Wildcats beemed live into China at Burswood Dome

Egan · Post by **Egan** » Fri Dec 05, 2003 12:26 pm

The Wildcats will play the Tigers at the Burswood Dome in front of 8000 people on the 17th of January it includes a rock concert here are two reports on this amazing initiative once again set off by the wildcats and owner Andrew Vlahov, who said last year it is impossible to play basketball there. The game will be played in the Hopman Cup configuration. Heres two reports

Wildcats take punt on Burswood show

By Dave Hughes

IT WAS not, as the invitation claimed, the biggest announcement in the Perth Wildcats' history. But it is the biggest gamble.

With slot machines chattering in the background, Wildcats chief executive Andrew Vlahov revealed at the casino yesterday the January 17 National Basketball League fixture against the Melbourne Tigers would be played at the adjacent Burswood Dome.

It would be telecast live, not only across Australia but to a potential pay audience of 100 million in South-East Asia and China.

The club has invested $50,000 to secure eight hours of time on the region's main pay-TV sports networks for a three-hour live telecast.

It is being promoted as Summer Jam - an exhibition by US street ball squad And1, the game against the Tigers and a subsequent rock concert - plus a one-hour highlights package.

The gamble is not that the Wildcats will sell insufficient advertising for the telecasts to recoup costs.

It is that the club has chosen to play in front of its biggest international audience since the 1995 McDonald's Open in London in a season shaping to be its most awkward since 1985. At risk is something money cannot buy: credibility.

Vlahov and his co-owners aim to expand their exposure in Asia, having already put out feelers to play a season opener against the Sydney Kings in Singapore.

But a poor performance or poor crowd in the huge arena used for the Hopman Cup will make it difficult to persuade programmers to part with their time or sponsors to part with their money in the future.

In short, no one wants to back a loser.

The blowtorch is now directly on new coach Mike Ellis to get a team that has won only four of 10 games to start performing - and, in particular, to lift its game at the defensive end.

On its most recent two-game road trip last week, the Wildcats surrendered an average of 122 points a game at a horrible 51 per cent.

A repeat against the Tigers - one of the more prolific teams in the competition - would reflect neither the Wildcats nor the NBL in a favourable light.

However, if Ellis turns things around, the upside will be huge. Tickets for the Summer Jam will be between $15 and $25, which should ensure a decent turnout.

And a good performance against the Tigers, in what might well be Andrew Gaze's last appearance as a player in Perth, will enhance the club to the millions of viewers the Wildcats aim to woo in the future.

The Wildcats last played in the Burswood Dome in a quarterfinal against SE Melbourne in September 1994. It was not a pleasant experience for the locals: Perth got hammered by 31 points.

The club owners are risking a great deal on the coach and players producing a different outcome on their next foray through the dome's air locks.

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FRIDAY December 5, 2003

Wildcats Jam into Asia
Thursday, December 4, 2003 - 05:49PM

BANKWEST WILDCATS SUMMER JAM AT BURSWOOD

Friday January 16
12.30pm Corporate golf day and cocktail function

Saturday January 17
3.30pm AND1 Mix Tape Playas
4.40pm NBL clash - BankWest Wildcats vs Melbourne Tigers
7pm Concert starts featuring J Wess, an exclusive appearance by Selwyn, and local rock acts Spencer Tracy and Eskimo Joe

TICKETS ARE JUST $15 AND $25 FOR THE ENTIRE SATURDAY EVENT AND ON SALE FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5 FROM 9AM.
CALL TICKETMASTER7 ON 1300 136 122

=======================================================

The BankWest Wildcats today announced an ambitious new event that includes a live television broadcast of an NBL game in to Asia and China to a potential TV audience of over 100 million people on January 17, 2004.

The BankWest Wildcats Summer Jam at Burswood will involve the world famous “AND1 Mix Tape Playas” from USA, an NBL clash between the BankWest Wildcats and Melbourne Tigers and then a live concert featuring R & B artists J Wess and an exclusive appearance by Selwyn. Perth rock acts Spencer Tracy and Eskimo Joe will round out the show.

Perth’s own Australian Idol finalist Cle will host the concert.

Broadcast live on the ESPNStar network in Asia, it will be the first time a major Australian sports code has had a regular season game telecast live in to Asia and China.

