Hobart Chargers Awarded Licence To Play In NBL1 Series In 2020
Basketball Victoria and the NBL have announced the Hobart Chargers will join the NBL1 competition in 2020.
Hobart will be issued an initial one-year licence for the league to bring them in line with the NBL1 foundation licence holders.
NBL1 General Manager, Dean Anglin, said: “We are delighted to welcome the Hobart Chargers into NBL1 for 2020 and hopefully beyond.
“The Chargers have built a strong following in Hobart during their 23-year history and have also developed both male and female talent.
“We look forward to them being part of NBL1 and expanding the footprint of the game in Tasmania.”
NBL1 had a highly successful inaugural season, with over 108,000 fans attending games, every game streamed live on YouTube with over 284,000 viewers across the year and over 1.6 million views on social media videos posted by NBL1.
Hobart Chargers President, David Bartlett, said: “Having sat out the inaugural NBL1 season, we couldn’t be more excited to be returning to the floor with both a men’s and women’s program in 2020.
“With the prospect of an NBL team on the horizon, the times have never been better for basketball in Tasmania and we are looking forward to again adding to the growth, the excitement, the pathways and the community.
“Three years ago, we set out on a journey with our three-year plan to be strong at the bank account, strong on the court, strong in the community and to help make Tasmania NBL ready.
“We delivered on that three-year plan and we are now looking to the future with a new three-year plan.
“Going forward the Hobart Chargers will be a vital part of the pathways and inspiration for young Tasmanians to play basketball.
“We want to set some new lofty goals including the pathways for at least 10 future NBL and 10 future WNBL players emerging from Tasmania over the next 10 years.”
NBL Chief Operating Officer, Andy Crook, said: “Basketball is thriving in Tasmania and the Hobart Chargers joining NBL1 will help further grow the game.
“Tasmania is an extremely important region for Australian basketball and we have already stated our desire to put a 10th NBL team in the state.
“We recently staged a highly successful NBL Blitz in Tasmania attracting nearly 9,000 fans to games across the state.
“It showed there is a hunger for elite basketball and NBL1 provides an important pathway for developing talent.”
