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A Brisbane bid for the WNBL’s 10th licence has been backed in part by WNBA superstar Angel Reese. (AP PHOTO)<\/p>\nA Brisbane team could enter the WNBL as soon as next season as the league identifies New Zealand as a possible target for subsequent expansion.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
A Brisbane bid for the WNBL’s 10th licence has been backed in part by WNBA superstar Angel Reese. (AP PHOTO)<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“I’d like to see Brisbane in the WNBL as early as next season,” Nelson told AAP.<\/p>\n
“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. <\/p>\n
“(But) I think Brisbane is an incredible hotbed for basketball participation, especially girls.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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Teams from Brisbane and New Zealand are possible under the WNBL’s expansion plans. (Lukas Coch\/AAP PHOTOS)<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Brisbane is primed for investment into sport given the upcoming 2032 Olympics, which are set to feature men’s and women’s basketball.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
They would likely play other home games at Nissan Arena, the 5000-seat stadium near Griffith University that hosted the Bullets until 2024.<\/p>\n
Alternatively, the City of Moreton has facilities that could be used.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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Keely Froling is part of the Tasmania Jewels, who were granted the WNBL’s ninth licence. (Ethan James\/AAP PHOTOS)<\/p>\n
“It means that we can work at speed,” Nelson said.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“Women’s basketball in New Zealand is exploding. We have a lot of Kiwis that play in the WNBL,” he said<\/p>\n
“I see New Zealand as being the future landing spot for a team in the WNBL as well.”<\/p>\n