06-13-2007, 02:15 PM
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| USBL Going Under?
Quote: Basketball league looks at Wichita
Offshoot of drowning USBL eyes city as part of new 28-team affilation.
BY JEFFREY PARSON
The Wichita Eagle
A potential professional basketball league would like to add Wichita before play starts next April.
Carroll Long, general manager and former part-owner of Salina's Kansas Cagerz, is trying to create a league that will replace the U.S. Basketball League, which is almost certainly disbanding after this season. The USBL started with 10 teams this season, but four quickly folded before or shortly into the season.
Long said he is working with a retired judge in Atlanta, who will serve as commissioner, on an association between teams across the country, giving each equal ownership in the league. Long said the league, which would play from April to June, has a name that will be released at a later date.
On Tuesday, Long said he had commitments from 25 owners to purchase a $150,000 bond that would insure the league's other teams against expenses should the franchise fold. The list of cities with commitments includes Salina, Dodge City, Enid (Okla.), Kearney (Neb.) and St. Louis.
Ideally, Long would like to start with 28 teams, though, and he wants Wichita to play in a division that includes those regional teams.
"I would love Wichita to be in it," he said. "I think it would serve as a hub for those teams and could be very successful."
In 2005, Wyoming millionaire Worth Christie announced the formation of the All-American Professional Basketball League. The Wichita Bombers were supposed to be a charter member, but the league folded before its first season even started.
Wichita last had a professional basketball team in the 1991-92 season. The Outlaws played in the Global Basketball Association for one year but folded after averaging less than 600 fans at Century II.
Bob Hanson, president of the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission, said he had previously held talks with Long about playing USBL games here. He has not, however, discussed a new league.
"I haven't heard anything about it," Hanson said.
That's because Long is focused on "winning the USBL championship."
"We have eight games left in the regular season and the playoffs," he said. "After that, we're going to really get on this right away."
Discussions with other cities started in April, and Long said he quickly started gathering commitments.
"I don't think it's as big an undertaking as people think," Long said. "We had a foundation already set with teams like us that have been around for nine years. And when we promised a commissioner who would listen to the other owners and equal representation in the league, people were very interested."
Long said he is unsure where a Wichita team would play, though Friends might be a possibility. The school's Garvey Gymnasium is undergoing a major renovation. The Salina team, Long said, might move from the Bicentennial Center to Kansas Wesleyan's new gym, which is under construction.
Outside ownership for a Wichita team might be possible, though Long does not see that as the ideal scenario.
"In my opinion, what has made franchises in the Midwest strong is local ownership," he said. "I think there are people who have the money in Wichita. I'm just hoping one will say, 'This is something I want to do.' The sooner the better."
| Kansas.com | 06/13/2007 | Basketball league looks at Wichita  |
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