The Otago Nuggets might be back in the National Basketball League by the end of the week.
The Nuggets have expressed interest in rejoining the league and are waiting anxiously to hear how the bid has been received.
NBL chairman Sam Rossiter-Stead was keeping tight-lipped yesterday, but confirmed a decision would be made by the end of the week.
"We are just going through due diligence at the moment . . . all will become clear soon," he said.
The Otago Daily Times understands there have been more than 10 expressions of interest for a maximum of 10 places in the 2010 NBL.
Basketball Otago chief executive Mark Rogers remained hopeful the Nuggets' bid would be looked on favourably.
"We're obviously very hopeful of getting back in," Rogers said.
"But it comes down to whether they see us as a viable team and whether or not we can meet all the criteria they set.
"The feedback we got was they were pretty happy with what we had submitted.
"So we'll have to wait and see."
Late last year, Basketball Otago decided against entering a team in the 2009 competition, citing a lack of financial support.
It had been injecting up to $100,000 each year to keep the franchise afloat and was no longer prepared to sustain that level of investment.
Stunned into action, the local basketball community rallied around the beleaguered team, but the battle was lost in December.
The Nuggets had been in the NBL since 1990 and enjoyed bumper crowds during the halcyon days in the mid-1990s.
If the Nuggets return, finding the finances to keep the franchise operating will be a huge undertaking.
In May, Basketball Otago applied for a civic grant to help the Nuggets re-enter the league and its proposal included a draft budget which forecast a loss of $56,050.
According to the document, total expenses would run to just under $500,000.
Budgeted income is set at $441,000, with $245,500 coming from donations and grants and $150,000 from corporate boxes and sponsorship.
"The Nuggets were the flagship for many years . . . and there is still a huge demand for basketball in Otago and around New Zealand," Rogers said.
"If you look at the secondary school figures, we are still one of the few major sports that's growing."
Rogers is confident Otago can field a competitive team despite being out of the league for a year.
The Nuggets won just nine of their 72 games from 2005-08 before dropping out.
