Keep Taranaki in the NBL

Taranaki has had a team in the National Basketball League for most of the past four decades. Whether that continues into 2027 now depends on the community.

The current owner of the Taranaki Airs has announced it will step away after three seasons, and a new ownership group is needed before next season.

Basketball Taranaki has put its hand up to facilitate the process, gauging interest across the region in supporting the team. It will be supported by former chairman Laine Hopkinson, who is also involved. Time is short: a bid must be lodged by the end of November to secure a team for next season.

Taranaki's NBL team is more than a team. It is the top of the pathway for every young player in Taranaki and the reason families pack TSB Stadium on game night. It is also one of only two major national competition teams in Taranaki.

This team belongs to Taranaki. It is the kid in the driveway shooting hoops until dark, dreaming of one day running out in front of a home crowd. It is the local player who doesn't have to leave the mountain behind to play at the top level. It is three generations sitting side by side at TSB Stadium, the volunteers who are there hours before tip-off, and the local businesses who come alive on game night. It puts Taranaki on national TV and gives our region a voice in New Zealand basketball. Lose the team, and we lose far more than a few games of basketball.

We know how hard it is to get a team back once it's gone. After the 1999 season, Taranaki withdrew from the NBL on financial grounds, and for three years a generation of young players had no national league team to look up to. It took until 2003 to return. Others have never made it back: the Waikato Pistons, four-time NBL champions, pulled out in 2011, returned for two seasons, then withdrew for good in 2014. Taranaki can't afford to let that be our story.

Former chairman Laine Hopkinson says the team has always belonged to the people of Taranaki.

“This team was built by the community, and it has always been for the community,” Hopkinson said. “Volunteers, local businesses, families in the stands and kids dreaming of wearing the jersey — they are what has kept basketball alive here for decades. That's why we know the team now needs to be owned by the Taranaki community. This is, and always will be, Taranaki's team. Now we need Taranaki to get in behind it like never before.”

Basketball Taranaki chair Andrew Maycock agrees, and says the process is about bringing people together to find the right solution.

“Our immediate focus is securing the support needed to keep the team on court in 2027, while we work out what a sustainable future looks like.”