THE NBL has 3426 reasons to grant the Cairns Taipans entry into next season's competition.

The Taipans need to raise another $400,000 to meet financial targets, and currently sit second-last on the NBL ladder, but fans have not given up on their only national sporting team.

Pictures: Cairns Taipans 2009-10

The Taipans’ home crowd average this season of 3426 is the fourth best in the league, behind only Adelaide (5106), Perth (4047) and Townsville (3932). The home crowd average is almost 1000 more than New Zealand (2436) and more than 500 above traditional powerhouse Melbourne (2912).

The NBL is due to announce the make-up of the league on Tuesday, with the Taipans arguing the club’s strong support and community engagement should be taken into account.

The Taipans traditionally draw bigger crowds in the second half of the season, and that has been true this season.

Last Wednesday’s home crowd of 3163 against Perth was well above a Wednesday match against Gold Coast in October, when only 2575 fans attended.

Taipans general manager Mark Beecroft said he expected crowd numbers to continue to increase next season.

"In terms of where we’re placed I think certainly in the economic climate in Cairns we’re just under 2.5 per cent down (on average crowds) on the same time last year," he said.

"We’re pushing that 3500 average and we think that puts weight to our argument for inclusion next year.

"If you have a look at Melbourne, their average is at 2900 in a capital city so I think we’re head and shoulders above that and that’s obviously with a smaller pool of people to draw
on."

Fellow community-owned club Wollongong has performed strongly on the court this season but still can’t draw the same crowds as Cairns, averaging 3383 so far.

Beecroft said the crowd figures proved the club’s community focus was paying off.

"It’s certainly been our focus, re-engaging the players and getting out in the community.

"They’ve done a terrific job with their school program, shopping centres, and I think certainly in the post-Christmas our attendances have grown.

"At the end of the day we need that financial support, but obviously since New Year the people are voting with their attendance and we’re hoping, given more time, we can continue to grow that base number of people coming to games.’’

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