Phase two of the Wollongong Hawks' last-ditch rescue bid will kick into overdrive this week.Last week's initial stage went to plan, with campaign leader Mat Campbell personally submitting the Hawks' Expression of Interest (EOI) to the NBL hours before Friday's 5pm deadline.
Sign the Illawarra Mercury's petition to keep the Wollongong Hawks in the NBL "Everything went fairly well in week one, but we really need the community to continue to support us because there's no way we can do it without them," Campbell said."We're still a long way from being saved and hopefully the whole region keeps digging deep, whether it's the corporate sector or the everyday fan who doesn't want to see this city lose its basketball team. I'm 100 per cent convinced we can get there with everyone's help."Given that the Sydney Kings have asked the league for an extension of 7-10 days with their EOI, Wollongong might be the only NSW-based club to apply formally for a place in next season's restructured competition.The Hawks have copied the Cairns Taipans' survival plan and offered foundation memberships at a cost of $5000 each.Yesterday Campbell said 79 pledges had been received on the official website (www.savethehawks.com), leaving the club just 21 pledges short of its $500,000 target.Almost 1200 pledges for season-ticket memberships had also been lodged, although the actual cost of such a membership package was yet to be determined."We've got a lot of people working in the background, and now that we've taken the important step of making a submission, our focus has now shifted to the actual workings of the business model that we're putting in place," Wollongong's long-time captain said."It's a huge positive that ahm (Australian Health Management) have said they'll stay on board as our sponsor and this week we'll be talking to other previous Hawks sponsors and potential new sponsors."We need to keep looking at different revenue streams as opposed to the traditional concepts of sponsorship and season-ticket holders and we need to sit down and nominate an interim board."The new business model will be a not-for-profit organisation, so we also have to meet with accountants and lawyers to make sure we set up a business plan which works best for the people buying memberships ... something that allows the community to have their say and lets them be very involved in the way it's run."While the Hawks' EOI did not meet the financial side of the NewNBL's criteria for next season, Campbell said the club essentially "ticked all the boxes in the other areas".The league said it would contact the Save the Hawks group within 10 days of last Friday's deadline with any significant questions or requirements the club would have to meet.The NBL is expecting to announce which clubs had been accepted into the new competition before the end of the month.
