NBL announces changes to 2020-21 schedule

The NBL has today announced a revised schedule for the first two rounds of the 2020-21 Hungry Jack’s NBL Season which is set to tip off on January 15.

The revised fixture for the remaining three rounds leading into the Melbourne NBL Hub will continue to be released in the coming weeks; this allows for a level of flexibility as border restrictions and interstate travel continues to evolve.

The Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings originally had their first home game scheduled during the first two rounds, however following today’s announcement the Club’s home opener on January 24 will now be postponed to a later date. The team will now open its first two rounds on the road against the Brisbane Bullets and Cairns Taipans.

View the first two rounds of Sydney Kings games here.

The Club can also confirm that Kings home games originally scheduled for January 30, February 6 and February 13 will also be postponed to a later date due to the current border restrictions imposed on interstate travel from NSW.

Pending these restrictions easing, the NBL and Kings will work towards a home opener being played at Qudos Bank Arena prior to the NBL Cup commencing in February. Kings fans can be comforted knowing that it is still intended the Club will play 14 home games in Sydney.

NBL Commissioner Jeremy Loeliger said: “We always knew we would have to respond to the challenges of COVID-19 and the travel restrictions that would be imposed by our various State Governments from time to time. This is why we proceeded on the basis of a rolling schedule, which will hopefully minimise the inconvenience for our teams and our fans.

“The changes we have made to the schedule ensure the season can get underway in a timely manner and that we can still play enough games prior to the beginning of the NBL Hub in Victoria and be confident of still being able to complete the season in June.

“We will wait and see how things progress around the country over the coming weeks before we finalise the schedule for the following three rounds leading into the NBL Cup.

“We will continue to work closely with the clubs and be guided by the advice of the relevant health authorities and the safety of our players, staff, officials and the fans will be our number one priority.”

Today’s announcement is still a positive one for Sydney fans and members, as the league continues to work with State Governments and health authorities to ensure all Clubs maximise their opportunity to host 14 home games for the upcoming NBL21 season.

“As we have seen in recent weeks, the current climate continues to change and present challenges – whilst we understand it is a disappointing delay to our home tip-off, this reschedule allows us to remain flexible in our decision making as we still fully expect to play 14 home games here in Sydney. Our priority has always been to have as many Kings fans as possible attending our games this season and delaying our home games back ensures that” Kings CEO Chris Pongrass said.

“From a team perspective, we have been on the road since Boxing Day and the group are well adjusted to spending time together in unfamiliar environments. They are a resilient group that have become efficient at adapting to our ever-changing schedule. Our guys are ready to come out firing these opening rounds – we are excited to start playing.”

“Ultimately Sydney is our home, and the time spent away has made the team hungrier for the season to begin and to be back playing in front of our loyal fans and members at Qudos Bank Arena” Pongrass shared.

As has been previously communicated, due to NSW Health regulations, crowd limits, adjusted seating plans, and conditions of entry will be in place to ensure social distancing and COVID safe protocols are adhered to once home games are underway at Qudos Bank Arena. These changes and details will be communicated closer to our first home game as we await further changes.

Crowd restrictions are continually changing, and while we will continue to adapt and remain flexible, it’s important to remind all fans that becoming a Kings member is the only way to guarantee access to the best tickets, particularly early on in the season. 

“In the event of limited crowd capacity, our members and partners will receive priority access to games with full season members having first priority followed by partial [7 and 3-game] members” Pongrass confirmed.

“Our members and corporates are the lifeblood of our Club and we would not have achieved the success and growth that we have in recent years without their support.”

If you’ve been considering becoming a member, the good news is that membership prices have also been slashed from last season. Kings members also enjoy savings of up to 68% on tickets per game plus loads of other exclusive benefits. You can check out our membership prices, here.

The Kings have already surpassed last season’s total full season members which is a testament to the loyalty and support we receive from Sydney fans. Don’t forget, memberships are fully transferrable if you are unable to attend every game, otherwise we also have part-season packages available.

Full season and part-season memberships (7-game and 3-game) can be purchased here.

With the first part of our draw now released, our membership team has also begun working with the other clubs to secure an allocation of seats at away games. Once this is confirmed, we will be able to go on-sale with Interstate Membership options for our non-Sydney based fans.

Tickets are not yet on sale for Kings home games and will be released once the home-draw has been announced by the NBL.