Some highlights from the Ridiculous Upside interview with Dan Reed, the president of the D-League:
D-League President Dan Reed: Well, if you go overseas you basically eliminate your chances of playing in the NBA that season, so if your goal is to make the NBA your odds are much better playing with us. I asked our folks to run these numbers for me, a - of the 107 players who have been called up to the NBA in a given season, 61% of them (65 players) received a guaranteed contract that season. I actually think these numbers are pretty compelling reasons to play in the NBA D-League, when you consider that: a) even one NBA 10-day contract is worth as much or more than a player can make in a month overseas, b) if you get one 10-day it’s highly likely you will double your money with at least one additional 10-day, and c) if you do get a 10-day there’s a 60% chance you’ll be with that team for the rest of the season, and d) you have a zero percent chance of being “called up” to the NBA if you play overseas.
…
DR: That’s why I think the best number to look at is the sheer number of NBA D-League alumni playing in the NBA, and by that metric, we clearly establish ourselves as the absolute best way to get to the NBA — we’ve produced five times more NBA players than any other professional basketball league in the world. We’re the most heavily scouted league in the world, and that is extremely valuable for our players. If you really want to look at odds, check out this stat: if you played in the NBA D-League last season you had a 1 in 4 chance of participating in an NBA team’s training camp the following season. I’d say those odds are pretty good. And even if after all that the NBA simply doesn’t work out for player, showing well in the NBA D-League allows you maximize your earning potential no matter where you decide to play.
…
RS: It seems to me that if each NBA team had their own D-League affiliate, and was able to call up, send down, and rehab players on their D-League teams, much like the farm system of Major League Baseball, that the NBA and the NBADL would both benefit tremendously. Are the leagues making any attempt toward moving in that direction?
DR: We took a major step towards that sort of system when we created the affiliation and assignment system back in 2005. Since then we’ve doubled the number of teams in the league, have seen 104 NBA players “sent down” and recalled to/from their NBA team, and have had 59 additional players called-up to the NBA. As a result we now have close to 80 former NBA D-League players on NBA rosters right now, which is getting close to 20% of the entire league!
…
D-League president Dan Reed’s checklist for prospective affiliates, from the RU interview:
- a great arena
- strong ownership
- a good market
- market size
- competition
- income levels
- size of corporate base
- basketball fan avidity
Can a PBL team move to the D-League? Looking at Dan Reed's checklist, I think Halifax qualifies.
- We play in a 10,000 seat arena, average about 2,800 fans this past season (1,800 in the first season in the ABA),
- population of 400,000 in the immediate area and draw from another 100,000+ within an hour of Halifax,
- we have 2 university teams in the city and another within 2 hours of Halifax that are usually nationally ranked so we are basketball fans,
- Halifax is a government town so income levels are good and steady,
- the only live pro sport competition is a major junior league hockey team that shares the arena with us.
As for the other current PBL teams, most of their markets are too small to support a D-League team, because of the $1,000,000 franchise fee, versus $10,000 or $20,000 for ABA, depending on your source. I don't know the cost of a franchise in the PBL, but I bet it is closer to $20,000 than a million.
Halifax is unique in that we are a good-size small city with a suitable arena to support a D-League team, rather than many PBL teams who play in much smaller venues. With Maine and Springfield in the NBADL, along with Erie, we could fit into a Northeast division quite easily, flying through Boston or Toronto.
Showing posts with label NBADL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NBADL. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
NBADL announce new playoff format
The NBADL just announced their new playoff format. It is pretty wild, with the three division winners choosing their first opponent in the playoffs from the top 5 non-division-winning teams. The fourth seeded team plays the remaining unchosen team in the first round. Is this worth talking about on here?
If the Rainmen want to get into the D-League, maybe we should keep track of what that league is doing.
Here is the March 9 news release from the NBADL regarding their new playoff format:
“NEW YORK, March 9, 2009 - The NBA Development League announced today it has implemented an innovative new format for this year’s playoffs, which are set to begin as early as April 13.
For the first time, eight teams will qualify for the 2009 NBA D-League postseason, including the winners of the three divisions along with the five teams with the best regular season records, regardless of division.
New for the 2009 postseason, the three division winners will have the unique opportunity to select their first round opponent from the teams ranked five through eight. The top-seeded division winner will select its opponent first, with the second and third ranked division winners following in that order. The fourth seeded team will play the remaining team.
“One of our fundamental goals at the NBA D-League is to utilize our unique position to explore new and different ways to grow the game,” said Dan Reed, President of the NBA D-League. “We believe that these innovations will provide our fans with compelling matchups and action packed games.”
