The gold Coast Blaze owners the Tomlinsons have withdrawn the submissions for the Blaze to stay in the competition late last night. It has dragged on over several weeks as to if the Blaze will manage to stay in the league for the 2012/13 NBL season. The blaze have gone under as they were not able to produce the $1 mill bank guarantee for the league. Not all teams have had to pay this guarantee, however due to the Blaze's unstable funding situation it was imperative for the Blaze to do so should the team go under mid season and not be able to play its players and employees. Below is the media release from the director Owen Tomlinson. Its a sad day for the Blaze fans who have been waiting to see if they would still have a team to go for next season.
The contracted players Adam gibson, Anthony Petrie and Chris Goulding from the Blaze have been left in limbo and must now try to find a new place in the league late in the off season. Their is rumors that Adam Gibson may find a place in the melbourne tigers, Anthony Petrie will be with the Woollongong Hawks and and Chris Goulding may find a place with the Adelaide 36ers but at this stage it is all up the air. Personally I'm hoping to see at least two of them end up with the 36ers which would give something the blaze fans could get behind having 3 of the core blaze team members. Or else the NBL might just lose a lot more viewers and will still likely lose a lot since basketball is a sport most enjoyed live.
Media Release
It is with much regret that we announce that we have decided to withdraw our submission to Basketball Australia to be included in the 2012/13 NBL season.
We have been asked to provide further information and given an extension until 31 July 2012 to do so. We feel that we have already done enough to satisfy all requirements and the drawing out of this process has gone on long enough.
We are proud of the contribution we have made to basketball in South East Queensland over the past five seasons and we feel that the Blaze has contributed in a very meaningful way to the community.
The company administration period has been a terrible strain on our loyal coaches, players and staff and their families. They, along with our Pyromaniacs and Corporate Sponsors, have supported us throughout this difficult time and we deeply regret that we have had to make this decision.
We thank everyone for their unwavering support.
Owen Tomlinson
Director
Gold Coast Blaze
The contracted players Adam gibson, Anthony Petrie and Chris Goulding from the Blaze have been left in limbo and must now try to find a new place in the league late in the off season. Their is rumors that Adam Gibson may find a place in the melbourne tigers, Anthony Petrie will be with the Woollongong Hawks and and Chris Goulding may find a place with the Adelaide 36ers but at this stage it is all up the air. Personally I'm hoping to see at least two of them end up with the 36ers which would give something the blaze fans could get behind having 3 of the core blaze team members. Or else the NBL might just lose a lot more viewers and will still likely lose a lot since basketball is a sport most enjoyed live.
Media Release
It is with much regret that we announce that we have decided to withdraw our submission to Basketball Australia to be included in the 2012/13 NBL season.
We have been asked to provide further information and given an extension until 31 July 2012 to do so. We feel that we have already done enough to satisfy all requirements and the drawing out of this process has gone on long enough.
We are proud of the contribution we have made to basketball in South East Queensland over the past five seasons and we feel that the Blaze has contributed in a very meaningful way to the community.
The company administration period has been a terrible strain on our loyal coaches, players and staff and their families. They, along with our Pyromaniacs and Corporate Sponsors, have supported us throughout this difficult time and we deeply regret that we have had to make this decision.
We thank everyone for their unwavering support.
Owen Tomlinson
Director
Gold Coast Blaze
