HAWKS LOOKING FOR NEW MAJOR SPONSOR

The Hawks basketball team is faced with the prospects of starting its New Zealand NBL season without a naming rights sponsor following the decision by HBS Bank to not renew its three-year contract.

The New Zealand NBL League starts in April and Hawks general manager Tanya Dearns needs to quickly find a replacement and the potential loss in revenue of between $50,000 and $80,000.

Dearns said there is no risk of the Hawks not competing in the NZNBL this season, but the void of a naming right sponsor will put considerable pressure on the organisation.

“HBS was at the end of its current sponsorship contract but we had hoped they would continue based on the performance of the team over the three years.

“We have appreciated the support by HBS Bank locally but the decision was made by its national office.

“We’re at a crucial stage in the lead up to the season, signing new players and re-signing existing players, along with the production of playing and training uniforms, so we need to find another company to step up pretty quickly,” Dearns says.

HBS will continue to be a sponsor but on a lower level.

The Tab Baldwin coached side just missed the top four playoffs last season but off season player recruitment is well underway with some “very exciting” announcements on the horizon.

“We’ve got some high profile top players that are very interested in playing for the Hawks, so Tab and his coaching team is very excited about a strong season.

Dearns says there has also been good interest from potential new sponsors but not at the naming rights level.

“We’ve had some great success signing up some new sponsors, who want to be part of the Hawks team and we will be in a position to announce them shortly too.