The first and second rounds of the 2009 NBA D-League playoffs will be one game each, while the Finals will be a best-of-three series. The first two rounds will be played on the higher seeds home floor, while the Finals will begin at the lower seed’s arena and finish at the higher seeds home court.
The 2008-09 NBA D-League regular seasons concludes on April 11.”
Thanks to http://www.ridiculousupside.com for the news.
My thoughts are:
- that it will most likely still fall into the top team picking #8, second team picking #7 and so on. However, if a high-ranked team knows that a lower-ranked team can beat them (like Quebec seems to be able to do at times - and us, for that matter) maybe they would choose a higher rank than the lowest remaining team to have a better chance of success.
- what about the factor of travel costs? Would you choose the lowest remaining team if it was the geographically farthest from your city (say Halifax or Wilmington), or would you pick a closer team that you may even have a rivalry with (like Vermont and Manchester)?
- speaking of rivalries, they may be even more important than rankings, since it is all about getting bums in the seats. Fans love to see the hometown team defeat their rivals. That may factor into the choice of team too: do we go for an easy win and fewer people show up, or do we take the chance and play a better team with more ticket sales?
If the Rainmen want to get into the D-League, maybe we should keep track of what that league is doing.
Here is the March 9 news release from the NBADL regarding their new playoff format:
“NEW YORK, March 9, 2009 - The NBA Development League announced today it has implemented an innovative new format for this year’s playoffs, which are set to begin as early as April 13.
For the first time, eight teams will qualify for the 2009 NBA D-League postseason, including the winners of the three divisions along with the five teams with the best regular season records, regardless of division.
New for the 2009 postseason, the three division winners will have the unique opportunity to select their first round opponent from the teams ranked five through eight. The top-seeded division winner will select its opponent first, with the second and third ranked division winners following in that order. The fourth seeded team will play the remaining team.
“One of our fundamental goals at the NBA D-League is to utilize our unique position to explore new and different ways to grow the game,” said Dan Reed, President of the NBA D-League. “We believe that these innovations will provide our fans with compelling matchups and action packed games.”
The first and second rounds of the 2009 NBA D-League playoffs will be one game each, while the Finals will be a best-of-three series. The first two rounds will be played on the higher seeds home floor, while the Finals will begin at the lower seed’s arena and finish at the higher seeds home court.
The 2008-09 NBA D-League regular seasons concludes on April 11.”
Thanks to http://www.ridiculousupside.com for the news.
My thoughts are:
- that it will most likely still fall into the top team picking #8, second team picking #7 and so on. However, if a high-ranked team knows that a lower-ranked team can beat them (like Quebec seems to be able to do at times - and us, for that matter) maybe they would choose a higher rank than the lowest remaining team to have a better chance of success.
- what about the factor of travel costs? Would you choose the lowest remaining team if it was the geographically farthest from your city (say Halifax or Wilmington), or would you pick a closer team that you may even have a rivalry with (like Vermont and Manchester)?
- speaking of rivalries, they may be even more important than rankings, since it is all about getting bums in the seats. Fans love to see the hometown team defeat their rivals. That may factor into the choice of team too: do we go for an easy win and fewer people show up, or do we take the chance and play a better team with more ticket sales?
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Good luck to Eric and a potential Moncton rival team?
Congrats to Eric for still having the opportunity to show his stuff at the ABA All-Star game, even after the Rainmen have officially left the ABA. I am happy that he is going to see some of his family. They are really supportive of him, as evidenced by the fact that his extended family actually commented on the Herald website a few months ago when it had a story about Eric. I thought it was pretty cool that Eric's family keeps track of his career here in Halifax. Have fun Eric, I hope you get selected as the game MVP!
In other ABA News, Joe Newman is looking at the silver lining around the cloud of the Rainmen leaving the league.
In this news story, Newman is quoted as saying that this "opens the door for an ABA team in Moncton."
While I agree that Moncton is probably the right-size market for an ABA team, I shudder to think that another Maritime entrepreneur might get involved with the ABA. If our D-League hoop dreams don't work out, maybe a Moncton PBL franchise would work well for us, as a ready-made rival for Halifax. You heard it here first!
In other ABA News, Joe Newman is looking at the silver lining around the cloud of the Rainmen leaving the league.
In this news story, Newman is quoted as saying that this "opens the door for an ABA team in Moncton."
