Gus Takkale is confident that his team will prove successful.
After a bizarre naming controversy, Ottawa’s new National Basketball League (NBL) of Canada franchise is ready to move into a busy summer before it plays in its inaugural season in 2013-14.
At a press conference in late February, owner Gus Takkale said his primary goal is to bring a championship to Ottawa.
But another concern may loom larger than winning and losing, and that is simply surviving as a franchise.
“I’m a businessman; I’m an entrepreneur,” Takkale said. “My job was to go establish businesses all over the world. When it comes to Ottawa, we really think that this is a basketball city.”
But in a city that, in the last 20 years, has lost a professional baseball team (AAA’s Lynx) and two professional football teams (the CFL’s Rough Riders and then its reincarnation, the Renegades) winning may not be enough to keep people interested.
“Now I know there are some franchises that have opened up in the past and closed, but one of them was sold out for the first year,” Takkale says of the Renegades.
“Something happened, something went wrong.”
And Takkale stresses that he will take it into his own hands to make sure nothing goes wrong for his basketball franchise.
“We’re going to listen to our fans to see how we can develop ourselves,” says Takkale.
“I’m going to be personally there speaking to a lot of people at game day itself. I’m not going to be the kind of owner that’s going to sit up top in my suite. I’m going to be there, I’m going to stand in line, see how long it takes for the beer to come, I’m going to be around with the children – so I want to make sure that we are involved in the community. This is a one on one business; if you’re good to the marketplace, the marketplace is good to you.”
Jo-Anne Polak, former general manager of the Rough Riders, stresses the importance of civic involvement in this city for any new business.
“It has to be very community-oriented,” says Polak. “It has to go to every Kiwanis Club, every Kinsmen Club, every school. That’s the one thing I learned early on: that stuff matters to this town.”
Polak says Ottawa is an economically unique city because of the presence of the federal government.
She says its population and the stable disposable income of many of its residents makes it a viable town for businesses to thrive in.
“The foundation is strong for somebody to be able to come in and package and sell their product the right way,” Polak says. “But you’ve really got to know your city.”
Takkale says that his intended fan base is “anybody who loves basketball.”
“Our target market is really not a demographic by age, but it’s more by passion and love for the game,” he says. “But also we want to make sure it’s a family and entertainment experience; there’s things for the kids to do, there’s things for the adults to do, there’s things for everybody to do at game day itself.”
The team, led by Bytown Sports and Entertainment Group, will hire a coaching staff, then fill its roster in the coming months.
Takkale says the team’s talent pool would range from all over the world.
A minimum of three Canadian players is required on each team, but he says his team would be predominantly made up of Americans, with some Europeans as well.
He says there will be an emphasis on homegrown talent, and while there is currently no relationship with perennial basketball powerhouse Carleton University, that is something that will be explored.
“Now that we have launched the brand we’re going to be kicking off conversations with all the universities and colleges,” Takkale says.
The team will play its first season at Scotiabank Place, where it will try to raise a championship banner to the rafters.
The greater victory might be to survive their first season, and more importantly, according to Polak, beyond the first year.
“You build your fan base and you build it slowly and you build it steadily,” says Polak.
“Is everybody going to fill the place the first year? No. That’s not how any product is sold. People build, and build slowly, and build a foundation of strength and have patience, and make sure that their business model reflects that.”
At first glance, Polak says she feels Ottawa and its new basketball team are a suitable match.
“I believe that everybody – if they do it right – can survive in this city,” Polak says. “I believe it’s a perfect market for a team like that."
"If managed properly, there is no better market you want to be in.”