ABARedWhiteBlue
08-19-2008, 04:23 PM
I give the Alaska group credit for enthusiasm, but a couple giant red flags are in this article:
http://newsminer.com/news/2008/aug/19/anchorage-aba-team-host-hoops-tournament-fairbanks/
Anchorage ABA team to host hoops tournament in Fairbanks
Kevin Klott/Anchorage Daily News
Published Tuesday, August 19, 2008
ANCHORAGE — The Alaska Dream, Anchorage’s new professional basketball team, needed a place to play preseason games in November around Thanksgiving.
The Sullivan Arena would have been ideal, but the biggest indoor basketball venue in town has been booked that time of year since 1984, hosting one of college basketball’s longest-running tournaments, the Great Alaska Shootout.
So Trey Davis, owner of the Dream, searched north — way north — for an alternative basketball complex.
The Carlson Center in Fairbanks will host the Dream and up to six other American Basketball Association teams for a preseason tournament, Davis announced Monday.
The tournament, scheduled for Nov. 21-23, will fill the void of the Top of the World Classic, a college basketball tournament at the Carlson Center the University of Alaska Fairbanks canceled last month.
Alaska Nanooks athletic director Forrest Karr said Monday evening from Spokane, Wash., where he was attending Great Northwest Athletic Conference meetings, that the Nanooks will more than likely host their own NCAA Division II tournament that same weekend at the Patty Center.
Karr said that an NCAA rule allows Division II schools to play up to four games per season in Alaska that don’t count against the allotted 27 games. If the Nanooks can attract three other Division II schools to play in Fairbanks that weekend, then it wll be a round-robin tournament.
“I would say that it is very likely to happen,” Karr said. “We want to have our fans be able to see some quality basketball like they’ve come to expect on that weekend.”
Although the Dream won’t have a roster until October when they start training camp, they do have ties to Fairbanks. They will be coached by former Nanooks men’s basketball coach Al Sokaitis.
Davis said he committed to the three-day tournament with Kirk Patton, general manager of the Carlson Center. Playing it in late November in Anchorage just wasn’t an option.
“We can’t compete with the Shootout,” said Davis, a teen and outreach coordinator with the Boys and Girls Club in Mountain View. “We just thought playing in Fairbanks was a perfect opportunity.”
Three ABA teams have already committed to traveling to Fairbanks — the Las Vegas Aces, Maywood (Calif.) Buzz and San Diego Wildcats — and three more are interested.
The Dream are expecting to cover most of the expenses, Davis said. He did not know the total cost of flying up to six basketball teams to Fairbanks or renting the Carlson Center.
Visiting teams will pay for some expenses with sponsorships, Davis said, and he will work with Alaska Airlines to get the best deals on airfare.
“Cost isn’t a factor,” he said. “We just want to fill in the hole that was left in Fairbanks.”
Davis said the tournament also is meant to get Fairbanks basketball lovers excited about hosting an ABA franchise for the 2009-10 season. Davis said those plans are in the works.
The event does not have a name yet. Ideas can be posted via the Dream’s team Web site at www.thealaskadream.com, The winner will receive tournament tickets.
“We want the community of Fairbanks to name the tournament,” Davis said.
The ABA regular season runs from November or December through March, but the league hardly resembles what it once was decades ago. Some teams don’t even make it all the way through the season.
Even so, Davis said he is excited to see the league make its Alaska debut inside the Carlson Center, which had been the host of the Top of the World Classic since 1996.
“We’ve got big shoes to fill,” Davis said. “And I’m sure that we will fill them well.”
Ummm...
a place to play preseason games in November around Thanksgiving - does ANYBODY in this league know when the h*ll the season starts? Teams are announcing an early November start, but the Dream will play pre-season games two weeks later?
Three ABA teams have already committed to traveling to Fairbanks — the Las Vegas Aces, Maywood (Calif.) Buzz and San Diego Wildcats — and three more are interested. - Vegas may not last until November, and I doubt Burrell will make that trip.
The Dream are expecting to cover most of the expenses, Davis said - was there another gold rush and we missed it? How deep are these owners' pockets? Because if you do it for these teams, expect the remaining teams on your schedule to expect the same treatment...
He did not know the total cost of flying up to six basketball teams to Fairbanks or renting the Carlson Center. - probably should have figured these out BEFORE announcing a tournament that may very well bankrupt your franchise; just a suggestion...
Visiting teams will pay for some expenses with sponsorships, Davis said - these teams barely have sponsors in their own building; they are going to cover the cost of flights for 15+ people to Fairbanks? And didn't he just say the Dream will cover most of the expenses (look about two inches up the page)???
and he will work with Alaska Airlines to get the best deals on airfare. - didn't he already do this when the team was announced?
The state of Alaska and the city of Anchorage, fans and sponsors all want the team here, but the problem has been finding a plan to reduce the cost of travel, and we believe we have accomplished that. It will be affordable for ABA teams to visit here and for us to do our road games on the Pacific coast.