While I agree that Moncton is probably the right-size market for an ABA team, I shudder to think that another Maritime entrepreneur might get involved with the ABA. If our D-League hoop dreams don't work out, maybe a Moncton PBL franchise would work well for us, as a ready-made rival for Halifax. You heard it here first!
Short post about the Rainmen
I like Mr. Levingston’s plan to approach the D-League to see if we can join, with the fallback position of joining another league if it doesn’t work out with NBADL. In my previous post, I laid out a SWOT analysis of the Rainmen joining the D-league.
I read somewhere on OSC that PBL and CBA are merging and that the ABA team from Texas has already been playing as Dallas in the CBA, so it sounds like the scenario of the Rainmen joining another league other than the D-League is quite likely. However, I agree with the ambitious plan of talking with the D-League, because you don't get anything if you don't ask.
The NBADL will be impressed with Mr. Levingston and his organization, but if the league doesn't have plans to expand to the Northeast and if there are no other teams in the area that are ready and/or willing to join the D-League for next season, then we will probably join the new PBL/CBA merged league. The bottom line is the Rainmen need other teams in the Northeast to be part of whatever league we eventually join, to make it viable in the long-term.
I read somewhere on OSC that PBL and CBA are merging and that the ABA team from Texas has already been playing as Dallas in the CBA, so it sounds like the scenario of the Rainmen joining another league other than the D-League is quite likely. However, I agree with the ambitious plan of talking with the D-League, because you don't get anything if you don't ask.
The NBADL will be impressed with Mr. Levingston and his organization, but if the league doesn't have plans to expand to the Northeast and if there are no other teams in the area that are ready and/or willing to join the D-League for next season, then we will probably join the new PBL/CBA merged league. The bottom line is the Rainmen need other teams in the Northeast to be part of whatever league we eventually join, to make it viable in the long-term.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Wow! Big news for the Rainmen!
In his press release, Mr. Andre Levingston announced that the Rainmen have left the ABA effective immediately and are not participating in the playoffs. This was great news and the timing was a bit of a surprise, although not really when one thinks about the expense that travelling to Quebec for the playoffs would have been, especially when it was pretty much written on the wall that the ABA had let the Rainmen down so many times that it would be almost absurd for us to stick around.
Furthermore, Mr. Levingston informed the press that the Rainmen would be looking into joining the NBA D-League. You don't have to go too far into my blog to see that I have been hoping for this for some time.
I really think the Rainmen will be a good fit in the D-League, despite some potential obstacles. Why? Here is a quick SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis:
- Erie, Pennsylvania was just announced as the latest D-League expansion team for the 2008-09 season. The Erie metro area has a population of 281,000. The Halifax metro area has a population of about 385,000. I think we can support a D-League team if the owners in Erie think they can make a go of it, in a much smaller city than Halifax. Ron Sertz, the director of basketball ops in Erie, seems to be the man behind minor-league sports in Erie. From what I can tell, Mr. Levingston seems to be making connections with guys who are the Ron Sertz’s here in Halifax that are obviously crucial to a professional team’s success in a small market like ours. STRENGTH. The Rainmen front office has learned a lot from this year’s experience and the population of Halifax can and will support a brand name like the NBA.
- To get a sense of what ticket prices may be like in the D-League, here is a link to the Erie franchise.
The prices look to be about 50% higher than what our tickets were in Halifax this season. Erie will have eight different seating packages available, from “Hollywood Seats” and “Courtside Suites” to “Endzone” and “Corner” seats. I think slicing up the arena in so many categories is a smart way to provide the opportunity for fans of all economic means to enjoy the game. OPPORTUNITY. Here is a chance to really fill up the Metro Centre, with a variety of price points which create demand for premium seating and give more people a chance to afford bringing their whole family to a game with the lower-cost seating choices.
- I really like the Season Ticket Holder Privileges part of the Erie ticket price program and I really hope the Rainmen have something along those lines next year. OPPORTUNITY. There is so much that can be done in terms of promotion next season. While ticket prices may be higher than when we were in the ABA, the product will be better.
- I just realized that the Rainmen intro montage with the piano music and shots of the Rainmen is the same music and concept that the NBA used in their Where Amazing Happens campaign. Coincidence? Can’t be. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. STRENGTH. The NBA will have to be impressed with the Rainmen organization.
- In terms of players returning next year, that will likely depend on a few factors such as which league we will be in, who the coaching staff will be, how many roots the players have made here i.e. girlfriends, and of course pay levels. We can’t expect the players to put the rest of their lives on hold if the pay is not commensurate with the commitment to come to Halifax to work. THREAT, assuming we want at least some of our players to return. I think we know who we want back!
