Brisbane view NBL return as Hawks try to survive

On Thursday, the Mercury revealed Hawks owner James Spenceley had been in negotiations with the ACT Government to sell games to Canberra next season, before the club went into voluntary administration.

Spenceley and Hawks players are continuing a push for new sponsors and investors to help them remain in the NBL next year, after a creditors meeting revealed the club is $1.1 million in debt, including owing players superannuation payments.

Townsville are also in voluntary administration.

NBL chairman Graeme Wade says he's reluctant to make any promises regarding a Brisbane team after so many of them have been broken over the years.

Brisbane hasn't had a team in Australia's top-flight basketball league since the Bullets folded in 2008 when, then-owner, Eddie Groves ran into financial strife.

Former CEO Fraser Neill last year made the latest in a string of league promises when he said Brisbane could expect a team to start the 2015-16 season.

Neill then resigned in November and there's been little talk on the matter since.

Wade on Thursday said the league was in discussions with three separate groups to bring NBL basketball back to Brisbane after seven seasons in the wilderness.

But he said it would have to be done right, or not at all.

"Basically it's a soft close within the next month is the way we're looking at it," Wade said.

"We've got a little bit more time after that to do a hard close on it.

"But certainly if there's not something that looks really solid within the month, it's just going to have to be delayed until the following season."

Wade said he wouldn't give a definitive promise regarding Brisbane or provide regular updates on the bidding process because he didn't want to give false hope.

"It would just fuel the rumour mill and make us look silly when something that we thought was pretty likely to happen, didn't happen," he said.

Wade said a key sticking point was the venue.

Brisbane's Auchenflower Stadium, where amateur leagues play, has been suggested, but Wade labelled it a "serviceable, but not ideal" option. AAP