The Otago Nuggets have been accepted back into the National Basketball League (NBL).
Now, all they have to do is find the half a million dollars it is likely to cost them.
But even that forbidding total could not banish smiles in the South as news broke that the NBL will expand from nine teams to 11 for at least the next three years.
The Nuggets will re-enter the league after a season on the sidelines, and Southland, after a failed bid to join the league in 2002, will get its first opportunity.
Basketball Otago chief executive Mark Rogers was delighted with the news, but warned there was still plenty of work ahead.
"There is still a mountain of work to do between now and the end of the year in terms of getting the logistics sorted. We've also got a lot of people we need to talk to about getting involved and supporting the Nuggets in 2010."
Perhaps the biggest hurdle will be finding the $500,000 the franchise forecasts it will need to operate in 2010.
"One of the reasons we opted out in 2009 was because of the financial situation," Mr Rogers acknowledged.
"I'd still suggest it is a challenging time for any semi-professional sports organisation.
"But we are pretty happy with where we are at and will keep working to try and improve the situation."
The bulk ($250,000) of the funding is expected to come from donations and grants, with $150,000 from corporate boxes and sponsorship.
The Southland Basketball Association also faces the challenge of securing the funds needed to support a franchise.
In the failed 2002 bid, the Invercargill Licensing Trust agreed to a $150,000 grant but the community trust declined an application for the same amount.
