Charlotte Hornets considering seven cities for D-League team

[SignGuyDino]

Charleston representative said arena probably not big enough for team. This sounds confusing as the old NBDL played in the N. Charleston arena.

In any event, it seems we're down to four: Asheville, Fayetteville, Greensboro, and Columbia.

http://www.wach.com/news/story.aspx?id= ... WyW9U9Viko

So my guess that the two finalists, if they go that route, will be Asheville and Columbia, is still possible.

All cities need to present something formal by mid-June.

[Sam Hill]

[quote=""SignGuyDino""]Charleston representative said arena probably not big enough for team. This sounds confusing as the old NBDL played in the N. Charleston arena. [/quote]

It's 14,000 seats, isn't it? That seems like more than enough for the D-League.

[preeths]

Maybe not the right size, but the arena where the Stingrays play is certainly big enough. I'm guessing they already took that one off the table, probably because it's too big, and there isn't a suitable secondary venue.

[SignGuyDino]

Cities with hockey teams are not going to be thrilled with the idea of the D-League possibly returning. At least the hockey fans won't be.

This might undermine Fayetteville.

[Sam Hill]

Wouldn't an existing hockey team already be a more favored tenant? Check your lease, kids, because if you are already doing well with 36-40 dates a year, you should have first dibs on good dates. Sponsors and disposable income in the market, yes, that could be an issue, but if you've been in business for a while, the interloper isn't as big a concern.

[SWSAM]

Off the top of my head, there are three arenas that share a D-League and minor league hockey team (excluding Oklahoma City, which had the Barons depart):

Des Moines - Energy/Wild (AHL)
Austin - Spurs/Stars (AHL)
Boise - Stampede/Steelheads (ECHL)

But with more dates, one would presume the hockey team is the favored tenant. Couple that with Fayetteville being a smaller metro area than the three above, it would make sense not to go head-to-head with an entrenched team (Greenville would have been a similar situation). It looks as if the FireAntz are drawing just over 3,000 fans a game, certainly nothing worth cannibalizing.

[toad455]

so it looks like Toronto(Mississauga) will be joining for the upcoming season. I would imagine the league will also look to add another expansion team for the 2015-16 season to even the league out with 20 teams.

"National Basketball Association Development League (D-League): The Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association are expected to announce they have acquired a D-League team that will start play in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga for the 2015-16 season. A minor basketball team called the Mississauga Power has been part of National Basketball League of Canada for the past few seasons, but that team could end up folding with the arrival of a D-League team."

The team is being rumored to being called the Raptors905.

[SignGuyDino]

Well, I was wrong as Columbia being a favorite, because they are now out. Makes sense as they would have had to build a new venue and there just wasn't enough time to even discuss that, not to mention they just committed to building a minor league baseball stadium:

http://www.free-times.com/news/mayor-co ... ise-070115

Had they been able to work that out, certainly Columbia was the favorite. Now there's no more "the team ought to be in South Carolina" as all of those cities are out.

This leaves only Asheville, Greensboro, and Fayetteville.

And if Asheville gets the team they can call themselves "Hornets 828," so when they play the Toronto D-League team the scores can be "828 101-905 99." And although there is no connection whatsoever, many of us will immediately think of this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WTdTwcmxyo

[toad455]

so the Brooklyn Nets have recently said that they'll have their D-League team play in Brooklyn until a smaller arena can house them. It's just a matter of when the team starts. 2015 seems unlikely.

[Hockey]

My suggestions are going to be based on minor league sports business history of the markets along with travel concerns.

[quote=""Pounder""]Atlanta... I think Gwinnett is too big, but while I think Atlanta would benefit from, say, Albany or Savannah to build regional appeal, Gwinnett wouldn't surprise me.[/quote]

Birmingham, Alabama : Lower Bowl of the BJCC
Play with the Texas division.

Does Chicago need to build regional appeal? If anything, them being snarky and locating in Gary would amuse me. However, Chicago has enough places in town to allow locals to benefit from cheaper tickets... unless they want to go the LA route.

Milwaukee if the NBA departs, Toledo, OH if the NBA stays: Huntington Center. Go after the huge amount of Chinese money in Toledo by pipelining in Chinese players.

Denver- Budweiser (officially Loveland, more identifiably Fort Collins, but more spiritually Greeley)... best idea here, though building regionally with Albuquerque makes more sense for the Nuggets than it does the Clippers. HOWEVER, I think 2020 is optimistic for the Nuggets.

Casper, WY desperately wants a "big" team. They have been pushing for hockey, but D-League seems more economically viable. Casper Events Center seats about 8,300 and it would be the only game in town.

Clippers- they should take the Warriors lead and build a bubble at Venice Beach for their team. They need to win in the city, first.

I agree that some sort of SoCal/LA region building would be best. Long Beach?

Milwaukee- another 2020 question mark. They have to solve remaining in Milwaukee first. From there, build up Wisconsin. Green Bay? Wausau?

If Seattle, see Vancouver, Canada. If Milwaukee, still see Vancouver, Canada. j/k Maybe Fort Wayne full time.

Minnesota- they should really nudge Miami out of Sioux Falls. Another post-2020 issue to me.

Miama to Jacksonville, Minne to SF.

New Orleans- needs to solve New Orleans first. Shreveport is obvious if they stay. Another post-2020, however.

Biloxi, MS - Hockey is dead because it's too expensive but there is a small but viable business community to support a team.

Portland- Spokane VMA is too big and the area too Gonzaga. Aching for Salem or even a team barnstorming through statewide basketball gyms. Also post-2020. I tend to think Washington stays ready for the return of the Sonics, far enough down the line, but not too far.

Las Vegas, NV. Be real Trail Blazers and bring professional basketball to LV.

Washington- Eh, Roanoke probably isn't bad. Does Baltimore have a small arena that isn't college? No, First Mariner doesn't count.

Ocean City, MD is being wooed to build an arena for ECHL hockey. It won't work. But a 3,500 for basketball, 4,500 for concerts like the Santa Cruz building could be a summertime events venue and winter time home for basketball.