THE area's chronic lack of an indoor arena leaves Solent Stars with no immediate hopes of joining basketball's Budweiser League.

With a meagre crowd capacity of just 740 at their Fleming Park base, the National League Division 1 champions simply do not have the facilities and finances to cut it among England's elite.

Stars have been linked with the proposed Eastleigh Conference and Exhibition Centre in nearby Chestnut Avenue which would provide seating for over 2,500 spectators plus the required accommodation for television cameras.

But that project is now unlikely to take shape before the new millennium and there is no other suitable venue available.

Money, too, poses a stumbling block. Promotion to the Budweiser ranks is not automatic and, to warrant an invitation, Stars would need to put up around £150,000 to show they can survive - plus fund the foreign imports needed to compete at the top level.

Although ambition is high Stars' agenda, chairman Bob Paulley believes they must look before they leap. "I'd prefer to stay where we are for the time being rather than go into the Budweiser League without being bullet-proof," he said.

"I'm not saying 'no way' to promotion. I've had several meetings with Budweiser officials to find out what's involved and if someone were to come forward with suitable facilities for us I wouldn't slam the door in their face.

"But it would be foolish to go up unprepared and run the risk of going bust. Solent Stars must be financially secure before they can go forward and we're trying to build the club up in a professional way behind the scenes to get ready for that."

The consolation for the fans is that Stars' status as National League champions ensures there will be plenty of Budweiser opposition on offer at Eastleigh next season.

Stars have been invited into the Uniball Trophy which pits them in a qualifying group with Budweiser trio Derby Storm, Birmingham Bullets and Greater London Leopards, playing on a home and away basis, and they have also drawn the London Leopards at home in the National Cup on October 2.

Uniball Trophy dates - Birmingham Bullets (October 16, away), Greater London Leopards (October 30, home), Derby Storm (October 31, away), Derby Storm (November 6, home), Birmingham Bullets (November 13, home), Greater London Leopards (November 14, away).

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