WNBL could have Brisbane team as soon as next season
Jasper Bruce |
A Brisbane team could enter the WNBL as soon as next season as the league identifies New Zealand as a possible target for subsequent expansion.
The Brisbane Bullets NBL team has launched one of two Brisbane bids for the WNBL’s 10th licence, backed in part by WNBA superstar Angel Reese.
The Bullets were previously hopeful of being ready in time for the 2026/27 campaign before the Tasmania Jewels were granted the league’s ninth licence for the season beginning October.
But WNBL chief operating officer Justin Nelson said the league could expand again in a little more than a year’s time, with Brisbane the clear front-runner.
“I’d like to see Brisbane in the WNBL as early as next season,” Nelson told AAP.
“I never put timelines on when clubs are ready to enter a national league. I think it’s always about infrastructure, it’s about resources and vision and it is a lot about location and what benefits the league as well.
“(But) I think Brisbane is an incredible hotbed for basketball participation, especially girls.”
The South-East Queensland region last held a WNBL licence in 2016, when financial difficulties forced the Logan-based Stars to fold after one season.
But Brisbane has since built a compelling case for re-entry, with Basketball Queensland reporting a 101 per cent increase in participation in the six years to November 2025.
South-East Queensland itself is in the midst of a population boom, while the WNBL sees sponsorship opportunities in the number of companies based in the region.
Brisbane is primed for investment into sport given the upcoming 2032 Olympics, which are set to feature men’s and women’s basketball.
The Bullets’ bid is particularly enticing because the WNBL team would have access to the men’s pre-existing high-performance facilities in South Brisbane.
The hypothetical team would have the chance to play double-headers with the men’s side, a format that has worked successfully for the Sydney Kings and Flames.
They would likely play other home games at Nissan Arena, the 5000-seat stadium near Griffith University that hosted the Bullets until 2024.
Alternatively, the City of Moreton has facilities that could be used.
The WNBL is better placed for expansion since a private consortium, headed by the NBL’s owners, acquired the league from Basketball Australia in April last year.
“It means that we can work at speed,” Nelson said.
“We’re incredibly ambitious. We want to be everything we possibly can as quickly as we possibly can, but we will do it in a way that is financially sustainable and we will do it in a way that is all about our fans.”
Looking to the future, the WNBL is hopeful of expanding into New Zealand following the success of the Breakers, the Auckland-based side that has won four NBL titles since forming in 2003.
As it stands, the WNBL could only expand into New Zealand with approval from Basketball Australia, Basketball New Zealand and the sport’s global governing body, FIBA.
Nelson lived in New Zealand for more than six years and helped oversee the sport’s growth as general manager of the NZ National Basketball League.
“Women’s basketball in New Zealand is exploding. We have a lot of Kiwis that play in the WNBL,” he said
“I see New Zealand as being the future landing spot for a team in the WNBL as well.”
AAP