There were worried faces at the Cannons press conference, the future of the club in serious doubt.

Cannons Future in Doubt

Posted: Fri Oct 2, 1998 at 10:32 AM ET

The future of foundation club, the Canberra Cannons is in serious doubt after the announcment by Cannons' chairman Col Alexander that the club had been placed in the hands of an administrator, KPMG partner Tony McGrath. It was an emotional Col Alexander that addressed the Canberra media and he directed his attack directly at the National Basketball league. "We have been in the league for 20 years since its inception. Never have we applied to the league for assistance like many clubs have," Alexander said. "We are dealing here with people's lives and we have many loyal staff and players, some like Herb McEachin who have been with the club for over 20 years. "I believe, with the league's assistance we could get through." Alexander acknowledged the fact that the Cannons had struggled financially over the past few years, "However, it has now finally caught up to us," he said.

The Cannons had originally expected an interim rescue package by the NBL, but it was withdrawn in a meeting with the Cannons last Wednesday. Rymarz admitted the NBL had withdrawn the offer but he defended the NBL's actions, stating that there was a difference in opinion in the mater of money managment and distribution. The Cannons apparantly presenting a radically different plan to that adopted by the league. "Some franchises do well and others don't, for whatever reasons," NBL chief executive John Rymarz said. "The majority (of working capital) is sponsorship, obviously - sponsorship and bums on seats. They were asking for a significantly greater level of funding without a business plan in place," he said. "The board didn't have the confidence to extend further funding on the information that was given."