- NBA Commissioner David Stern stated in 2005 that he planned to expand the league to 15 teams and to develop it into an NBA farm system, with each D-League team would have 2 NBA affiliate teams. Recently announced expansion teams in Reno, Nevada and Erie, Pennsylvania make it 14 teams. WEAKNESS. If the NBA is not receptive to opening up the Northeast, we can’t make them. The NBA already closed down 2 of its teams in the southeast when they decided to expand the league westward. Does the Northeast fit into their plans?
I figure the NBA will not expand too quickly, they have a very valuable product and diluting it too much by expanding the D-League without strict control over who gets a team is risky for them. This ain’t Joe Newman’s ABA! A total of 11 D-League teams have either folded or moved in the league’s 7 seasons. Considering the nature of minor league sports teams, this is a pretty respectable retention rate. By comparison, here is the Wikipedia entry for the ABA.
Check out how many teams are in the league this year and how many are defunct or have left for other leagues. Interestingly, the Rainmen are already off the list of this year’s teams.
- I will repeat my concern over the lack of D-League teams in the Northeast US. Erie is only 93 miles from Cleveland, who appears to be their NBA affiliate. Erie will be the closest D-League team to Halifax and it’s over 500 miles away from Boston, let alone Nova Scotia. Unless the D-League expands into the Northeast in a meaningful way, our team’s travel costs will be exorbitant and so will our competition’s.
WEAKNESS. This may or may not be a problem, depending how many other Northeast teams are able to make the jump to the D-League. However, the answer to that question may be that no other teams can or will do it.
- A lack of nearby teams and therefore higher costs will translate into higher ticket prices. What is the magic price point for Halifax fans? I don’t know, but I’ll bet that a price any more than $20-25 for an average seat will be perceived as too expensive. THREAT. If prices are too high, the fans won’t come.
Hmmm, pretty even SWOT so far, with 2 of each category. The Strengths and Opportunities seem to be fairly well-identified items that relate to the Rainmen’s existing organization, while the Weaknesses and Threats arise from unknown factors such as what will happen with ticket prices, who will be our competition and can we afford to travel beyond the US Northeast to play? If details on these latter issues become known, then this analysis can be firmed up to show whether or not the D-League is viable for the Rainmen.
Furthermore, Mr. Levingston informed the press that the Rainmen would be looking into joining the NBA D-League. You don't have to go too far into my blog to see that I have been hoping for this for some time.
I really think the Rainmen will be a good fit in the D-League, despite some potential obstacles. Why? Here is a quick SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis:
- Erie, Pennsylvania was just announced as the latest D-League expansion team for the 2008-09 season. The Erie metro area has a population of 281,000. The Halifax metro area has a population of about 385,000. I think we can support a D-League team if the owners in Erie think they can make a go of it, in a much smaller city than Halifax. Ron Sertz, the director of basketball ops in Erie, seems to be the man behind minor-league sports in Erie. From what I can tell, Mr. Levingston seems to be making connections with guys who are the Ron Sertz’s here in Halifax that are obviously crucial to a professional team’s success in a small market like ours. STRENGTH. The Rainmen front office has learned a lot from this year’s experience and the population of Halifax can and will support a brand name like the NBA.
- To get a sense of what ticket prices may be like in the D-League, here is a link to the Erie franchise.
The prices look to be about 50% higher than what our tickets were in Halifax this season. Erie will have eight different seating packages available, from “Hollywood Seats” and “Courtside Suites” to “Endzone” and “Corner” seats. I think slicing up the arena in so many categories is a smart way to provide the opportunity for fans of all economic means to enjoy the game. OPPORTUNITY. Here is a chance to really fill up the Metro Centre, with a variety of price points which create demand for premium seating and give more people a chance to afford bringing their whole family to a game with the lower-cost seating choices.
- I really like the Season Ticket Holder Privileges part of the Erie ticket price program and I really hope the Rainmen have something along those lines next year. OPPORTUNITY. There is so much that can be done in terms of promotion next season. While ticket prices may be higher than when we were in the ABA, the product will be better.
- I just realized that the Rainmen intro montage with the piano music and shots of the Rainmen is the same music and concept that the NBA used in their Where Amazing Happens campaign. Coincidence? Can’t be. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. STRENGTH. The NBA will have to be impressed with the Rainmen organization.