The Wildcats will host the Melbourne Tigers at 4.40pm (WST) on Saturday, January 17 in front of 8000 fans in the Hopman Cup tennis configuration. The Wildcats have played once before at Burswood Dome, losing to the Magic 113-82 in a 1994 finals game.

Wildcats executive director Andrew Vlahov said the Summer Jam at Burswood had the potential to develop in to another major event for WA similar to the Hopman Cup.

“This is a huge event for the BankWest Wildcats aimed at increasing awareness of our basketball product and also opening up our doors to a wider range of potential Wildcats fans,” Vlahov said.

“It’s unique. It’s never been done before to this magnitude and bringing basketball and music together will be a tremendous promotional tool for the sport here in WA.

“It’s been priced attractively to give everyone a chance to experience this event during the school holidays. It’ll be a party and a fantastic seven hours of entertainment.”

NBL Commissioner Rick Burton supported the NBL’s expanding footprint in to Asia and said Australia can no longer afford to think of itself in isolation, but must think of the larger business realities of the Oceania and Asian markets.

“There are numerous opportunities related to basketball in Asia and great players like China's Yao Ming (now in Houston with the NBA's Rockets) have made our sport highly popular and relevant to significant audiences throughout Asia,” Burton said.

“The NBL is very open to exploring opportunities in Asia and as teams like the Wildcats play games in Kalgoorlie and Darwin, it becomes feasible to ask whether we (the NBL) could soon play a game in places like Singapore or Manila.

“The NBL is very excited about the opportunity to showcase our great teams and players to a wider audience and the associated benefits that come with that exposure. When I assumed the position of Commissioner, initiatives that focused on Asia were high on my list of priorities. Perth's efforts are certainly supported by the NBL.”

The Tigers have been fostering relationships with Chinese basketball for several years and played against Yao Ming and the Chinese national team there during the off season. A Chinese company bought in to the ownership group of the club with one of their brands, Ace Cell Batteries, is the naming right sponsor of the team.

"These types of initiatives that help expand and internationalise the game are a real positive for the NBL and Australian basketball,” Tigers legend Andrew Gaze said of the Summer Jam concept and overseas audience.

“We really need to embrace and expand the game and hopefully in the foreseeable future, the development of the sport will be to a point where we have international presence. Asia geographically, is a perfect fit.

“And if we think beyond the short term and look to the long term, if we can get our strong resources together and also including the likes of the Philippines, Korea and other Asian countries, we could develop a spectacular program.

“It’s exciting, it’s important to a get presence and familiarity over there (in Asia), building relationships, and giving them an opportunity to see us and what we do as clubs and as a league. Asia is a big step forward and somewhere ultimately we would like to go.”

Egan · Post by **Egan** » Fri Jan 16, 2004 1:41 am

500 tickets left for sale tommorow, they released an extra 500, Hopman Cup configuration, a great night it would have been, but I wouldn't miss the Glory vs Parramatta match for anything.

Should be a great match, hopefully the vics get a thumping, by the rising power the Wildcats.

"We now jump on the ball" says Tony Ronaldson, so beware Tigers cos its going to be a massacre

Wildcats to win by 20 points in front of millions of people world wide
most of them cats fans

r3d_c01n · Post by **r3d_c01n** » Fri Jan 16, 2004 11:00 pm

The only reason they're millions of viewers is because of the AND1 squad performance. Seriously u think they would be interested in the NBL?

I will definately be watching this game though, I hope Perth wins and Melbourne gets hammered even though I am a Sydney Kings supporter

Jeffles · Post by **Jeffles** » Sun Jan 18, 2004 6:58 pm

Melbourne Storm have had their matches broadcast into China for some time. Good to see the Wildcats doing this. I'm sure the audiences would be small (comparatively speaking) but it is still a great thing to pitch to a sponsor.

Egan · Post by **Egan** » Tue Jan 20, 2004 12:55 am

Worldwide Audience of 60 million

I would like to announce that the largest NBL crowd in Perths history was held against the Melbourne Tigers surpassing the 8200 of the entertainment centre. The New Perth NBL record of 8501 in Perth was achieved and is the largest NBL crowd this year. Vlahov is even considering the dome for the finals. Such was the ultimate success, an a game against a high profile opponent every year.

And like my prediction it was a mauling over the Tigers not quite 20 points though