Larry Kestelman called it more than six months back, but Tasmania has officially been named the 10th club in the making of the NBL.
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The date for the new entity to enter the league has been confirmed for the 2021-22 season following a landmark agreement finally with the Tasmanian government.
The NBL executive chairman and owner made the announcement of the new licence on Friday with state Premier Peter Gutwein after earmarking an earlier 2020-21 start to The Examiner.
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The deal had been held up for months until both parties could broker an agreement.
Under the licence, Kestelman will initially run the club and the government will become the "sponsor" of the new team while undertaking a significant redevelopment of the Derwent Entertainment Centre off the hands of Glenorchy City Council.
The unnamed Tasmanian side will play the bulk of its home games in Hobart, but will also play an undisclosed number of games in Launceston each year.
Kestelman had confirmed at the press conference in Hobart that the Silverdome will host at least "a couple of games" in the arrangement.
"Tasmania is a proud state with a rich sporting heritage and deserves teams in national sporting leagues, and we are delighted to be establishing our 10th team here. This will be Tasmania's team and a team for all Tasmanians," Kestelman said.
"We want basketball to be the No.1 sport in Tasmania and with an NBL team, we think we can achieve this."
The arrival of the NBL in late 2021 will also mark 25 seasons since the demise of the Hobart Tassie Devils.
Kestelman believes a resurgence of the NBL will put Tasmania back on the map.
Record attendances have risen by eight per cent on average and 21 per cent in total figures while broadcast audiences have also climbed domestically and overseas.
"The NBL is Australia's fastest growing sport and the best basketball league in the world outside of the NBA," Kestelman said.
"Basketball is also a global sport and an NBL team will put Tasmania not just on the national sporting stage, but on the world sporting stage."
ELSEWHERE IN SPORT
Launceston NBL advisory board member Janie Finlay said the end result of the state back in the NBL has made the hard work worth it.
"It has been an incredibly complex and intense process, but it's all about today and actually it starts today and it gets really heavy now for Larry," she said.
"There is a lot of work on a lot of layers for them to put this team on the court."
Kestelman will take up possession of the DEC soon and will have little more than 12 months for the Melbourne United owner to have the new club up and running.
"I have no doubt having worked with him for a number of months with the way he operates after being down this path before," Finlay said.
"Tasmanians are really blessed and should be super grateful he can see the future and the opportunities, and he's backed it by investing to bring the team to Tassie."