ACT’s NBL push boosted by tournament with $550k prize pool
Four NBL teams are set to make the trip to Canberra for the Ignite Cup Finals this season, as the league unveiled a partnership deal with the ACT Government.
A record prize pool of $550,000 is up for grabs for the four teams that advance from the Ignite Cup Finals - an in-season 20-game tournament held on Wednesday nights that counts towards the regular season ladder - to the Final Four format.
The Breakers celebrate winning the inaugural Ignite Cup final Albert Perez
The final four teams will battle it out over two days to win a large share of the prize pool, with games scheduled to be played at the AIS Arena.
It marks the beginning of a growth period for the tournament, which was only introduced last year and won by the New Zealand Breakers.
The league has also looked to a new venue to host its annual Andrew Gaze MVP Awards night, moving away from Melbourne, the event’s home for the past decade, to the Great Hall in Parliament House.
The Gazies, as the awards night is commonly known, will be held the week before the Final Four format takes place.
NBL group chief executive David Stevenson credited the fans in the nation’s capital who sold out the league’s five-day pre-season competition last year in helping pave the way for the new partnership to come into effect.
“The Ignite Cup has quickly become one of the standout innovations in the NBL, bringing knockout intensity into the NBL regular season and creating must-watch basketball every Wednesday,” NBL group chief executive David Stevenson said.
“Introducing a final four series and bringing it to Canberra is a fantastic evolution of the competition. Fans will experience a festival of basketball, with the best teams battling it out over one incredible weekend for the biggest prize pool in NBL history.”
Along with hosting the Ignite Cup, the ACT government has committed to a $31.1 million deal to progress plans for a national convention and entertainment centre in Canberra.
The partnership also opens the door for a Canberra-based team to be established.
“Canberrans love their basketball and it’s great to see the NBL backing that in,” the state’s minister for sport and recreation Chris Steel added.
“Bringing the Ignite Cup Finals to Canberra will further enhance our city’s reputation as the destination for major sporting events.
“Events like this inspire the next generation to get involved in the sport and in February, Canberrans can watch their sporting heroes compete in their own city.”
The NBL season will start on September 19. The official pre-season schedule gets underway this Thursday night.
