Asian shot’s all net for Wildcats

While it may not be the huge sporting juggernaut that it was in the early 1990s, the Perth Wildcats has reaped a strong return from the 2004-05 season.

This caps off a year when one of the team’s favourite sons called it quits, one of its star imports was dumped and the side embarked on a lucrative Singaporean adventure.

Wildcats owner Andrew Vlahov said that, in financial terms, the team was already in front of this time last year.

He said the company had recorded revenues of about $2.1 million, up on the previous year, and attendances were up 25 per cent on the previous season. Had the club had a home final, it would have been guaranteed of returning a profit.

The Wildcats has about 2,000 members, enough to almost half-fill its 4,482 capacity home court of Challenge Stadium.

Helping keep the turnstyles spinning for the Wildcats as the season came to a close was the announcement of the retirement of captain Ricky Grace, who has been part of the side since 1990.

That sparked sell out crowds for the team’s last two home games of the season.

The potential surplus is made more impressive in light of the unforseen expenses this year, including the severance payouts to former coach Mike Ellis and import player Rashad Tucker.

One thing making it harder for National Basketball League sides in Australia is the lack of free-to-air coverage.

Basketball is only seen on Foxtel, meaning it is not as widely available to viewers as it once was.

This also reduces the exposure for sponsors and, therefore, the amount a team can ask for.

One of the ways the Wildcats got around this problem was to go to Singapore.

Called the Harvey Norman Singapore Spectacular, the match on January 28 at the 10,000-seat Singapore Indoor Stadium between the Wildcats and the Sydney Kings turned out to be a minor bonanza, turning a profit of $20,000.

The game was also telecast on ESPN to a potential audience of 57 million households.

Mr Vlahov said the NBL had given the Wildcats the rights to the Singaporean games for a further three years and negotiations were ongoing with Singaporean sporting officials.

“We would probably have tapped about 25 per cent of the potential revenue from the event in my estimate,” he said.

On the sponsorship front, the Wildcats secured Hong Kong telecommunications company Oriant as its major sponsor.

The company, which is yet to launch in WA, is using the sponsorship to build its profile.

Mr Vlahov has a very personal interest in making sure the Wildcats succeed financially.

He owns 90 per cent of the club after buying Luc Longley’s share of the team last July.

Mr Vlahov said he sold a 10 per cent stake in the Wildcats to real estate agent Mack Hall.