Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report
by Dan Krieger
September 21, 2015 - NBA G League (G League)
BASEBALL
Atlantic League: Although a potential ownership group known as Virginia Investment Partnership (VIP) failed to build a ballpark and bring a proposed Atlantic League team called the Loudoun Hounds to the One Loudoun mixed-use development in Ashburn (VA), the league is still interested in placing a future team at the development. The league recently returned VIP's membership application, so a new group would need to be found to build a ballpark and bring a team to the development. VIP was unable to obtain adequate financing to complete a ballpark over the past few years and is in a legal battle with One Loudoun, which has been trying to remove VIP from the lease and negotiate with another group. Also, it is uncertain whether the Camden (NJ) Riversharks will be the Atlantic League team moving to New Britain (CT) for next season and whether an affiliated team in the short-season Class-A New York-Penn League will be moving to Camden.
Frontier League: With the summer-collegiate Northwoods League taking over Aviators Stadium in suburban Rockford (IL) next season, the owner of the Frontier League's Rockford Aviators is looking at relocation possibilities for the 2016 season.
South Florida Winter League: The SFWL is a pay-to-play baseball league that plans to have at least 4 teams each playing 40 games over a six-week period from mid-October to late November 2016. Coaches will come from various independent baseball leagues or affiliated rookie high-A level leagues. The SFWL will use the Cleveland Indians former spring training home called the Chain O' Lakes Complex in Winter Haven. There are currently four teams listed: the Clutch Performance Beach Dogs, Florida Jets, Villains and Winter Haven Wild.
Expedition League: The Expedition League is the name of a recently proposed new summer-collegiate league trying to organize with teams based in western Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota. The league is currently scouting locations, but might have to wait until 2017 to get started.
BASKETBALL
National Basketball Association Development League (D-League): The owner of the National Basketball Association's Washington Wizards is pursuing an NBA D-League team that could eventually share a new 5,000-seat arena to be built in Washington (DC) for the Washington Mystics team of the Women's National Basketball Association. The Wizards are one of 11 NBA teams that will not have a single affiliation with a D-League team in the 2015-16 season. The arena is not expected to be completed until sometime in 2018. The NBA's Brooklyn Nets team is also one of the NBA teams without a direct D-League affiliation, but hope to have its own D-League team based in Brooklyn next season and possibly on Long Island after that. The Nets had a three-season (2011-14) affiliation with the D-League's former Springfield (MA) Armor team. The long-range plan is to grow the D-League to have each of the 30 NBA teams in some type of one-to-one affiliation with a D-League team.
Central Basketball Development League: The Orlando Spartans of the CBDL have relocated to Daytona Beach where the team will be called the Florida Lakers. The league is talking with another ownership group to operate a team in the Orlando area. The league is also talking with a potential team in Tennessee and would like to have 10 to 15 teams for the 2016 season.
National Basketball League of Canada: A new NBL-Canada team based in Sydney (Nova Scotia) is expected to be announced next week and start play in the 2015-16 season. The team is expected to be a natural rival for the league's new Halifax (Nova Scotia) team. The NBL-Canada will be considering approval of the Brampton A's proposed move to Orangeville (Ontario), about 25 miles to the north of Brampton, for the 2015-16 season. The A's used the Orangeville Athletic Institute as its training facility and played some playoff games in Orangeville earlier this year due to a lack of dates at the Powerade Centre in Brampton. The A's ownership stated that Brampton is too close to Mississauga, which recently became home to the new Raptors 905 team in the National Basketball Association Development League (D-League). The Brampton A's joined the NBL-Canada as an expansion team for the 2013-14 season.
FOOTBALL
American Indoor Football: The Columbus (GA) Lions and Lehigh Valley Steelhawks (Allentown, PA) from the 2015 Professional Indoor Football League officially announced both teams have joined the AIF for the 2016 season. Columbus will be placed in the AIF's new Southern Division and Lehigh Valley will be part of the new Mid Western Division. The Columbus Lions have been around since starting in the 2007 season as part of the former World Indoor Football League. The Lions then played two seasons (2008-09) in the American Indoor Football Association and two seasons (2010-11) in the Southern Indoor Football League before joining the PIFL for the 2012 season. The Lehigh Valley Steelhawks played its first two seasons (2011-12) as part of the Indoor Football League before moving to the PIFL for the 2013 season. The AIF's new Muskegon-based expansion team plans to announce a name-the-team contest.
