Portland NBDL Team "Imminent"
by Jeff Clark on Feb 24, 2009 11:42 AM EST
in Rumors
26 comments
The CMSB has learned from 2 Sources within the City of Portland that an announcement of a deal to bring a Boston Celtics affiliated National Basketball Development League Team to Portland is imminent.
Rumors have bounced around for months that a group headed by Former Celtics exec John Jennings and Oxford Plains Speedway owner Bill Ryan Jr have made lease deals for the Portland Expo and have been working behind the scenes securing affiliation with the NBDL.
Bill Ryan Jr confirmed in an email this morning that there is a press conference scheduled on the matter tomorrow, but could not provide any further details.
0 recs |
26 comments
|
Email
Print
Comments
this excites me very much, i’ve had enough of watching our rookies online while they play in Utah.
by xmuscular ghandix on Feb 24, 2009 11:53 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Dumb idea.
The closest team to them is in Ohio and the next closest is in Iowa. Almost all the teams are west of tHE Mississippi River. There is no way in hell that a team in Portland, Maine is going to be able to generate enough revenue to be able to pay for the costs affiliated with flying all over the country. NO WAY.
The team will lose huge gobs of cash and be gone in two years. Mark my words.
by nickagneta on Feb 24, 2009 12:04 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
So marked. I’ll put them in your permanent Celticsblog record.
When Perk was asked what he thought of Howard winning the gold medal this summer, he responded: "What’s his impression of me after I won a ring?"
by Green17 on Feb 24, 2009 12:06 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
it may lose huge gobs of cash
but that doesn’t mean it will be gone in two years – look at the WNBA
if Stern wants it to survive, it will survive
"Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy. Both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me." Michael Scott
by Jeff Clark on Feb 24, 2009 1:21 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Now that's the million dollar question right there.
Jeff hit in right on the head. Does Stern want or even need the NBADL to survive. He obviously does with the WNBA as he subsidizes and markets that league in an extraordinary manner. But he may be doing so to placate the female fan base. What fan base is he placating if he subsidizes the NBADL?
He already has a minor league system that makes huge money. It’s called the NCAA and it has been a great developmental ground for future NBA superstars for decades. I can’t name one NBA superstar that was developed in the NBADL. It is a gimmick league and develops no one. It is a league of marginal talent for basketball junkies in areas where the NBA won’t thrive. I don’t see where Stern has any need to invest money in this league.
by nickagneta on Feb 24, 2009 2:05 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
that's because
the D-League isn’t a true minor league until each team has an affiliate
used properly, I think Stern could find a lot of use for it
say the C’s have control of a whole team, you can run your systems and store guys down there that you might want to take a flyer on but don’t have the time to work in yet or don’t have the roster space for yet
"Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy. Both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me." Michael Scott
by Jeff Clark on Feb 24, 2009 2:21 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
True
But my guess is that if Stern wants to invest cash into something it would be to have teams in London, Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, Berlin, Frankfurt, San Juan, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Rio, Brasilia, and Tokyo before he’d rather invest a penny in the NBADL.
by nickagneta on Feb 24, 2009 2:38 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
wait...
I think the idea is for other Atlantic Division (NY, TOR, PHI, etc) teams to form teams in the area.
by Gainesville Celtic on Feb 24, 2009 12:21 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Who knew?
that there was a Central Maine Sports Blog?!? Good work!
by Gainesville Celtic on Feb 24, 2009 12:21 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Woohoooo!
As a Mainer I’ve gotta say that this news excites me more than the Mikki Moore signing! Even though I live about 4 hours away from Portland, I’ll still find the time to go down and see a D-league game. Awesome news for the Celtics organization and the great state of Maine!
"If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you..." (R. Kipling)
by WW1MR on Feb 24, 2009 12:26 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Yes Virginia...There is a Central Maine Sports Blog
Yeah yeah..get those jokes out of your system…
nickagneta, i’m guessing you don’t know who Jon Jennings and Bill Ryan Jr and Sr. are? Or Barry Hobbins….go do a little research and then let me know your opinion of the money that may or may not be available to that group..
by JeffCMSB on Feb 24, 2009 12:29 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
So what you are saying...
is that extremely smart businessmen with gobs of cash will run a team out of Portland for a long period of time even if it is hemmorhraging cash left and right? Rich people didn;t get rich by sinking money into unprofitable ventures long term. They’ll have a three year window to write off those initial losses before they HAVE to start making money. My guess is that two years is all they will give it.
If the D-League sets up teams up and down the east coast, then it may work. But if they do not, it will fail miserably. In case all you people haven’t noticed, there’s this thing called a recession happening, maybe even a depression. And Maine isn’t exactly a bastion of high income families that can afford recreational dollars being spent out of ever shrinking budgets. Maine has the 43rd highest per capita income per state and those figures are from 2006. I wonder what the numbers are today in a depressed economy.
I know Maine’s unemployment has skyrocketed over the last year as has most of the nation’s but let’s be reasonable about this, Maine doesn’t have the economy to stave off a major recession or depression. It does not have a thriving metropolitan area that can keep a team that needs great revenues to stay profitable. I would like to know just how profitable AA baseball is going to be this summer in Portland or AHL hockey for that matter. Neither have had to operate a full year in this economy yet. I think the Portland Pirates is averaging about 4000 people per game. Not exactly great numbers.
