Dribble Podcast: Perth Wildcats owner Mark Arena issues fan brand survey to decide NBL club’s future direction

Perth Wildcats owner Mark Arena is throwing the club’s brand over to the Red Army, giving them the opportunity to make key decisions on the team’s future.

Arena became the majority owner of the Wildcats last month and has quickly moved to include the fans in his long-term planning.

He has released a fan survey asking for feedback and suggestions on topics such as the club’s logo, including the colours and mascot, which aspects of the club’s identity should be retained and how fans perceive the team’s on-court style.

Arena told The West Australian’s The Dribble Podcast that is important for the fans to have input into how the club moves forward.

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“Making sure our members are involved in it is super important,” he said.

“They’ll be sent something that will allow them to put in their feedback and input. We’ll capture that and that will help drive what the re-brand looks like.

“It won’t be done for this season. I think we’ve got to go with open eyes and say everything is on the table to change. We need to roll with the changes and the adjusting reality. I think a re-brand is a good thing to seriously look at. We are looking to do that.”

Arena is open to making changes to the club’s uniform but is wary of detracting from the tradition, power and brand of The Red Army.

He is also keen to tinker with the game-night experience despite the backlash Sports Entertainment Group received when it made significant changes in 2022.

Arena has a 52.5 per cent stake in the club which will increase to 90 per cent in 2026 and he could be the outright owner by 2028. He said keeping long term fans happy while attracting younger people was a delicate balance.

“We’ve got a formula that works. I’ve been to games and its extremely entertaining,” he said.

“I think maybe over the next couple of years we need to start to adjust to make it more focused for younger audience. I know there’s the Wolfmother song (Joker And The Thief) that goes on and I know Hutchy tried to kill or SEN tried to get rid of it and it took a lot of heat.

“We need to understand that song was out in 2006. Some fans that are attending weren’t born then. I get that song is popular for a lot of members. We don’t need a revolution. We need an evolution.

“Maybe that song doesn’t need to be played every game. Maybe we can alternate with something that’s a bit newer that the younger fans would gravitate towards. We need to understand we need flexibility. The product should adjust as our fanbase and members adjust.”