While the ABA clearly was not (is not) ready to go when the season started, there are signs of progress. KCs web site is now really up and working. A new page lists corporate sponsors with links to their web sites. The first 2,500 fans at the game get a T-shirt (which includes the new ball on the logo). The roster is listed (without player numbers).
Long Beach has been leading the way in most areas for some time. That makes two franchises which appear to be relatively solid.
Juarez now has a roster posted (still, no mumbers), did have a good crowd and TV for their first game, then beat KC.
Tijuana has played several games and seems ready, though they still don't list a roster. The Mexican teams seem ready to go.
Fresno came in late, but the owners have a good history in the area, the team has signed local players, and the coach has some name recognition. They should be interesting to watch.
Jersey is still scheduled to play this weekend. We'll see. Vegas???
The new ball is now shown in two views at the league store but is not yet available. The ball shown does not match the ball used in the first game.
The league standings still do not show the second game and no box scores are available. Those details should be posted within an hour of the conclusion of games!
It is late, but not yet too late for the league to get it all together. But time is rapidly running out.
ABA showing some progress
Well Kansas City is the beacon of hope for the ABA. Solid ownership, good basketball people keeping the team competitive and great fans. (Anything over 2000 a game is massive for the ABA at this point !) If the ABA can strike gold again with another franchise or two like the Knights then they will be in a pretty good position to move up the ladder. This could be wishfull thinking but KC lends credibility to the league right now.
Kansas City ABA
I think that right now Long Beach is the "beacon of hope" for the ABA.
I'm afraid Kansas City could be a major disappointment. The quality of players on the roster is not close to the championship season, there has been no media coverage in the KC Star and they have a HUGE arena. Crowds of 2000 were solid numbers for them in the past...I wouldn't be surprised if they draw less than 1000 a game this season.
Because of their past...Kansas City could be the biggest disappointment (even if Vegas doesn't play a game).
I'm afraid Kansas City could be a major disappointment. The quality of players on the roster is not close to the championship season, there has been no media coverage in the KC Star and they have a HUGE arena. Crowds of 2000 were solid numbers for them in the past...I wouldn't be surprised if they draw less than 1000 a game this season.
Because of their past...Kansas City could be the biggest disappointment (even if Vegas doesn't play a game).
new scores posted
ABAlive now has the latest scores up. Jersey is shown as losing its home opener. No details are given about any of the games and the standings are incorrect. It appears the league does have at least six teams. Now if someone can manage to get out more of the basic information, maybe the league can make some real progress.
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almostbasketball
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This is progress?
I don't know how you define "progress," but postponing games, not getting scores out there and not getting them correct, having head coaches bolt early in the season (at least this time the coach stayed in America) and having 80 people at games sounds a lot like the ABA we all grew to know and love last time.
BTW, we have the correct (we think) standings and league news on our website.
BTW, we have the correct (we think) standings and league news on our website.
almostbasketball.tripod.com
This is an interesting story...We played in the Convention Hall in 2000 when the Shorecats were there. In early May it was so cold and damp in the building that I picked up a serious cold that I couldn't shake for a couple of weeks. The lockerrooms were open to the outside and people had been living in them...and urinating and other great things on the floor. We didn't go back to the lockerroom at halftime and met in the beer garden it was so bad.
The building is a dump...and if the Jersey owner would have set a foot in the building before hand he would have seen that.
As somebody who is in this business...I ask...How does this happen? The owner has nobody to blame but himself.
And I will say again...These kind of stories HURT ALL OF US IN MINOR LEAGUE BASKETBALL. That's why I am a critic.
Owner threatens to move Squires
Published in the Asbury Park Press 12/01/03
By SCOTT STUMP
STAFF WRITER
ASBURY PARK -- The return of professional basketball to Asbury Park may be over almost as soon as it began.
The owner of the New Jersey Squires franchise in the American Basketball Association said yesterday at the team's inaugural game that if "major changes" are not made at Convention Hall, the team's home, by the Squires' next home game on Dec. 9, the team "will not be here."