- In terms of players returning next year, that will likely depend on a few factors such as which league we will be in, who the coaching staff will be, how many roots the players have made here i.e. girlfriends, and of course pay levels. We can’t expect the players to put the rest of their lives on hold if the pay is not commensurate with the commitment to come to Halifax to work. THREAT, assuming we want at least some of our players to return. I think we know who we want back!
- NBA Commissioner David Stern stated in 2005 that he planned to expand the league to 15 teams and to develop it into an NBA farm system, with each D-League team would have 2 NBA affiliate teams. Recently announced expansion teams in Reno, Nevada and Erie, Pennsylvania make it 14 teams. WEAKNESS. If the NBA is not receptive to opening up the Northeast, we can’t make them. The NBA already closed down 2 of its teams in the southeast when they decided to expand the league westward. Does the Northeast fit into their plans?
I figure the NBA will not expand too quickly, they have a very valuable product and diluting it too much by expanding the D-League without strict control over who gets a team is risky for them. This ain’t Joe Newman’s ABA! A total of 11 D-League teams have either folded or moved in the league’s 7 seasons. Considering the nature of minor league sports teams, this is a pretty respectable retention rate. By comparison, here is the Wikipedia entry for the ABA.
Check out how many teams are in the league this year and how many are defunct or have left for other leagues. Interestingly, the Rainmen are already off the list of this year’s teams.
- I will repeat my concern over the lack of D-League teams in the Northeast US. Erie is only 93 miles from Cleveland, who appears to be their NBA affiliate. Erie will be the closest D-League team to Halifax and it’s over 500 miles away from Boston, let alone Nova Scotia. Unless the D-League expands into the Northeast in a meaningful way, our team’s travel costs will be exorbitant and so will our competition’s.
WEAKNESS. This may or may not be a problem, depending how many other Northeast teams are able to make the jump to the D-League. However, the answer to that question may be that no other teams can or will do it.
- A lack of nearby teams and therefore higher costs will translate into higher ticket prices. What is the magic price point for Halifax fans? I don’t know, but I’ll bet that a price any more than $20-25 for an average seat will be perceived as too expensive. THREAT. If prices are too high, the fans won’t come.
Hmmm, pretty even SWOT so far, with 2 of each category. The Strengths and Opportunities seem to be fairly well-identified items that relate to the Rainmen’s existing organization, while the Weaknesses and Threats arise from unknown factors such as what will happen with ticket prices, who will be our competition and can we afford to travel beyond the US Northeast to play? If details on these latter issues become known, then this analysis can be firmed up to show whether or not the D-League is viable for the Rainmen.
Monday, March 17, 2008
The Rainmen Belong in the NBA D-League.
Chris Parsons recently posted on his blog Section 23 that the Rainmen's average attendance in this inaugual season was just over 1,800 fans per home game.
A couple of months ago, I speculated on the finances of the Rainmen as well as the possibilities that lie before us in terms of other leagues for next season.
I am certain that joining the D-League would propel the Rainmen to another level altogether. We would easily have a minimum of 1,000 more fans at games just from the association with the NBA. Haligonians need a brand name before they commit to anything and the NBA name would do the trick.
As for scheduling, I’ll bet the NBA wouldn’t take any mess from WTCC in terms of getting weekend games, which would probably make it a realistic goal to have an attendance average of 4,000+ fans.
By the way, I am still willing to join in any fractional ownership that is offered to the public, as my finances allow. I think it would be amazing to own a small fraction of a pro basketball team, especially one that is obviously so well-run as the Rainmen. However, Mr. Levingston is an entrepreneur (as I am) so I figure he would likely rather reap the benefits of his risk-taking and hard work, and I can appreciate and respect that.
By the way Chris, I can believe both of Mr. Levingston’s quotes that you mention. At the start of the season, the break-even may have been 2,000 fans. By the time we lost the Daily News and started flying in replacement players from California and Atlanta, I am sure those costs increased substantially.
Here the official website that summarizes the D-League Team Affiliation System.
The D-League teams are affiliated with one to three NBA teams. Most have 2 NBA teams who are “permitted to assign players in their first or second seasons to the D-League.”
From the NBADL official site, there are 65 players in the D-League who have NBA playing experience and there were 18 call-ups this season.
It seems like this league is a good chance for players to get to the big show and a chance for fans to see developing players before they go on to superstardom.
As I mentioned some time ago on this blog, a natural NBA affiliate team for us would be the Toronto Raptors, considering Mr. Levingston’s past association with someone from that organization as well as being the only Canadian team in the NBA. Since the NBADL typically has more than one NBA affiliate per team, I suggest our other affiliate team should be the Celtics.
