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NT Major Events Company CEO Tim Watsford on Darwin hosting the NBL Blitz Tournament · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Some pretty exciting news over the weekend, the NBL Blitz
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: tournaments coming to Darwin in September for the first time.
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: And joining me to tell us a bit more about
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: it is Tim Watsford.
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: Good morning, Tim, morning Katie. How are you very well?
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: Tim? How exciting is this for the Northern Territory.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a coup, no doubt about it. I think
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: we've been working with the NBL for quite a long
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: time now, to be honest, around a variety of initiatives
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: and for them to I guess come to the party
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: and let the NT host what is their premiere preseason
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: Blitz all ten NBL teams over eight days. It's pretty special.
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: It's a big thing for the big thing for the
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: territory and speaking to the country, to be honest. So
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: we're going to be the first to see some effectively
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: potentially NBA players rolling through it come September and obviously everyone.
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: In addition to that, there's going to be I think
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: up to sixty teams. We're playing three on three competition
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: as well, so there's plenty of outputs on this one
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: and it's a great get where we're pumped.
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: Yeah, how did you manage to how did we manage
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: to pick this up.
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: It's so obviously part of our job is to bring
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: events and I think we've spoken about this at link
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: Katie around driving community impact and economic outcomes, and we
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: talked to everyone. I'm not going to lie, and we've
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: speaking to the NBL for quite some time on a
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: few different matters, very very transparently. There's a there's a
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: team discussion that is floating around that was also noted
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: on the weekend. So this is a really really good
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: test case to make sure that Territorians love their basketball.
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: I'm pretty sure we do. The success of the salties
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: is kind of what elevated the discussion around us getting
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: the Blitz, and it was a match made in Evan.
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: We moved really quick and you had great support from
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: Minister Kirby and the Chief and Jeremy who's the Commissioner
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: of the NBL to get it done and literally had
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: it on our table probably just before Supercars and signed
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: off on the weekend. So yeah, we can't wait to
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: get this get it in a couple of months time.
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: And has there been a bit of a hiatus for
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: the camp for the competition due to COVID nineteen over
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: the last like over the last year or so.
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that has This is the first time they would
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: have held the Blitz since twenty nineteen, is my understanding,
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: And that was done the last list was in Tasmania.
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: And look what Tasmania has now they have their own
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: very owned basketball team. So if we follow suit, we
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: could kind of be in the box seat as well
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: to have an initial license. But look, every sport, I
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: think we all know it's been a pretty challenging a
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: couple of years for sport in general. We've tried to
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: help the NBL out through the last couple of years
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: as well by hosting games. We just couldn't get there.
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: But this is something that's going to be pretty special.
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: With the doors open now, hopefully everyone comes out in
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: force and we can really have some strong discussions the
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: NBL going forward.
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: So what could this potentially mean, Tim, Like, you know,
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: how possible is it for us to have our own
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: NBL side.
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: Look, I'll be quite frank, it's possible. Jeremy was very
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: candid with his words on the weekend around. You know,
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: the discussions are on the table. Obviously, there's got to
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: be a variety of factors that stack up whether that
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: be infrastructure, commercial benefits, social benefit, impacts on the community.
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: We've we've started that work, I'll be honest, and it's
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: and it's looking good. And what this blitz will do
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: is is really test kind of the appetite for what
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: basketball is for the territory. Look, it's not it's not
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: an AFL team, it's not on an L team. It's
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: a basketball team. So we can we can run it
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: on a bit of a centner budget, so to speak.
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: So look, there's everything open. And full credit to Jeremy
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: and Larry Kisselman, who's their own are. They've been very
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: very open their businessmen, they own, they end up privately
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: and you know they want to grow. And you know,
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: if we're lucky enough to try and get ourselves into
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: a position of holding a license thanking me wrong in
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: the company, are were going pretty hard trying to get on.
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: Yeah, but then do we have you know, do we
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: have what we need in terms of facilities? I know
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: that obviously we've got the courts out there at Marara.
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: Is everything up to the speed that it would need
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: to be? Yeah?
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: Good, pretty good question. And this this is what this
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: will come out of. Attend to be on next fifteen
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: games over eight days. It's going to be it's going
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: to put a big significant push on Marara. Look, I'll
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: be honest, there's there's other places around the territory that
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: we can or in either we're in Darwin that we
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: can host a team, whether that be the convention center
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: or the entertainment center, or there's there's these areas that
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: we can we can look at and look definitely Marra
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: Netball Stadium and the basketball center there will be elite
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: training facilities. We know that. So we've definitely got the
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: facilities to train. Now it's what what can we do?
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: You know, there's a there's a waterfront redevelopment getting played
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: around with the moment that potentially might get wrapped into
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: what possibly could look at a converted convention center. Basketball
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: Right around the country players in convention centers, So there's
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: no reason why we can't look at that as a space.
