There is competing interest from all around the country to host a new National Basketball League team, including from Canberra and the Gold Coast – not just Darwin – the league commissioner has said, adding it had been an “incredibly expensive exercise” getting some teams to Darwin for September’s Blitz pre-season tournament.

NBL commissioner Jeremy Loeliger made the comments to the NT News, saying the lack of direct flights “was a challenge” and that it was an “incredibly expensive exercise” getting the Tasmania JackJumpers and the New Zealand Breakers to Darwin for the pre-season competition.

“We had teams who had some very long flights, in and out, because of those indirect routes,” he is quoted as saying.

For a potential Darwin-based team and the Auckland-based New Zealand Breakers to play each other on their home courts, it would be close to eight hours flying time plus a three-and-a-half hour to five-and-a-half hour stop over in the likes of Brisbane or Sydney.

It was unclear if this would be a major stumbling block that might prevent Darwin from entering the league.

In October, sports news outlet ESPN reported “there’s a sense that the NBL’s preference is to introduce an expansion team in Canberra first”, but went on to say the Darwin bid’s representatives had been trying to meet every requirement the league has asked of them, “keeping them firmly in the conversation”.

“We didn’t take the preseason there by accident,” Mr Loeliger, told ESPN at the time.

“That was a litmus test to see if fans were interested, if corporate were interested, if government were interested. I think it’s safe to say there has certainly been a lot of interest post the Blitz to suggest there are more conversations to be had. The government is certainly one of the parties at the table expressing their interest.”

The NT News quoted Mr Loeliger this week saying that outside of Darwin, there were “competing interests all around the country” for a licence, including two of the favourites, in Canberra and the Gold Coast. Other cities that have been mentioned, but are considered less likely to get a team are Newcastle, Geelong, Townsville, and Fremantle and western Sydney.

“There are pretty serious discussions happening with a number of other cities,” he said.

The Darwin Salties entered the NBL1 North competition this season, a semi-professional national league conference that sits below the NBL.

In October, the NT News reported the NT Government was spending an “undisclosed sum” on a feasibility study into a NBL team in Darwin. It seems the government did not issue a public press release about this study.

“I’ve instructed (the Major Events department) to enlist a consultant to do some further feasibility work on our behalf and this should be completed as a priority,” the NT News reported Mr Kirby had said in a statement.

“That work will give us a better picture of where we stand.

“We continue to have great dialogue with the NBL about the possibility of a team in Darwin in the future.”