Nova Scotia has long had a connection with New England, with generations of people moving back and forth over the past couple hundred years between here and “the Boston states”. Most hockey fans in Halifax who are more than 20 years old are either Montreal fans, Toronto fans or Boston fans. Boston’s proximity to Halifax makes it a good second choice as an NBA affiliate team, especially since we get a lot of our TV cable channels from Boston.
Plus, how exciting/potentially profitable would it be to have NBA exhibition games here in Halifax to kick off our season, like we currently have with the NHL hockey games? Just some food for thought.
Of course, all of this is predicated on the idea that we may someday join the NBADL.
A couple of months ago, I speculated on the finances of the Rainmen as well as the possibilities that lie before us in terms of other leagues for next season.
I am certain that joining the D-League would propel the Rainmen to another level altogether. We would easily have a minimum of 1,000 more fans at games just from the association with the NBA. Haligonians need a brand name before they commit to anything and the NBA name would do the trick.
As for scheduling, I’ll bet the NBA wouldn’t take any mess from WTCC in terms of getting weekend games, which would probably make it a realistic goal to have an attendance average of 4,000+ fans.
By the way, I am still willing to join in any fractional ownership that is offered to the public, as my finances allow. I think it would be amazing to own a small fraction of a pro basketball team, especially one that is obviously so well-run as the Rainmen. However, Mr. Levingston is an entrepreneur (as I am) so I figure he would likely rather reap the benefits of his risk-taking and hard work, and I can appreciate and respect that.
By the way Chris, I can believe both of Mr. Levingston’s quotes that you mention. At the start of the season, the break-even may have been 2,000 fans. By the time we lost the Daily News and started flying in replacement players from California and Atlanta, I am sure those costs increased substantially.
Here the official website that summarizes the D-League Team Affiliation System.
The D-League teams are affiliated with one to three NBA teams. Most have 2 NBA teams who are “permitted to assign players in their first or second seasons to the D-League.”
From the NBADL official site, there are 65 players in the D-League who have NBA playing experience and there were 18 call-ups this season.
It seems like this league is a good chance for players to get to the big show and a chance for fans to see developing players before they go on to superstardom.
As I mentioned some time ago on this blog, a natural NBA affiliate team for us would be the Toronto Raptors, considering Mr. Levingston’s past association with someone from that organization as well as being the only Canadian team in the NBA. Since the NBADL typically has more than one NBA affiliate per team, I suggest our other affiliate team should be the Celtics.
Nova Scotia has long had a connection with New England, with generations of people moving back and forth over the past couple hundred years between here and “the Boston states”. Most hockey fans in Halifax who are more than 20 years old are either Montreal fans, Toronto fans or Boston fans. Boston’s proximity to Halifax makes it a good second choice as an NBA affiliate team, especially since we get a lot of our TV cable channels from Boston.
Plus, how exciting/potentially profitable would it be to have NBA exhibition games here in Halifax to kick off our season, like we currently have with the NHL hockey games? Just some food for thought.
Of course, all of this is predicated on the idea that we may someday join the NBADL.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
The Rainmen Have Value
After this season, I think Mr. Levingston should seriously consider taking on some local investors and pony up the $1,000,000 to join the NBA Development League. That means 20 people at $50,000. That is chicken feed, to be part of the NBA Organization. As reference, the Raptors have a franchise value of $373,000,000 on revenues of $124,000,000 and operating income of $29,000,000 last season. This page on the Forbes website has more information. I like the Wins-to-player cost ratio at the bottom of the page, it gives us an idea if the payroll expense is really worth it, since wins and losses (and championships) are how we judge sports teams.
I don't know the Rainmen's revenues, but let's just say they only get their home game ticket sales and merchandise. If they average 2,000 people per game for 18 home games at $15/ticket, allowing for discounted tickets but also the floor seats, that is $540,000. Let's say they sell 2,000 mechandise items this season, at an average of $25 each, including replica jerseys. That is another $50,000.
I don't know how much sponsorship they have, or if it is even included in revenues. Most of the sponsorship appears to be in kind, like the Printing House, Daily News, Q104, Reebok, Physioclinic, The Westin. As a guess, let's say the total sponsorship is $300,000. I assume the Metro Centre keeps the concession revenues, to keep things simple. Based on the Raptor's value to revenue ratio, this makes the Rainmen franchise worth about $2,700,000, from $890,000 in revenues.
