The year 2000 was the beginning of the new millennium, but it was also the year that professional basketball ceased to exist inside the walls of Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. In 2000, the 15,200 seat stadium was home to Andrew Gaze and the 5th seed Melbourne Tigers as well as the 4th seed Victoria Titans, the latter being the last home team to play inside Rod Laver Arena, in Game One of the 1999/2000 Grand Final Series on April 7th. The Darryl McDonald lead Titans would fall to the Perth Wildcats in a 78-84 loss and would ultimately lose the best of three series five days later in Perth.
Since that fateful night, professional basketball in Melbourne has been predominantly played a few hundred meters from Rod Laver Arena at the 10,500 seat newly-named Melbourne Arena (previously Hisense Arena) or during the particularly dark days, the 3,500 seat State Netball and Hockey Centre in Parkville. The mismanagement of Melbourne professional basketball for the better part of almost two decades has meant that watching our favourite stars play inside a big arena has been untenable… until now.
NBL at Rod Laver Arena during the late 1990’s. Source: mopt.co.au
The resurgence of professional basketball in Melbourne reached its crescendo last season, capping off a successful rebrand of the Melbourne United with an inaugural championship win in an epic five-game showdown against Adelaide 36ers. Just when it couldn’t get any better, United announced the return of their star import combo of Casper Ware Jr. and Josh Boone for a third go-around with the team (well, technically two and half) something that is hard come by with import players in the NBL and thus giving us the full star power of what will be the biggest matchup in Kestelman-era of the NBL – Melbourne United vs Sydney Kings and all that’s missing is the stadium we need, Rod Laver Arena.
Just to recap, here is who will be walking out the hardwood floor on November 5th:
Sydney Kings
- Andrew Bogut: 2015 NBA Champion, #1 NBA Draft Pick 2005
- Jerome Randle: 2017 NBL MVP, 2x All NBL First Team
- Kevin Lisch: 2010 NBL Champion, 2x NBL MVP
- Also: Brad Newley, Daniel Kickert, Kyle Adnam, David Wear and Tom Wilson
- Head Coach: Andrew Gaze
Melbourne United
- Chris Goulding: 2018 NBL Champion, 2018 Final Series MVP
- Casper Ware Jr: 2018 NBL Champion, 2x All NBL First Team
- Josh Boone: #26 2006 NBA Draft Pick, 2018 NBL Champion
- Also: Mitch McCarron, David Barlow, Daniel Trist, Craig Moller, Peter Hooley and a third import that is still to be announced.
- Head Coach: Dean Vickerman
Now that’s a lot of star power that’s definitely not big enough for Melbourne Arena.
This matchup has everything that you could want to fill Rod Laver Arena: It’s the two teams from the two biggest cities with the general consensus two best rosters. It will be Andrew Bogut’s first game (not counting the pre-season) in Melbourne, the same town he grew up and it’s basically a long weekend, with a Public Holiday the day after for the Melbourne Cup.
Chris Goulding, the all-time leading points scorer at Melbourne Area. Source: TheAustralian.com.au
There’s a recent precedent to sporting events taking place on Cup Eve. Last year in the A-League, Melbourne Victory played against the Western Sydney Wanderers the night before the race that stops a nation and drew an attendance of over 21,000 at Etihad Stadium, up from their average of 17,000 that year, roughly a 24% increase. Theoretically, if we’re to assume that the 24% increase was due purely to the Public Holiday, if you apply that to the capacity of Melbourne Arena and you have a total of 13,020 and if you combine of the draw of Bogut and the buzz around the NBL at the moment, those leftover 2,180 seats would fill rather quickly.
Could you imagine the spectacle of 15,000 packed into Rod Laver Arena to watch a National Basketball League game, seeing Randle and Ware in the battle of the point gods, to roar as Goulding drains deep three-pointers and to witness Bogut rocking the rims. For those who couldn’t get a ticket, all this would be just as great watching from the couch on the new home of Basketball, 9GO!
To Larry, Jeremy, Vince and Hutchy, let’s make this thing happen.
Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.