Owner Wayne Butler, 50, said he was "very disappointed in the way the facility turned out." He said he has had conversations with owners of other venues in the tri-state area, which he did not specify, about a possible move.
Butler pays $2,200 per game to rent Convention Hall.
A move would affect the ABA's first All-Star Game, which is scheduled to be played at Convention Hall at the end of March.
New Jersey lost 108-103 to Juarez (Mexico) in front of about 80 fans at frigid Convention Hall yesterday. It was the first professional basketball game in Convention Hall since the New Jersey ShoreCats of the United States Basketball League played their final game in July 2000.
"It's cold in here," Butler said about Convention Hall. "I've been assured that by the next game it will be fixed, but we'll see. I wouldn't pay $10 to come and watch a game in this facility as it is."
Reached later, Asbury Park City Manager Terence Reidy said, "I know there are improvements that are being made (to Convention Hall), but this is the first I'm hearing of any complaints. It's something I will get to first thing (today). I can't imagine that what needs to be done is that daunting."
"(Butler) has not talked to the city about this," said Deputy Mayor James Bruno. "The whole building needs renovation, but it's not going to happen overnight."
The ABA closed its doors last season to reorganize financially and is trying to make a comeback this season. Butler said yesterday's attendance was the smallest at any ABA game played this season, and part of the reason may have been little or no marketing to let people know the Squires existed.
"I wasn't sure if I was going to play in this league because I had heard of things like this situation happening," Squires guard Mike Campbell said. "(Butler) said that this is the way he wanted it to be. It's like he wanted to sneak up on people or something."
Butler said he had conversations with Larry Fishman, the chief operating officer for Asbury Partners, which is leasing Convention Hall from the city, about improving the heating system and locker rooms before the season. Fishman could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Butler admitted that the team could have been "marketed better" before yesterday's opening game. The Squires are the only East Coast team in the seven-team ABA, and were originally supposed to play in Trenton this season but could not negotiate a deal to use Sovereign Bank Arena, which is owned by Comcast Spectacor.
Some fans in the building yesterday were either family members of Squires' players or parents or siblings of the two local 12-and-under Amateur Athletic Union boys basketball teams that scrimmaged at halftime. Most other fans said they read about the team, either in the Asbury Park Press or on the Internet.
"We got here late, so we're trying to sell sponsorships and do what we can," Butler said.
Some fans paid for tickets yesterday, while others just walked in because there was no one taking tickets. Also, there were no programs and the game started 45 minutes late.
However, the few fans who stayed until the end had a positive view of the afternoon.
"It was a lot of fun, and it was a good thing for the kids," said Allenhurst resident Pete Mavrookas, who was there with his son, George, 6, and daughter, Gabriella, 7.
"We need to bring people into this city on a positive basis, and I think something like this will bring more families in," said Asbury Park resident James Grabe.
"You've got to give up something to fill the seats," said Lloyd "Sweet Pea" Daniels, the coach of the L.D. Rebels, one of the AAU teams that played at halftime. "Talent doesn't mean anything if you don't fill up the seats. You have to give people a reason to come out.
"I live in Colts Neck and the only way I knew about the team was because my friend Ricky Benitez (the Squires' head coach) called me and told me about it."
Daniels has some background knowledge, having played in the USBL, ABA and overseas as well as for the San Antonio Spurs during his professional career.
"You've got to crawl before you walk," Daniels said. "You've got to put a good product out there."
The building is a dump...and if the Jersey owner would have set a foot in the building before hand he would have seen that.
As somebody who is in this business...I ask...How does this happen? The owner has nobody to blame but himself.
And I will say again...These kind of stories HURT ALL OF US IN MINOR LEAGUE BASKETBALL. That's why I am a critic.
Owner threatens to move Squires
Published in the Asbury Park Press 12/01/03
By SCOTT STUMP
STAFF WRITER
ASBURY PARK -- The return of professional basketball to Asbury Park may be over almost as soon as it began.
The owner of the New Jersey Squires franchise in the American Basketball Association said yesterday at the team's inaugural game that if "major changes" are not made at Convention Hall, the team's home, by the Squires' next home game on Dec. 9, the team "will not be here."
