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How many teams last more than 2 years? Here's a fun question - let's get a tally of teams that have been operating for 3 or more years. I looked briefly...there aren't many. Take the criteria to 5 years, and it's even worse.
When I talked to the owner of the Wilmington Sea Dawgs, I reflected that the only two teams still operating from the first year of the PBL were the Rochester Razorsharks and the Dawgs. Getting to three years or more seems to be the challenge.
I can't for the life of me figure out why front and league office talent would go to minor league baseball and hockey and make those sports viable, but none of them would go to basketball. There has to be something else. My theory (just a theory, agree or disagree if you like) is that college basketball takes the place of minor-league basketball and fulfills that need. College baseball and hockey (largely) do not.
The reason is actually much simpler: pay.
When the salary of one hockey team front office employee exceeds the entire annual budget of an FBA team, or even some PBL teams, that says all we need to know..
When I talked to the owner of the Wilmington Sea Dawgs, I reflected that the only two teams still operating from the first year of the PBL were the Rochester Razorsharks and the Dawgs. Getting to three years or more seems to be the challenge.
That's because owners overpay for things, and invest their money (and often too much of it) into the wrong areas (like merchandise and dance teams instead of ticket and sponsorship sales...and proper marketing materials). A lot of ABA guys get into the business and they are living paycheck to paycheck. The ABA will even let you in on a finance plan I'm told, so you don't have to pay the full $10K (or whatever it is) all up front.
The bottom line is that if you aren't a 6 figure income earner, it will be too tough to get to year three. If you can't get to year three, you'll just lose a lot of money and have nothing to show for it.
"What do your daily actions say about the pursuit of your dreams?"
"Our Dreams are the roadmap that God uses to get us to where He intends for us to be!"
"When I stand before God at the end of my life
I would hope that I would have not a single bit of talent left and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.'"
"Delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."
--- Psalm 37:4
Last I checked, to operate a minor league baseball team your looking at $15 million MINIMUM, AAA around $20+ million! For the AHL, you come in at around $8-10 million. ABA? What, $25,000 MAYBE, then pray to God you get funding?
The reason minor league hoops fails is because 99.4% of the owners have no credit, no business background to speak of ( running a record label out of your house, serving in the military, being a pastor at a church or owning a small store does NOT qualify), scrape and save to get $10K cash for Unca Joe (because God knows they could never get a $2-4 million credit line like any REAL owner) than cross their fingers, call themselves a "sports owner" and look to self fund the team with try-outs, sponsors, more try-outs, clinics and more try-outs. These douchebags have completely scorched the minor league basketball Earth, and given it the %%$$ reputation it so truly deserves. I mean seriously, does the ABA have even ONE white owner??? Seriously?? Look at minor league hockey and minor league baseball; well funded, GOOD CREDIT, and solid planning. Pretty straightforward.
Last I checked, to operate a minor league baseball team your looking at $15 million MINIMUM, AAA around $20+ million! For the AHL, you come in at around $8-10 million. ABA? What, $25,000 MAYBE, then pray to God you get funding?
The reason minor league hoops fails is because 99.4% of the owners have no credit, no business background to speak of ( running a record label out of your house, serving in the military, being a pastor at a church or owning a small store does NOT qualify), scrape and save to get $10K cash for Unca Joe (because God knows they could never get a $2-4 million credit line like any REAL owner) than cross their fingers, call themselves a "sports owner" and look to self fund the team with try-outs, sponsors, more try-outs, clinics and more try-outs. These douchebags have completely scorched the minor league basketball Earth, and given it the %%$$ reputation it so truly deserves. I mean seriously, does the ABA have even ONE white owner??? Seriously?? Look at minor league hockey and minor league baseball; well funded, GOOD CREDIT, and solid planning. Pretty straightforward.
A1 always had good inside info though. Nikki rants are spot on too
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Mean Spirited Blogger Number 14
"If games are missed, it hurts no one" ...... ABA CEO Joe Newman 2/9/09
Due to numerous threats of legal action from certain people.......all of the above is my opinion only and it should be noted that I have never invested in the ABA. It is simply one mans opinion.
I really think the model we had put together in the midwest in the USBL was working well before we were destroyed by the rest of the league.
Running a two and a half month spring-summer season on a budget of about $250,000 a year....meaning you had to get 100-125K in corporate sponsorship and sell 1,000 season tickets a year. Dodge City, Kansas and Oklahoma were victims of the USBL going under. The three of us tried to put together a new league, but we wouldn't do it with less than eight solid franchises and with the ABA concept becoming more the rule than the exception, we couldn't find five decent ownership groups.
We had some pretty good teams and coaches in the USBL when I was involved in it from 2000 to 2007...
The D-League in its current incarnation has turned out to be pretty stable.
One issue minor league basketball is always going to have is need and "star power." Pretty much every MLB and NHL player logs some minor league time, and fans in the smaller cities can say they saw Derek Jeter or Martin Brodeur. The Albany Devils haven't really been very good for a while, but they could legitimately say 2/3 of the Stanley Cup finalist New Jersey Devils played in Albany, so they could tell the fan you were seeing a high-quality product.
As the CBA faded in Albany, I heard people in the stands saying the local college teams were better than the Patroons. Ultimately that is the downfall of the Joe Newman strategy of the ABA as well. People don't want to see local stars in the pros as much as they want to see something better than the local rec team.
My fear about the D League is profits. If the NBA is content to let it continue to lose money then it'll be fine. If this thing is supposed to be self sufficient then we will have done issues. The USBL was a great league, they also played in a lot of places where they were the big event in town
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Mean Spirited Blogger Number 14
"If games are missed, it hurts no one" ...... ABA CEO Joe Newman 2/9/09
Due to numerous threats of legal action from certain people.......all of the above is my opinion only and it should be noted that I have never invested in the ABA. It is simply one mans opinion.
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