These figures are all just guesses on my part, I have no actual information on the Rainmen finances. I also assume that there is no economy of scale; in other words, a bigger company like the Raptors would probably have better profit margins than a new company that operates on a smaller scale, like the Rainmen. This is because fixed costs such as travel, salaries, venue rental, etc. are probably all a much bigger percentage of revenue for the Rainmen than for the Raptors.
If the Rainmen don't make as much as 24% income on their revenue (the revenue figures being complete conjecture on my part), then the franchise value would not be as high as the above figure. If their costs are $20,000 per game ($8,000 for venue rental in Halifax, say the same for travel costs for away games, $12,000 per game in salaries of players, coaches, staff), that means they have costs of $720,000 for a 36 game season. That leaves about $170,000 of around 19% of revenue, as income. Based on the Raptor's figures, that makes the Rainmen worth about $2,200,000.
I am guessing these figures are on the low side, but my point from this exercise is to show that the franchise has a value that could easily be supported with a local consortium with the current owners retaining 50% of the team to reward their risk-taking on starting the team, to enter the NBA Development League. Once the Rainmen join the NBADL, attendance will go up and that increased revenue will go toward the bottom line, although I figure player salaries will probably also rise, but probably not as much as the increased revenues from attendance and merchandise.
How about the Green Bay Packers model of local people owning shares, maybe for a part of the team ownership to raise money (it essentially acts as a bond to raise money)? Sell 2,000 shares at $500 each. I would definitely buy one of those, and I am sure most other season ticket holders would, too. Heck, I paid more than that for my 5 season tickets. What do you think, Mr. Levingston?
I don't know the Rainmen's revenues, but let's just say they only get their home game ticket sales and merchandise. If they average 2,000 people per game for 18 home games at $15/ticket, allowing for discounted tickets but also the floor seats, that is $540,000. Let's say they sell 2,000 mechandise items this season, at an average of $25 each, including replica jerseys. That is another $50,000.
I don't know how much sponsorship they have, or if it is even included in revenues. Most of the sponsorship appears to be in kind, like the Printing House, Daily News, Q104, Reebok, Physioclinic, The Westin. As a guess, let's say the total sponsorship is $300,000. I assume the Metro Centre keeps the concession revenues, to keep things simple. Based on the Raptor's value to revenue ratio, this makes the Rainmen franchise worth about $2,700,000, from $890,000 in revenues.
These figures are all just guesses on my part, I have no actual information on the Rainmen finances. I also assume that there is no economy of scale; in other words, a bigger company like the Raptors would probably have better profit margins than a new company that operates on a smaller scale, like the Rainmen. This is because fixed costs such as travel, salaries, venue rental, etc. are probably all a much bigger percentage of revenue for the Rainmen than for the Raptors.
If the Rainmen don't make as much as 24% income on their revenue (the revenue figures being complete conjecture on my part), then the franchise value would not be as high as the above figure. If their costs are $20,000 per game ($8,000 for venue rental in Halifax, say the same for travel costs for away games, $12,000 per game in salaries of players, coaches, staff), that means they have costs of $720,000 for a 36 game season. That leaves about $170,000 of around 19% of revenue, as income. Based on the Raptor's figures, that makes the Rainmen worth about $2,200,000.
I am guessing these figures are on the low side, but my point from this exercise is to show that the franchise has a value that could easily be supported with a local consortium with the current owners retaining 50% of the team to reward their risk-taking on starting the team, to enter the NBA Development League. Once the Rainmen join the NBADL, attendance will go up and that increased revenue will go toward the bottom line, although I figure player salaries will probably also rise, but probably not as much as the increased revenues from attendance and merchandise.
How about the Green Bay Packers model of local people owning shares, maybe for a part of the team ownership to raise money (it essentially acts as a bond to raise money)? Sell 2,000 shares at $500 each. I would definitely buy one of those, and I am sure most other season ticket holders would, too. Heck, I paid more than that for my 5 season tickets. What do you think, Mr. Levingston?
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
The Rainmen need to look elsewhere
The ABA is no place for a good team. This is evident by how many former ABA teams have been leaving the league to join other groups.
The more I learn about the ABA and what I observe as this season progresses, I hope Mr. Levingston is able to take steps to join another league next year. He and the other viable teams in the Northeast and North divisions should approach the NBA Development League, the Premier Basketball League, or the Continental Basketball Association.