Owner Wayne Butler, 50, said he was "very disappointed in the way the facility turned out." He said he has had conversations with owners of other venues in the tri-state area, which he did not specify, about a possible move.
Butler pays $2,200 per game to rent Convention Hall.
A move would affect the ABA's first All-Star Game, which is scheduled to be played at Convention Hall at the end of March.
New Jersey lost 108-103 to Juarez (Mexico) in front of about 80 fans at frigid Convention Hall yesterday. It was the first professional basketball game in Convention Hall since the New Jersey ShoreCats of the United States Basketball League played their final game in July 2000.
"It's cold in here," Butler said about Convention Hall. "I've been assured that by the next game it will be fixed, but we'll see. I wouldn't pay $10 to come and watch a game in this facility as it is."
Reached later, Asbury Park City Manager Terence Reidy said, "I know there are improvements that are being made (to Convention Hall), but this is the first I'm hearing of any complaints. It's something I will get to first thing (today). I can't imagine that what needs to be done is that daunting."
"(Butler) has not talked to the city about this," said Deputy Mayor James Bruno. "The whole building needs renovation, but it's not going to happen overnight."
The ABA closed its doors last season to reorganize financially and is trying to make a comeback this season. Butler said yesterday's attendance was the smallest at any ABA game played this season, and part of the reason may have been little or no marketing to let people know the Squires existed.
"I wasn't sure if I was going to play in this league because I had heard of things like this situation happening," Squires guard Mike Campbell said. "(Butler) said that this is the way he wanted it to be. It's like he wanted to sneak up on people or something."
Butler said he had conversations with Larry Fishman, the chief operating officer for Asbury Partners, which is leasing Convention Hall from the city, about improving the heating system and locker rooms before the season. Fishman could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Butler admitted that the team could have been "marketed better" before yesterday's opening game. The Squires are the only East Coast team in the seven-team ABA, and were originally supposed to play in Trenton this season but could not negotiate a deal to use Sovereign Bank Arena, which is owned by Comcast Spectacor.
Some fans in the building yesterday were either family members of Squires' players or parents or siblings of the two local 12-and-under Amateur Athletic Union boys basketball teams that scrimmaged at halftime. Most other fans said they read about the team, either in the Asbury Park Press or on the Internet.
"We got here late, so we're trying to sell sponsorships and do what we can," Butler said.
Some fans paid for tickets yesterday, while others just walked in because there was no one taking tickets. Also, there were no programs and the game started 45 minutes late.
However, the few fans who stayed until the end had a positive view of the afternoon.
"It was a lot of fun, and it was a good thing for the kids," said Allenhurst resident Pete Mavrookas, who was there with his son, George, 6, and daughter, Gabriella, 7.
"We need to bring people into this city on a positive basis, and I think something like this will bring more families in," said Asbury Park resident James Grabe.
"You've got to give up something to fill the seats," said Lloyd "Sweet Pea" Daniels, the coach of the L.D. Rebels, one of the AAU teams that played at halftime. "Talent doesn't mean anything if you don't fill up the seats. You have to give people a reason to come out.
"I live in Colts Neck and the only way I knew about the team was because my friend Ricky Benitez (the Squires' head coach) called me and told me about it."
Daniels has some background knowledge, having played in the USBL, ABA and overseas as well as for the San Antonio Spurs during his professional career.
"You've got to crawl before you walk," Daniels said. "You've got to put a good product out there."
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almostbasketball
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Marketing 101?
This Butler guy is unbelievable....
Another quote from the Asbury Park newspaper...
"There are a few things we need to do, but I think they can be addressed and we can have a first-class team in Asbury Park," Butler said. "I purposely didn't go out with lot of marketing and advertising. That was a bad decision on my part."
Yes sir...That was a "bad" decision. Made by someone who doesn't have a clue.
Another quote from the Asbury Park newspaper...
"There are a few things we need to do, but I think they can be addressed and we can have a first-class team in Asbury Park," Butler said. "I purposely didn't go out with lot of marketing and advertising. That was a bad decision on my part."
Yes sir...That was a "bad" decision. Made by someone who doesn't have a clue.