“Cost isn’t a factor,” he said. - this line will go on the tombstone of the Dream, as it has for dozens of others...
http://newsminer.com/news/2008/aug/19/anchorage-aba-team-host-hoops-tournament-fairbanks/
Anchorage ABA team to host hoops tournament in Fairbanks
Kevin Klott/Anchorage Daily News
Published Tuesday, August 19, 2008
ANCHORAGE — The Alaska Dream, Anchorage’s new professional basketball team, needed a place to play preseason games in November around Thanksgiving.
The Sullivan Arena would have been ideal, but the biggest indoor basketball venue in town has been booked that time of year since 1984, hosting one of college basketball’s longest-running tournaments, the Great Alaska Shootout.
So Trey Davis, owner of the Dream, searched north — way north — for an alternative basketball complex.
The Carlson Center in Fairbanks will host the Dream and up to six other American Basketball Association teams for a preseason tournament, Davis announced Monday.
The tournament, scheduled for Nov. 21-23, will fill the void of the Top of the World Classic, a college basketball tournament at the Carlson Center the University of Alaska Fairbanks canceled last month.
Alaska Nanooks athletic director Forrest Karr said Monday evening from Spokane, Wash., where he was attending Great Northwest Athletic Conference meetings, that the Nanooks will more than likely host their own NCAA Division II tournament that same weekend at the Patty Center.
Karr said that an NCAA rule allows Division II schools to play up to four games per season in Alaska that don’t count against the allotted 27 games. If the Nanooks can attract three other Division II schools to play in Fairbanks that weekend, then it wll be a round-robin tournament.
“I would say that it is very likely to happen,” Karr said. “We want to have our fans be able to see some quality basketball like they’ve come to expect on that weekend.”
Although the Dream won’t have a roster until October when they start training camp, they do have ties to Fairbanks. They will be coached by former Nanooks men’s basketball coach Al Sokaitis.
Davis said he committed to the three-day tournament with Kirk Patton, general manager of the Carlson Center. Playing it in late November in Anchorage just wasn’t an option.
“We can’t compete with the Shootout,” said Davis, a teen and outreach coordinator with the Boys and Girls Club in Mountain View. “We just thought playing in Fairbanks was a perfect opportunity.”
Three ABA teams have already committed to traveling to Fairbanks — the Las Vegas Aces, Maywood (Calif.) Buzz and San Diego Wildcats — and three more are interested.
The Dream are expecting to cover most of the expenses, Davis said. He did not know the total cost of flying up to six basketball teams to Fairbanks or renting the Carlson Center.
Visiting teams will pay for some expenses with sponsorships, Davis said, and he will work with Alaska Airlines to get the best deals on airfare.
“Cost isn’t a factor,” he said. “We just want to fill in the hole that was left in Fairbanks.”
Davis said the tournament also is meant to get Fairbanks basketball lovers excited about hosting an ABA franchise for the 2009-10 season. Davis said those plans are in the works.
The event does not have a name yet. Ideas can be posted via the Dream’s team Web site at www.thealaskadream.com, The winner will receive tournament tickets.
“We want the community of Fairbanks to name the tournament,” Davis said.
The ABA regular season runs from November or December through March, but the league hardly resembles what it once was decades ago. Some teams don’t even make it all the way through the season.
Even so, Davis said he is excited to see the league make its Alaska debut inside the Carlson Center, which had been the host of the Top of the World Classic since 1996.
“We’ve got big shoes to fill,” Davis said. “And I’m sure that we will fill them well.”
Ummm...
a place to play preseason games in November around Thanksgiving - does ANYBODY in this league know when the h*ll the season starts? Teams are announcing an early November start, but the Dream will play pre-season games two weeks later?
Three ABA teams have already committed to traveling to Fairbanks — the Las Vegas Aces, Maywood (Calif.) Buzz and San Diego Wildcats — and three more are interested. - Vegas may not last until November, and I doubt Burrell will make that trip.
The Dream are expecting to cover most of the expenses, Davis said - was there another gold rush and we missed it? How deep are these owners' pockets? Because if you do it for these teams, expect the remaining teams on your schedule to expect the same treatment...
He did not know the total cost of flying up to six basketball teams to Fairbanks or renting the Carlson Center. - probably should have figured these out BEFORE announcing a tournament that may very well bankrupt your franchise; just a suggestion...
Visiting teams will pay for some expenses with sponsorships, Davis said - these teams barely have sponsors in their own building; they are going to cover the cost of flights for 15+ people to Fairbanks? And didn't he just say the Dream will cover most of the expenses (look about two inches up the page)???
and he will work with Alaska Airlines to get the best deals on airfare. - didn't he already do this when the team was announced?
The state of Alaska and the city of Anchorage, fans and sponsors all want the team here, but the problem has been finding a plan to reduce the cost of travel, and we believe we have accomplished that. It will be affordable for ABA teams to visit here and for us to do our road games on the Pacific coast.
“Cost isn’t a factor,” he said. - this line will go on the tombstone of the Dream, as it has for dozens of others...