The 42-year-old was appointed Otago coach in May on the understanding the team would be competing in the 2009 Conference Basketball League.
But the decision of Basketball New Zealand [BBNZ] to can the league on Friday has left the Otago side without a competition to play in and Arlidge's charges with little to look forward to except club basketball on Saturdays.
For Arlidge, it is a situation which is simply unacceptable.
"We don't actually have a league to play in," he acknowledged.
"When I took over the team six weeks ago, I thought that we were going to be playing second division [CBL] with the goal of going to the first division [NBL] next year.
"That's the only reason I'm doing this. The goal is to get Otago back [in the NBL], because if we don't, then you can forget it.
"Everything is a stepping stone to getting back into the national league."
Basketball Otago chief executive Mark Rogers was also disappointed with BBNZ's decision.
"We entered the CBL this year on the understanding it was going to happen.
The finals were going to be in the South Island and that's obviously not the case now.
"So we're in negotiations with some of the associations in the North Island about having an alternative structure for this year."
The Otago team will play the Southland Flyers in Invercargill this weekend but do not have any other games scheduled.
Arlidge got hooked on basketball when he was a teenager attending Logan Park High School.
He played for Otago age group teams until his early 20s before getting involved with the Magic club in a coaching role.
Next season will mark his 20th year coaching at the club.
While Arlidge was disappointed Basketball Otago decided against entering a team in the NBL this year, he was not a "rubber-necker" and was concerned only with the future.
"I don't care what has happened in the past.
"I've got a passion for Otago basketball and I absolutely agree - we need to give the players something to look forward to."
The Otago team has a good core with the likes of former Nuggets Chris Hepburn, Steve Robinson, Pete Burgess and Mitch McRae all keen to don the blue and gold singlet, and there is a trip to Melbourne in the pipeline later this year to keep them hungry.
Some outstanding prospects have emerged from the region, with the former Otago Boys High School trio of Morgan Nathan, Sam King and Tom Rowe in the Junior Tall Blacks squad which will contest the Fiba under-19 world championship.
North Otago's Riki Buckrell is also in the squad.
But without an elite basketball programme in the city, players of their calibre will have to move to find playing opportunities.
Meanwhile, the Southland Flyers, who will play in the third division, have signed former Tall Blacks Brendon Pongia and Terrence Lewis in a bid to strengthen the side's experience and boost the sport's presence.
Basketball has been in the shadows, with netball enjoying a greater profile in Invercargill.
But Flyers coach Richard Dickel hopes signing Pongia and Lewis will help generate interest in the community.
The Southland Basketball Association has expressed interest in entering a team in the National Basketball League and Dickel said it was making baby steps towards getting a Southland franchise up and running.
"We have to start taking steps to prove to people we can run a semi-professional organisation and maybe look at stepping up some time in the future."
Basketball Otago received a letter from the Dunedin City Council this week declining its application for a $50,000 grant to cover venue cost and NBL fees.
However, the council indicated it would consider subsidising venue costs if the Nuggets get back in the NBL next year.
