Cheshire Phoenix chairman Andrew Donaldson believes that success this season is the only option ahead of the club’s move to Cheshire Oaks next season.
The Nix begin their tilt at BBL glory this Sunday when they take on the Leicester Riders at the Northgate Arena (5.30pm) in what will be their final season at the Northgate Arena before they move to a new 1,400 capacity arena on the outskirts of Ellesmere Port.
The club have invested significantly during the close season, hiring vastly experienced New Yorker John Coffino as head coach and adding a number of former NBA D-League players to their roster.
But with influx of new talent has come more pressure to deliver, with Donaldson, founder of Chester-based storage fiirm BiG Storage, knowing the importance of bringing a successful team to their new home in 2015.
“It’s like a bet at the horse races,” said Donaldson, who spearheaded the group that saved the club from extinction as the Cheshire Jets two years ago.
“We have reduced our odds to the lowest we can get them in order to achieve success, but we have had to invest to do that.
“If we perform poorly as a team and nobody comes to watch then the club will lose money, and that will fall on my broad shoulders.
“But it’s a case of ‘no pain, no gain’ and we have to take calculated risks in order to achieve the success that we want.”
Head coach Coffino arrives at the Nix boasting an impressive CV including a successful career coaching college basketball in the USA as well as a stint in the NBA D-League, with his post being funded by Donaldson’s BiG Storage business.
Donaldson said: “We (the Phoenix) are a community interest company, meaning we have no directors looking for a remuneration package, which is a bonus.
“But on the flip side that means that this club couldn’t afford Coach Coffino. He is an illustrious, experienced coach in the NBA D-League. The guy is awesome, which is why we are funding the post through BiG Storage.
"MBNA sponsored the community role for Jon McCarthy at Chester FC and that is what BiG Storage are doing at the Phoenix, we are sponsoring the role for Coach Coffino. We've also employed John Lavery as our head of community through a similar model. That gives us 100/120 hours a week on top of directors time so that we can make good investment in terms of energy and investment of time.
“We want a good season as we are moving to a new arena. If we are rubbish it won't matter how hard we work in the community, people won't come to watch. But if we go there with a winning structure, a winning team and a piece of silverware it would be fantastic. If we are winning then people will keep coming back.
“We will become a team of two towns and one local authority in a new arena in a destination location. You couldn’t design a better business plan.”
With the Nix, who moved to the Northgate Arena from Ellesmere Port back in 1993, celebrating their 21st and final season at the venue, Donaldson wants the club to go out on a high and bring back the glory days at the Arena one last time.
When they were known as the Chester Jets, the club enjoyed the most successful period in their history during the 2001/2002 season, where they claimed the BBL title, BBL Trophy and BBL Cup to make it a clean sweep of silverware, a season that became known as the 'Jetwash'.
"If we are good then all those people who have been to watch the Jets that were over the past 21 years, now is their time to come back for one final season," said Donaldson.
"Wouldn't it be good to have those glory days back, when they were queueing up the dual carriageway, they were sitting in the aisles, and that was all when they were good and they were going to win something. That's my ambition for this season. Lets bring back the glory days.
"There is a direct correlation between how good you are and how many people come and watch you. It is a financial gamble this year. There has been investment to get not just a good coach but a great coach. If you are rubbish, why would you want to pay money and come and watch. We need to deliver success as people want to see winners."
Donaldson and an army of club volunteers, including his devoted wife Debbie, have worked tirelessly since saving the club under its previous guise as Cheshire Jets, back in 2012. But Donaldson admits the challenge of running the not-for-profit community interest club has been a tough one, with the club having to build a brand from scratch.
"I think we are engaging with new fans but, obviously, the Jets were a household name in Chester which was tarnished for various reasons over a number of years," said Donaldson.
"Renaming it was the right thing to do but it was also a very painful thing to do as we have had to build a brand from scratch. It doesn't happen overnight but there are still so many people who don't know who the Phoenix are, we are, in effect, the Jets."
Having enjoyed a long and successful career in business, Donaldson admits that life as a chairman of a professional sports club is uniquely challenging.
“The past two years, the Phoenix has taken me to depths of despair and back a number of times,” he said. “It’s the toughest job ever. Compared to running my own businesses, they are a walk in the park.
"You can do all the usual things you do in business but your success is determined by people who are out of your control. It's one of the toughest things going.
"I can understand why these super-rich chairman take over these Premier League clubs. Sometimes when you are successful in business you can get a bit bored and it's not enough of a challenge. I think that's why the Premiership in football is run by these mega-rich, successful individuals. I'm just the same but my decimal point is moved along the line.
"That's why I got involved, that's why I stepped up. I did have some boredom in business. I've been in the storage industry since I left school and it's not that exciting, trust me. Basketball is far more exciting.
Donaldson and wife Debbie have worked side by side with volunteers to help the club progress from near extinction to being considered challengers for silverware in the short space of two years, but spoke of the challenges that their mutual love for the club has brought.
He said: "Our kids are teenagers and they are older now so we have some more time but it has impacted massively on our lives, both good and bad.
"It has given us a mutual interest, a hobby and a passion that we both believe in that money can't buy, which has been fantastic. On the other side of the fence, Debbie has seen the impact it has had when they club has not been performing and I've been unhappy. It's thanks to her I'm still here as she's the one who has picked me up and we have come out the other side together.
"It makes the challenge more rewarding. If it was easy then everyone would be doing it. It wouldn’t be half as rewarding if it wasn’t for all the hard work.
"The same can be said if we weren't a community interest club and I pumped all my money in to it and bought success, that wouldn't be very rewarding for me as the harder you work the luckier you get. And the luckier you get the more you enjoy it."
Donaldson expressed his hope that the club could be passed over to the community to take full control in the not too distant future and had set himself and the club the target of achieving silverware before his time as chairman comes to an end.
"Look, we're in it to win it. I'm not a good loser and I don't like second place," said Donaldson, who only attended his first basketball game back in 2008 when BiG Storage became the main sponsor of the Jets.
"When we took over we basically fire-fought for half a season and last season was our first full season as the Phoenix. I said to the volunteers last season that I would give two years of my life to the club as chairman and if I wasn't successful at the end of that period then I would step aside and let someone else have a go. I won't be happy with second place.
"But we are moving towards a good place now and we would hope to have built strong foundations for the community to take control of the club in the near future.”
