Opinion: How Rotorua's Steven Adams is influencing Tauranga's basketball players

The popularity of Rotorua's Steven Adams has been linked to a surge in demand to play basketball. Photo/File

When things are going right, its no surprise people want to get a taste of the success.

Basketball seems to be one of those things.

According to the New Zealand Secondary Schools Sports Council's 2017 census, no other sport has had the growth in the region's schools over the last five years, increasing by 78 per cent in the last five years.

There are many reasons said to be behind the rise in the number of players wanting to shoot hoops, factors involved include the comprehensive coverage of US-based basketball on TV, the popularity and achievements of Rotorua's Steven Adams as well as the NZ Breakers' success.

There is no doubt basketball is a great sport. I remember being obsessed with it as an intermediate-aged child and rekindling my appreciation for it about three years ago while living in Western Australia, where it's well celebrated and well-watched. Though I played there I definitely did a better job at watching.

It has become so popular in the Bay of Plenty that Tauranga City Basketball general manager Mark Rogers says they are having to turn people away from the sport.

This is sad news - having to turn anyone away from any sport, no matter what it is, is sad news. If a sport is seeing massive growth we should be embracing it and helping those getting involved supporting those who are running these sports as much as we can.

We can't cater to the demand because the demand has outstripped the facilities available in the Western Bay of Plenty.

Though gaining new facilities will not be a quick fix, Bay Venues chief executive officer Gary Dawson says a feasibility study for a new events centre at ASB Baypark should be completed by the end of March.

This is exciting. This could alleviate the shortage of facilities and allow the sport to grow.

Let's hope basketball is able to continue to thrive in the Bay ... Who knows we may have plenty more future Steven Adamses coming from our region!

Kristin Macfarlane is the deputy head of news for the Bay of Plenty Times.