	{"id":101606,"date":"2025-01-13T14:22:43","date_gmt":"2025-01-13T03:22:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/?p=101606"},"modified":"2025-01-13T14:30:27","modified_gmt":"2025-01-13T03:30:27","slug":"free-entry-to-spirit-home-games-as-finals-approach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/sport\/free-entry-to-spirit-home-games-as-finals-approach\/","title":{"rendered":"Free entry to Spirit home games as finals approach"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>YOUNG basketball fans will be given free entry to Bendigo Spirit\u2019s remaining Women\u2019s National Basketball League home games this season.<\/p>\n<p>The initiative, for children aged up to 14, is part of the club\u2019s aim to support the community and families during the holiday and back-to-school periods in the face of rising cost of living pressures.<\/p>\n<p>The club is hoping to see Red Energy Arena packed with supporters as it pushes for a home court advantage in the upcoming finals.<\/p>\n<p>The Spirit\u2019s last two home games before the finals are scheduled for 24 January and 2 February, against Adelaide Lightning and Geelong United respectively.<\/p>\n<p>The free tickets program started at Wednesday\u2019s game against Perth\u2019s Lynx, which was a top-two clash.<\/p>\n<p>Spirit has already made certain of a finals spot, defeating the Sydney Flames in Mildura last weekend, but the remaining games could have an influence on where finals will be played.<\/p>\n<p>Of particular interest as the finals approach has been local favourite Kelly Wilson\u2019s move towards breaking the league\u2019s all-time assists record. Going into Wednesday\u2019s match, Wilson needed just one more assist to break Kristen Veal\u2019s record of 1617.<\/p>\n<p>Spirit general manager Dan Jackson expressed excitement about the free tickets initiative.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe understand that this time of year can be tough for many families, and we want to make it easier for our community to come out and enjoy world-class basketball,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is our way of saying thank you for your support and making sure as many kids as possible can join us at Red Energy Arena.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet\u2019s fill the stands and show our \u2018Spirit\u2019 as we aim to secure home court advantage for the finals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While the tickets are free, they must still be obtained pre-game through the <a href=\"https:\/\/premier.ticketek.com.au\/shows\/show.aspx?sh=SPIRIT25\">Ticketek website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>YOUNG basketball fans will be given free entry to Bendigo Spirit\u2019s remaining Women\u2019s National Basketball League home games this season. The initiative, for children aged up to 14, is part of the club\u2019s aim to support the community and families during the holiday and back-to-school periods in the face of rising cost of living pressures. [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/sport\/free-entry-to-spirit-home-games-as-finals-approach\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":225,"featured_media":101612,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-101606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Free entry to Spirit home games as finals approach - Bendigo Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Young fans aged up to 14 can enjoy free entry to Bendigo Spirit\u2019s final WNBL home games. Secure your free tickets now via Ticketek!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/sport\/free-entry-to-spirit-home-games-as-finals-approach\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Free entry to Spirit home games as finals approach - Bendigo Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Young fans aged up to 14 can enjoy free entry to Bendigo Spirit\u2019s final WNBL home games. Secure your free tickets now via Ticketek!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/sport\/free-entry-to-spirit-home-games-as-finals-approach\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Bendigo Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-13T03:22:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-13T03:30:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2025\/01\/Untitled-design-2025-01-13T142948.519.jpg?_t=1736739027\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Darren McLean\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Darren McLean\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/sport\\\/free-entry-to-spirit-home-games-as-finals-approach\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/sport\\\/free-entry-to-spirit-home-games-as-finals-approach\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Darren McLean\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1bcfc3c748613d0b0c79f665c5cbbd8c\"},\"headline\":\"Free entry to Spirit home games as finals approach\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-13T03:22:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-13T03:30:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/sport\\\/free-entry-to-spirit-home-games-as-finals-approach\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":308,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/sport\\\/free-entry-to-spirit-home-games-as-finals-approach\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/24\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/Untitled-design-2025-01-13T142948.519.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/sport\\\/free-entry-to-spirit-home-games-as-finals-approach\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/sport\\\/free-entry-to-spirit-home-games-as-finals-approach\\\/\",\"name\":\"Free entry to Spirit home games as finals approach - Bendigo Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/sport\\\/free-entry-to-spirit-home-games-as-finals-approach\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bendigotimes\\\/sport\\\/free-entry-to-spirit-home-games-as-finals-approach\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/24\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/Untitled-design-2025-01-13T142948.519.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-13T03:22:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-13T03:30:27+00:00\",\"description\":\"Young fans aged up to 14 can enjoy free entry to Bendigo Spirit\u2019s final WNBL home games. 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