Professional Indoor Football League: The owner of both PIFL teams called the Nashville Venom and the Alabama Hammers (Huntsville) announced the teams will sit out the 2016 season, but could return as part of a reorganized PIFL in 2017. The Alabama Hammers started play in 2011 as part of the Southern Indoor Football League before moving to the PIFL for the league's first season in 2012. The Nashville Venom joined as a new PIFL team for the 2014 season. The PIFL operated with seven teams in 2015, but after the season the Erie Explosion moved to the new CIFL and the Trenton Freedom folded. This led to the Richmond Raiders, followed by Nashville and Alabama, deciding to sit out the 2016 season, while the Columbus Lions and Lehigh Valley Steelhawks moved to American Indoor Football.
North American Indoor Football: The NAIF, which had a few teams playing some games last season and was planning for its first full season in 2016, has merged with X-League Indoor Football for the 2016 season. At least six teams from the X-League's 2015 season will be joining the NAIF. The NAIF currently lists logos for ten possible 2016 teams. The X-League recently completed its second season of play.
HOCKEY
Federal Hockey League: The FHL expansion team called the Brewster (NY) Bulldogs was officially announced this week for the 2015-16 season. The Bulldogs replace a previously announced FHL Brewster-based expansion team called the State Line Whalers. The State Line Whalers ownership decided to sell the franchise when a new FHL team called the Danbury Titans was added in Danbury (CT), which is less than 20 miles east of Brewster. The owner of the Titans decided to purchase and rename the State Line Whalers franchise as a rival for the Titans and to give the FHL six teams for the 2015-16 season.
SOCCER
Major League Soccer: The new MLS expansion team in Los Angeles announced the team will be called the Los Angeles Football Club, or LAFC. The team plans to start play in the 2018 season and ownership has plans to build a 22,000-seat soccer-specific stadium next to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Major Arena Soccer League: The MASL announced its 21st team for the upcoming 2015-16 season is the Atletico Baja based in Tijuana (Baja California, Mexico). A Tijuana-based team called Toros Mexico tried to join the MASL from the Professional Arena Soccer League for the MASL's first season last year, but could not find a facility that met league requirements. The MASL also announced its schedule and 21-team alignment for the 2015-16 season. The Eastern Conference will have five-team Eastern and Central divisions, while the Western Conference will have a six-team Southwestern Division and a five-team Pacific Division. The MASL had 23 teams last season, but six teams called the Rochester Lancers, Tulsa Revolution, Wichita B-52s, Hidalgo La Fiera FC, Monterrey Flash (Mexico) and Oxford City FC of Texas (Beaumont) did not return. The league added four new teams called the Hartford FC, Cedar Rapids Rampage, Atletico Baja and Soles de Sonora (Hermosillo, Mexico).
National Women's Soccer League: The men's Orlando City FC Lions team in Major League Soccer has expressed interest in bringing a professional women's NWSL team to Orlando, possibly for the 2016 season. The NWSL will be discussing expansion at its league meeting next month and other expansion teams in 2017 and 2018 could be in the works. Currently, the Portland Timbers FC and Houston Dynamo of MLS own NWSL teams called the Portland Thorns and Houston Dash in those markets.
United Soccer Leagues "" Premier Development League: The ownership of the Kokomo (IN) Jackrabbits team in the summer collegiate Prospect League announced plans to bring a PDL expansion team to the Kokomo Municipal Stadium for the 2016 season.
OTHER
Major League Ultimate: The founder of the MLU is no longer the head of operations for the professional ultimate disc league. The eight-team MLU struggled with attendance and other issues during its third season in 2015 and has not kept up with the growth of the competing American Ultimate Disc League, which grew to 25 teams for its 2015 season. The MLU says funding is in place to have the league return for a fourth season in 2016. The MLU founder operated a team in the AUDL's inaugural 2012 season, but left to form the MLU for the 2013 season. The eight-team MLU operates under a single-entity ownership model with central investors and centrally run teams, while the AUDL has individual franchise owners operating their own teams.
Dan Krieger is the creator of the Leagues, Teams & Nicknames 2014-15: "The Leagueology Almanac" , which tracks the changes in league alignments, franchise movements and team nicknames in today's sports world. The publication is currently available at www.amazon.com.
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NBA G League Stories from September 21, 2015
- Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report - OSC Original by Dan Krieger
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
