Orlando Magic interested in D-league team for Jacksonville

[thelakelander]

Yes.  It's about as close as Jax will ever get to having a real NBA team...

[Cheshire Cat]

Thanks Ennis!  I learned something new. 

[JayBird]

I agree. I think this would be great for the city. The interest is there and everyone is talking. This is good news and I dont even watch basketball LOL

really...what interest?

JU plays pretty decent caliber college bball and something like 500 people show up to watch their games.  And the Giants only get larger crowds by offering huge promo deals.

Actually just as an FYI (not attacking yours or anyone else's opinion that has posted or may post) the games that I have been to at Veterans for the Jacksonville Giants usually fill between 3,500-4,000 seats and according to the NBA, the average attendance at a D-League game for the 2012-2013 season was 3,427 so not only is it a good fit, it can also be highly beneficial. Also, EVERY sports team offers promo deals for tickets so I don't think that will be a detractor. I think Jax stands a good chance at receiving a D-League team, and that attracts interest in itself.

Surprisingly, at least to me, when it comes to sports and concert events, more people consider them pluses because they can go, not because they will go. So this might attract more residents to Jacksonville, thus more businesses or vice versa. I really cannot see a negative side to this.

[thelakelander]

What were the reasons for the Fort Myers, Charleston and Greenville D-League teams folding over the last few years?  For those familiar with these cities, what type of economic spin-off came as a result?

[FSBA]

Greenville was contracted from the NBDL because they were a money loser that drew fewer than 1,000 people to a game

Fort Meyers couldn't find a home court cheap enough to lease and I couldn't find anything on why Charleston left.

Looking more into the D-League it isn't even fair to compare that league with the Suns. If the D-League didn't have the NBA's blessing I wouldn't blame anyone for confusing with any other semi-pro league.

[tufsu1]

If Jacksonville a D-League team I have no delusions of grandeur with it. However, you could get 5,000 people for $1 Beer Wednesday/BOGO ticket Thursday and maybe 7,000-8,000 on the weekend.

I seriously doubt that

[mtraininjax]

Actually the Suns drew over 4300 in attendance in 2012 per game, per their website for 60+ home games. The Giants drew on average about 2000 fans. I think the hockey teams, before both the Lizard Kings and Barracudas folded were drawing similar numbers.

The numbers from the one game on Wednesday night were almost 9000 people. Good, but the NCAA games are sold out at over 13,000. Yes, JU games get good turnout, but is 1500-2000 people enough to lobby for a D-league minor league basketball team? I leave it to the experts to debate.

Would be nice for the arena to get more use than just high school graduations and the every once in a while concert.

[KenFSU]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orlando-magic/os-magic-seek-to-bring-d-league-team-to-florida-20160106-story.html

Per the TU and Sentinel, Jacksonville is in the running for the Orlando Magic's D-League affiliate in 2017.

Jacksonville would be a great home for the team.

[thelakelander]

Cities in the running...

Four of the potential locations are in Central Florida: Daytona Beach, which has the Ocean Center arena; Kissimmee (Silver Spurs Arena); Orlando at ESPN Wide World of Sports (HP Field House) and Orlando at UCF (CFE Arena).

The others are: Lakeland (The Lakeland Center); Estero (Germain Arena); Fort Myers (Lee Civic Center) and Jacksonville (Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena).

Magic CEO Alex Martins said the team will consider stationing a team within Central Florida because having the D-League team nearby would be ideal in a basketball sense.

"We'll be looking for an opportunity that is in close proximity but also has the population base and the potential fan base to support the team," Martins said.

[I-10east]

Basically another ABA team. #wouldbealateralmove

[Steve]

^A D-League Team is better - having a tie to a Top-League team is always a good thing.

[Steve]

Cities in the running...

Four of the potential locations are in Central Florida: Daytona Beach, which has the Ocean Center arena; Kissimmee (Silver Spurs Arena); Orlando at ESPN Wide World of Sports (HP Field House) and Orlando at UCF (CFE Arena).

The others are: Lakeland (The Lakeland Center); Estero (Germain Arena); Fort Myers (Lee Civic Center) and Jacksonville (Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena).

Magic CEO Alex Martins said the team will consider stationing a team within Central Florida because having the D-League team nearby would be ideal in a basketball sense.

"We'll be looking for an opportunity that is in close proximity but also has the population base and the potential fan base to support the team," Martins said.

I don't get having one in Orlando or Kissimmee - If the team is having a down year, the minor league team could steal attendance.

I also don't see Lakeland (sorry thelakelander - after being down there a crapton for work, I don't see this happening)/Estero/Ft. Myers having the population to support. To me this is between Daytona or Jacksonville.

[thelakelander]

The Lakeland and Fort Myers MSAs are both significantly larger than Daytona's in population. However, being from Polk, I seriously doubt anyone there is going to spend money watching a minor league basketball team. Those interested in the sport will drive the 40 minutes to see the real D-League team that currently plays in Orlando's Amway Center . Same goes for Daytona.  To me, on the surface, the most viable locations would be Jax and Fort Myers as a distant second.

[Tacachale]

There's probably also a question of how much they need to derive revenue from the team versus how close they want their developing players to be. Apparently, a number of NBA teams keep their D-league teams in their own city or suburbs. The Atlanta Braves do that with their AAA affiliate, the Gwinnett Braves, who they moved down from Virginia for that purpose. They don't get much in the way of attendance, but it's closer for their staff to be able to go out and evaluate players. I guess it's good for developing the big league team, though it's terrible for building the sport.

[KenFSU]

The Lakeland and Fort Myers MSAs are both significantly larger than Daytona's in population. However, being from Polk, I seriously doubt anyone there is going to spend money watching a minor league basketball team. Those interested in the sport will drive the 40 minutes to see the real D-League team that currently plays in Orlando's Amway Center . Same goes for Daytona.  To me, on the surface, the most viable locations would be Jax and Fort Myers as a distant second.

I grew up in Fort Myers. It's a great MSA, but the Lee Civic Center (the proposed home for the team) is a total dump. Makes the Lakeland Center look like MSG in comparison. Last major renovation took place in the late 80s (my Dad managed the project). Plus, it's way out in the boonies. Aside from some epic WWF house shows in the 1980s, the place has basically been gun shows and rodeos for most of its life.



Estero (Germain Arena) would make more sense in that region, as it would draw from the wealthier portions of both Fort Myers and Naples.

Seems like Jax has by far the most upside both strategically and in terms of revenue potential, assuming they get a good rate from the city for the 26-home games.