Open Air in Perth to Stay?

The Perth Wildcats hosted their first ever open-air game at RAC Arena on Saturday night and, by all accounts, it was a raging success.

It was so successful in fact that Wildcats Business Operations Manager Sam Fotu has made it clear Perth would like to see more of them in the future.

The open-air game had a sell-out crowd of 13,087 as the Wildcats gained a 112-97 win over the Adelaide 36ers. The atmosphere prompted Fotu to ensure multiple Perth open-air games will be in the talks for future seasons.

“One hundred per cent we would love to do more of that,” Fotu told The West Australian.

“It’s perfect for us. The two factors for us are the heat and the wind. Now that we have a better understanding of how much we can open the roof, it can only build. Multiple games is where we want to be. Our fans and members have spoken.

“Larry (Kestelman) was hugely impressed. He’s always known the support that the Cats have had. This roof is bigger than Melbourne’s. For him to see that and see the passion in real life and for our team to perform like that, we have proven again that we are the benchmark of the league.”

The 15-point win brought Perth’s record to 12-10, sitting at fifth on the ladder.

Top scorer Brady Manek put down 23 points on Saturday night with 10 rebounds and two assists. Manek spoke positively on their first open-air game.

“It was awesome, we came out and we played hard. The crowd was awesome, they were going bananas,” Manek said.

“It was great, it was a lot of fun, we enjoyed it.

“It brought a good crowd.

“It was a new experience for everybody and it was really cool to be a part of.”

The Wildcats play the top of the ladder Sydney Kings on Friday at 9:30pm AEDT.