Of these, the NBA D-League is the most attractive choice, and not only for the obvious brand recognition reason. The D-League has no teams in the Northeast area of America or any Canadian Teams. If the 6 teams in the Northeast and North divisions of the ABA could form a new division for the D-League, it could benefit both groups. The D-League would have viable teams who would relish the opportunity to be linked to an NBA team (or two) and they would also expand into a new geographical area. The teams would benefit from increased popularity from association with such a widely recognized brand of basketball as well as the stability that comes along with the NBA. I think a natural NBA team that the Rainmen could be the farm team for would be the Raptors.
If the NBA is not receptive, then there are at least 2 other options: The PBL and the CBA.
The Premier Basketball League is a new group of 8 former ABA teams that started playing their first season last week. I think the jury is still out on whether this would be an improvement over the ABA, if only because of the PBL’s newness. I think their growing pains would have to be done before considering a move there. Having said that, if the ABA provides no support to its teams and its reputation is actually hurting financially viable teams (like Halifax, Vermont, etc.), then this might be the only way to survive.
The Continental Basketball Association is also made up of mostly former ABA teams. This league seems to be very spread out geographically, but again, they have no representation in New England/Atlantic Canada. This year, there was a team in upstate New York and one in Pittsburgh, so even if only some of the ABA teams in question decided to join the CBA, there would be some competitors fairly close by.
Other professional leagues of note are:
- the United States Basketball League, which just announced the suspension of its entire 2008 season, because of so many teams folding. So much for that as an option.
- The new National Professional Basketball League, which starts this spring. This league is apparently based in the northeast United States, with teams in New York state, New Jersey, Connecticut, MAryland, Delaware and Virginia. As a spring league, the schedule for games would probably not interfere so much with Mooseheads games, meaning we could possibly have more weekend games. As we have seen so far this season, the weekend is when people come to the game. The NPBL season is going to be from March 1 to early June. This looks like an interesting alternative.
P.S. The former ABA Corning Bulldogs — now called the Elmira Bulldogs — will be part of this league. By the way, Corning is a town of 10,000 in upstate New York. It was the smallest town with an ABA franchise. It would be like Truro having a franchise, to put things into perspective. No wonder they only drew 80 people to a home game.
The more I learn about the ABA and what I observe as this season progresses, I hope Mr. Levingston is able to take steps to join another league next year. He and the other viable teams in the Northeast and North divisions should approach the NBA Development League, the Premier Basketball League, or the Continental Basketball Association.
Of these, the NBA D-League is the most attractive choice, and not only for the obvious brand recognition reason. The D-League has no teams in the Northeast area of America or any Canadian Teams. If the 6 teams in the Northeast and North divisions of the ABA could form a new division for the D-League, it could benefit both groups. The D-League would have viable teams who would relish the opportunity to be linked to an NBA team (or two) and they would also expand into a new geographical area. The teams would benefit from increased popularity from association with such a widely recognized brand of basketball as well as the stability that comes along with the NBA. I think a natural NBA team that the Rainmen could be the farm team for would be the Raptors.
If the NBA is not receptive, then there are at least 2 other options: The PBL and the CBA.
The Premier Basketball League is a new group of 8 former ABA teams that started playing their first season last week. I think the jury is still out on whether this would be an improvement over the ABA, if only because of the PBL’s newness. I think their growing pains would have to be done before considering a move there. Having said that, if the ABA provides no support to its teams and its reputation is actually hurting financially viable teams (like Halifax, Vermont, etc.), then this might be the only way to survive.
The Continental Basketball Association is also made up of mostly former ABA teams. This league seems to be very spread out geographically, but again, they have no representation in New England/Atlantic Canada. This year, there was a team in upstate New York and one in Pittsburgh, so even if only some of the ABA teams in question decided to join the CBA, there would be some competitors fairly close by.
Other professional leagues of note are:
- the United States Basketball League, which just announced the suspension of its entire 2008 season, because of so many teams folding. So much for that as an option.
- The new National Professional Basketball League, which starts this spring. This league is apparently based in the northeast United States, with teams in New York state, New Jersey, Connecticut, MAryland, Delaware and Virginia. As a spring league, the schedule for games would probably not interfere so much with Mooseheads games, meaning we could possibly have more weekend games. As we have seen so far this season, the weekend is when people come to the game. The NPBL season is going to be from March 1 to early June. This looks like an interesting alternative.
P.S. The former ABA Corning Bulldogs — now called the Elmira Bulldogs — will be part of this league. By the way, Corning is a town of 10,000 in upstate New York. It was the smallest town with an ABA franchise. It would be like Truro having a franchise, to put things into perspective. No wonder they only drew 80 people to a home game.
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