Netball Otago has quietly reduced its stake in the Steel but will continue to have a strong voice in how the franchise operates, chairwoman Adrienne Ensor says.
In mid-February, Netball Otago cut its financial share in the Steel [Southern Teamco 2008 Ltd] from 40% to 20% without so much as a whisper to the public.
Netball Southland has picked up the slack to increase its majority shareholding from 60% to 80%.
The combined Otago-Southland venture was forced on the two regions when the National Bank Cup folded to make way for the ANZ Championship in 2008.
The Otago Rebels and the Southern Sting were merged.
The region's netball associations agreed to split the ownership of the new combined team 60-40, with Netball Southland taking the lion's share.
But the partnership was always a difficult marriage. For right or for wrong, the team was perceived as a Southland side and the Steel's declining profile in Dunedin made it a hard sell for potential sponsors.
Ensor, one of two Netball Otago representatives on the Steel board, said Netball Otago could not find the commercial support to warrant a 40% share in the franchise and was forced to shed some of its financial commitment.
"That is why, as a board, we are trying to increase the presence of the Steel team up here, so we can attract more [Dunedin-based] sponsors," Ensor said.
"We weren't coming up with any big commercial sponsors who could contribute what was needed to continue with our 40% stakeholding in the partnership."
Last week, Steel chief executive Julie Paterson accepted the Steel had neglected, to an extent, its profile in Dunedin, which made tapping into the city's commercial sector difficult. For the franchise to grow, it was important the Steel estab-lished a greater presence in Dunedin, Paterson said.
Netball Otago kept its decision hush-hush because it did not want to risk alienating any Dunedin-based Steel sponsors and was mindful it might create a perception the team was basically a Southland side dressed up as a combined team.
"We were more worried that people might not understand why we did it and would see it as a negative," Ensor said.
"Basically, our shareholding has decreased but we've kept our representation on the board the same and the still have the same number of home games."
The Steel board comprises three Netball Southland representatives, two Netball Otago representatives and two independent members.
Netball Otago will continue to have a say in the running of the franchise and Ensor believes there is a new resolve from the Steel board to increase its profile in Dunedin. That could mean more home games allocated to Dunedin in the future and result in a greater player presence in the city.