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: But we'll cross those we'll cross those bridges when we
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: come to my suppose and we can make sure that
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: we can get everything to really stack up. And it
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: needs to be probably the most important part for everyone.
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: It needs to be sustainable. So we want to make
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: sure that if a team were to come to the
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: territory in the future, it's got to be for the
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: long term. So look that it's very very early stages
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: to start talking about that, but obviously here my excitement
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: that is something if you pull something like that off,
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: that's that's pretty special.
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: To be bloody amazing for the Northern Territory, but also
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: amazing for you know, for our young local players as well.
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: And I think that even the Salties have been that too.
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it is, and I think as part of the
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: part of the reason where we're well, I think we're
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: so primed to have a successful team. It's it's the
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: genius and we've seen that through kind of coming through
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: the Salties program. I'm also going to state we've got
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: a brilliant indigenous program that we can push through, and
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: our access into Southeast Asia from an exposure point makes
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: us a pretty pretty unique offering for a basketball team
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: and elite content. Now, there was a there was a
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: Filipino player I think that got drafted to the Adelaide
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: thirty sixers and is literally shooting the lights out from
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: his engagement perspective across all channels. So look where you
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: know where stones are away from from activating Asia for
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: the NBL. So there's a very very very healthy offering
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: for the territory if we can capitalize on that. Yeah,
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: but what it does for the community and we own
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: a team, like, how can will that be? We have
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: teams that have come in with that, theafl L, even
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: Basketball and AOUS, all those kind of teams have come
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: in through the past and played games, and we're obviously
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: incredibly proud of our partnership with those clubs. But with
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: the opportunity potentially own one of our own, that provides
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: an amazing amount of opportunity for the guys coming through.
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, it certainly sounds like an amazing opportunity. So
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: all ten NBL teams are going to be converging in
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: one location here in Darwin. What does that event schedule
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: look like?
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: Good? Yeah, good question. It is moving fast. It's mid September,
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: so we're kind of aiming around that fifteenth of September mark.
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: It's that MBL are great at what they do. They're
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: driving the operational parts of these elements and we'll work
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: with them now in the next couple of weeks to
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: try and get tickets on sale all the programming community elements.
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: They've said on the weekend they want to do some
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: stuff in Allie Springs as well. We'll try and get
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: that done kind of like closer to the end of July.
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: All locked and loaded, ready to go, kind of six out.
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: But it is pretty special, and you have to reiterate that.
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: It's it's not it's not Grade two teams that are coming.
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: It's it's a number one elite basketball player that you
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: know might be might be drafted to the NBA. You know,
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: we've got a consultings that play in the NBA as well,
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: so we'll have played in the NBA. So there's going
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: to be some significant basketball being played, which is which
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: is really really cool. So I'll be taking over the
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: town in September. It's it's going to be fun to watch.
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: Now from an economy sort of perspective as well, I
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: mean ten teams coming to the Northern Territory and then
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: presumably their support staff, they're coaching staff, they're entourage that
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: travels as well. I would imagine that it's a bit
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: of a boost as well for the Northern Territory economy
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: at a time when things do tend to start slowing down.
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, And I think in just in addition to
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: those teams KDE, if the invitation goes out with a
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: three on three and got another sixty potential three on
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: three teams and support staff coming, it's even at the
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: event alone is going to be a significant boost. But
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: to be quite frank on on Saturday morning, I'm getting
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: texts from team membership based in particular the Wildcat I
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: want to send a party of members to come and
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: support it. So you know, there's there's ten times membership
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: team membership bases that want to come up and support
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: their team as well. So this is a huge This
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: is a huge shotting when I guess it is our shoulder. Yeah,
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: September is still pretty busy, not gonna lie, but look
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: at this starting to come off from a pretty pretty
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: pretty hectic dry season, so there's going to be plenty
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: people in around town on the back of this. So
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: it's it's a really really really good event. And I
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: think the length of the length of stays amazing as well,
• 8:29
  Speaker 2: eight days is phenomenal, so they're going to be around
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: for quite some time.
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: Awesome stuff. Well, it does sound incredibly exciting for the
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: Northern Territory and in particular us here in Darwin. Tim Watsford,
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: it is always good to catch up with your mate.
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: Territory day went off without a hitch as well, pardon the.
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: Pun, Yeah it did. It did the pleasure of rattling
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: my teeth through Alice bringing about four degrees. But Chunky
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: Custer and let off some crackers and the guard that
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: great right across right across the territory. So yeah, we're
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: another one down, the other one down, Cadie, wonderful.
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you've still got a bit to go for the
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: rest of the year though, always busy for you guys
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: at major events, no doubt about it. Tim Wat's for
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: good to speak with you this morning. Thanks so much
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: for your time.
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: Good Una, Katie, thank you.