We’ve Seen the Jack Jumpers Effect — So Will There Be a Devil-Led Boom?

Article text by Professor Tim Harcourt

The Tasmania-based basketball franchise, the Tasmania JackJumpers, have just undergone a change of ownership, from founder Larry Kestelman to new owners Altor Capital

(Read more here).

Kestelman will keep his ownership of the National Basketball League itself but will remain with the JackJumpers for 2 years as part of the transition to new owners by 2027.

A Championship-Winning Start

The Jack Jumpers have only been in existence since 2021 but have been amazingly successful on the court, making the finals in their first year and actually winning the NBL championship in just their third season.

The JackJumpers have also been winners off the court too.

The JackJumpers Effect

When I interviewed the JackJumpers CEO Christine Finnegan for my new show Footynomics: The Business of Sport, on Ticker News and The Airport Economist channel

(Watch here), I asked if there was a ‘JackJumper effect’ on the Tasmanian economy and society as whole.

She explained its effect in a number of ways:

“We measured the economic and social impact that the Jack Jumpers have had on the state, and there’s certainly a three to one return almost for the state in terms of their investment in this club.

So, it’s not just, it should never ever, a sporting club should never ever just be measured through economic benefit, although that is clearly an upside, but there’s certainly that mental and that hearts and minds benefit that we’ve been able to really tap into.”

A Slogan That United the State

Christine noted the slogan ‘Defend the Island’ summed up the whole ethos when the team won the national championship in only their third season:

“I can honestly say when we won the championship, I walked the streets of Hobart, and I just walked past so many shops that had ‘Defend the Island’ in the window, and that’s everywhere from your mum and dad business to Myer, and everyone had it in the window, and there was an element of me that just felt this great sense of pride that we’ve been able to create something that all our businesses, regardless of whether they were involved with the club or not, that didn’t matter, that they’d all got onboard, and they really had wanted to defend the island with us, and it was a wonderful sense of achievement, I must say.”

A Coach Who Hits the Road

She believes the success on the court was in part due to the team’s American-born coach Scott Roth, who has embraced the island state to his heart and is clearly very popular all over Tasmania:

“I always think in terms of sport and sporting clubs, if they can’t come to you, then you must go to them, and I must say our head coach, leads that charge, as soon as our season’s finished, he’s in his car for six weeks, and he goes around and speaks at school assemblies and community events, and he does that off his own bat, but it’s really important that the state feel part of this.”

What Does This Mean for the Tasmania Devils?

With the Tasmania Devils Football Club entering the Australian Football League (AFL) in 2028, could the JackJumpers be a sign of what is to come?

After all, given the traditional popularity of Aussie Rules Football in Tasmania — a foundation state — if there can be a JackJumpers effect, then surely the Devils would be a JackJumper effect on steroids, given the scale of footy compared to basketball and other sports?

Tasmania has the highest proportion of footy fans even in terms of Google searches and has the highest proportion of ‘AFL only’ fans out of all sports fans

(See this analysis).

Unity Across Sports

Christine Finnegan says that far from being competitive, the Tasmanian teams are working together as one for the good of Tasmanian sport. The JackJumpers, the Hobart Hurricanes (Tasmania’s Cricket franchise in the BBL), and the Devils are all collaborating.

One major initiative is the Tasmanian Academy of Leadership in Sport, designed to:

“Give the next generation of Tasmanians the opportunity to now work in professional sport without having to leave the island.”

(More info here)

A Launchpad for the State

The Devils are certainly hoping to emulate the JackJumpers in providing an economic launchpad for Tasmania in terms of investment, skills, and job opportunities — particularly for future generations of Tasmanians.

As Christine Finnegan says:

“AFL is the number one sport in Tasmania but there was frustration always to miss out on having a team in the AFL but with the awarding of the 19th licence all of a sudden, you see it really exploding again, so it’s wonderful to see for the people of Tasmania,… Tasmanians have been great contributors to the overall success of AFL for many, many years, and they should be rewarded with having their own team to cheer for week in and week out.”

A Calculated Risk That Paid Off

Larry Kestelman sure did take a risk to take on the JackJumpers (as well as a whole code of basketball) just five years ago.

But this reminds me that success in business — as in sport — is to some extent a function of calculated risk, and the JackJumpers are a great example of sport entrepreneurship leading to community pride in Tasmania.

The JackJumpers are a beacon of light for what the Tasmania Devils Football Club and the associated infrastructure — both physical and social — could become for the state and even the nation.

*Professor Tim Harcourt is Chief Economist for the Centre for Sport, Business and Society at University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and host of Footynomics – the Business of Sport TV series on Ticker News.

Watch Footynomics