Wollongong Hawks
| Illawarra Hawks | ||||
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| Leagues | NBL | |||
| Founded | 1979 | |||
| History |
Illawarra Hawks 1979–1998, 2015–present Wollongong Hawks 1998–2015 |
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| Arena |
The Sandpit WIN Entertainment Centre |
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| Capacity | 6,000 | |||
| Location | Wollongong, New South Wales | |||
| Team colors | Red and White |
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| General manager | Kim Welch | |||
| Head coach | Rob Beveridge | |||
| Team captain | Oscar Forman | |||
| Ownership | James Spenceley | |||
| Championships | 1 (2001) | |||
| Retired numbers | 5 (4, 5, 12, 32, 33) | |||
| Website | Hawks.com.au | |||
| Uniforms | ||||
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The Illawarra Hawks are an Australian men's professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League (NBL). The team is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. They won the NBL championship in 2001 and finished as runners-up in 2005 and 2010. The team's home venue is the WIN Entertainment Centre (WEC), known as "The Sandpit" within the NBL. The Hawks are the only remaining NBL club to have competed in every season since the league's inception in 1979. The Hawks' feeder team, also known as the Illawarra Hawks, formerly competed in the Waratah League before withdrawing in 2015.
The club was originally known as the Illawarra Hawks, the name referring to the Illawarra region rather than specifically its major urban centre, Wollongong. The club changed its name to Wollongong Hawks after the 1998 season; the team also adopted a new logo and moved to the new 6,000 seats capacity WIN Entertainment Centre.
Prior to 1998 the Hawks played out of the Beaton Park Stadium, commonly known as "The Snakepit", located in Gwynneville, a suburb of Wollongong close to the city centre. The Snakepit had a reputation among players and coaches as one of the most feared venues in the league. Despite being only small (capacity 1,800), the fans were packed in close to the action making for an awesome atmosphere. The Snakepit is still in use by the Hawks as a training venue and for pre-season matches.
During the 2007–08 season, the Hawks experienced significant financial difficulty and as a result, the team was nearly forced to withdraw prior to the completion of the season. In response, a community ownership plan was developed, the Friends of the Hawks, along the lines of the Green Bay Packers of the American NFL.
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