Another minor league team in Portland may just oversaturate the market and dilute the sports entertainment dollar there causing major financial problems for all the teams in Portland. I just don’t care how much money is behind the intiation of the franchise. If the numbers after a couple of years are showing no growth, those very smart men will pull the plug very, very fast.
by nickagneta on Feb 24, 2009 12:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
4000 might not sound like a great number, but when the place only sits a little over 5000 it’s really not that bad. And unless your from the area which you might be you wouldnt know that the attendance has actually picked up as of late where as it started off slow. And I will tell you this the Sea Dogs will not be hurt from the economy. The ticket prices are very reasonable with the most expensive being that of $9.00. I work at both places and know the information in and out. I have talked to the ticket sales manager and group sale managers at the Sea Dogs and they have yet to see a decline in tickets in fact they are ahead of where they were last year.
by celtsfan349 on Feb 24, 2009 1:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
EXACTLY
Now the Pirates don’t draw anywhere near 4000 a night, but they don’t need to. All of these teams have a base attendance needed to break even, and I am fairly certain those numbers will be met. Like Celts Fan said, I go to a ton of Sea Dogs games because I can get a GA tix for 4 bucks..if the price structure is similar to the Dogs..plenty will come out to see this team.
by JeffCMSB on Feb 24, 2009 1:34 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Barry is involved in this?
I guess I’ll have to read the link. I know Barry well.
All the negativity in this town sucks. It sucks, and it stinks, and it sucks. - Rick Pitino
by Roy_Hobbs on Feb 24, 2009 2:36 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Not a dumb idea...
People said a AA baseball team would never work in Portland, people said an AHL team would never work in Portland, but both have succeeded expectations in all aspects. Sure the Portland Sea Dogs have the advantage of being affiliated with the Red Sox, but this d-league team will have the advantage of being affiliated with the Celtics. I do know Bill Ryan Jr and he has said on several occasions on the local sports radio (WJAB) that the plan by the d-leauge and NBA is to have teams throughout the east coast. NH, CT, NY, NJ, PA are places they have mentioned. Also nickgneta Bill Ryan Sr is a very very wealthy man who is also behind this project, he’s like the ceo of TD Banknorth or something along those lines. If you’ve never been to Maine you wouldn’t know that theres not a whole heck of a lot to do up here thats why the minor league teams flourish up here.
by celtsfan349 on Feb 24, 2009 12:35 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I'm happy for Portland and our prospects...
…but also concerned about the viability of the team in that location. As others have mentioned this has to be part of a bigger plan to locate several teams in the northeast. Unless those other teams come I don’t think it will work out.
Even if they do, it seems like it could be a struggle. Is the D-League making money? Is it successful? I don’t know why we haven’t heard about where and when those teams will go. Hartford? Providence? Buffalo? Those cities aren’t exactly close to Portland.
The D-league would have to be doing great to expand by 5 teams over a year or 2. Especially given that so many NBA teams seem to be struggling and hoping to move themselves.
Anyway, color me hopeful, but skeptical.
by mattyweb on Feb 24, 2009 12:57 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Yes! Yes! Yes!
or should I say…
Ayuh! Ayuh! Ayuh!
Hopefully they do better than the minor league team that was here back in the late 90s…
by vwoodruff on Feb 24, 2009 2:17 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Aww
I still was kind of hoping that the Celtics’ NBDL affiliate would be situated in Worcester … oh well.
by Alessandro on Feb 24, 2009 3:25 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Just to update..
There is a team in Erie, PA, and there will also be a team in Springfield Massachusetts that will be announced in the next month or so, so it’s not quite in the middle of nowhere. I did a post on this sometime last week.
Ridiculous? I think Not.
Upside? Plenty.
RidiculousUpside
by Scott Schroeder on Feb 24, 2009 3:34 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I will drive up to see a few games. Portland is a great town.
by Brickowski on Feb 24, 2009 3:45 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
saweeeeeeet!
i’m gonna be get me some season tixs as soon as i can.
and yes brick, portland is a great town.
by arctic 3.0 on Feb 24, 2009 4:20 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I need to move back to Maine soon...
… if only the economy would straighten out, so I can finalize a job up there. :-P
All the negativity in this town sucks. It sucks, and it stinks, and it sucks. - Rick Pitino
by Roy_Hobbs on Feb 24, 2009 5:43 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
hmmmmm
Well I was at the launch and the celtics staff that were there seemed pretty excited about it, as well as former celtic great Casey Jones. I am pretty sure also that the plan is to expand the D league, especially to the east coast. I feel like the D league could be a great minor league system. however, It will not function correctly until all teams have an individual affiliate.
by portland dleague on Mar 11, 2009 10:41 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Ex Deering High Player in the D-League?
Jamal Katerina, ex Deering High School star, who was a member of the team when the were oh so close to winning the state championship game against Bangor, has been playing European ball and refining his skills. The city of Portland may see him play again as in a recent interview, now on youtube.com, he talks about trying out for the new D-League team.
by BballinMaine on Mar 19, 2009 8:19 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on CelticsBlog
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2009 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
