Sports stats



Strong Dogs to play in 2007 instead of 2006

October 26, 2006 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Tampa Bay Strong Dogs News Release


Wesley Chapel, FL. Facing heavy competition for the area consumers' entertainment and sporting event dollars, the ABA Tampa Bay Strong Dogs professional basketball team will not be playing in the 2006 season, announced team owner Tatsuya Okawa.

"In just six months since moving the team from New York, we put together a high quality team and marketing program but were unable to secure the targeted sponsorship and community support required to sustain the entire season," said Okawa. "The ABA and Okawa therefore decided to push the Tampa Bay Strong Dogs basketball into the 2007 season."

Joe Newman, ABA CEO, added, "We are monitoring the progress of teams very closely, especially as we move toward the opening of the season. It has been more difficult for them to gain the foothold they anticipated in the market and we felt that they needed more time to do the things necessary to be as successful as they were last season in Harlem, NY. With several Florida teams, this is the wise decision. We have great respect for Mr. Okawa and his organization and confidence that with the time they will be again be one of the premiere teams in the ABA."

Okawa is president of New York and Tokyo-based Strong-S Corporation, the parent company of Sports+Field in Wesley Chapel. Strong-S specializes in international sports management, training, consulting and sports marketing. For more information, call Gregg Gruhl at 813 948 5501 or email ggruhl@sportsandfield.net or visit www.abalive.com.

Note: OurSports Central no longer actively covers the American Basketball Association (ABA) as a professional league due in part to its inability to publish and play a schedule and the transitory nature of many of its teams. For information on professional minor leagues, please see OSC's basketball section.

• Discuss this story on the American Basketball Association message board...

American Basketball Association Stories from October 26, 2006


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Tampa Bay Strong Dogs Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central