any consideration is given to it hosting scheduled cricket games.

The wet season is very much a factor.

There is a reason why the Darwin cricket comp runs from April to September.

 

[Holden Hillbilly]

Apparently James Sutherland wants to increase the competition by 2 teams for the next contract - where channel 9 is likely to bid against 10.

Do you agree with 2 more teams?

Do we have the players?

Where should the teams be?

Canberra
Gold Coast
Perth
Geelong

Or maybe a team from New Zealand.

 

[Aussie_boy]

Player pool is too small, so don't really think it will happen. Canberra is the only place that 'needs' a team.

 

[Hamingja]

Would need to allow 4 overseas players per team and even then you would be clogging up the comp with average county players due to availability.